Symptoms and treatment of emotional personality disorder

Often, what others consider a bad temper and lack of education, in fact turns out to be a mental disorder.

Namely, emotional personality disorder. Such people are characterized by instability, impulsiveness, a tendency towards antisocial behavior.

They cannot independently realize and cope with their problem, therefore they need the help of a psychotherapist.

What it is?

To emotional personality disorder refers a whole complex of symptomsexpressed in increased irritability, excitability, change of mood, inability to control one's behavior, tendency to deviant behavior.

Such people often commit crimes suddenly lose their temper. In this state, they represent a danger to themselves and society.

Causes and provoking factors

The main reason - This is an organic brain damage. The provoking factors are:

Heredity. More than 50% of patients have a family history of mental illness.
Neuroinfections (poliomyelitis, meningitis, encephalitis).
Head injuries
Epilepsy.
Endocrine pathology.
Cardiovascular diseases.
Alcoholism, drug addiction.

Mental illness.
Psychotraumatic situation.
Prolonged stress.
Child abuse by parents.
Lack of attention to the child in early childhood.
Experienced violence.

Characteristic

Emotional disorder is divided into 2 types.:

emotionally unstable personality disorder of the impulsive type;
emotionally unstable borderline personality disorder.

The impulsive type is characterized by manifesting already at an early age. Such children are out of control., capricious, not amenable to educational measures, are often hysterical.

In communicating with other children, they are trying to establish leadership by force, do not recognize the accepted rules of the game. Therefore, they constantly have conflict situations.

Despite normal intellectual level, a child with emotional impulse disorder does not study well, as it is often prone to mood swings, cannot sit still and concentrate on learning. In addition, he is constantly in conflict with teachers.

If the pathology is not treated, the disease progresses.

In adults, an impulsive disorder is manifested as follows:

mood swings;
unwarranted attacks of aggression;
performance of actions in the heat of passion, when a person does not control his behavior;
excessive excitability;
despotic behavior in the family, the approval of his authority through violence.

In patients with borderline disorders, the symptoms are not so pronounced. They are not dangerous to others.

In childhood the child is different restlessness, tearfulness, capriciousness. It is difficult for him to make friends, he is bad at school. These children get into bad companies, start using drugs and alcohol.

In adulthood, features such as:

suggestibility;
impressionability;
propensity for fantasy;
obsession with one topic;
accepting any minor setbacks as a tragedy;
excessive emotionality;
inconstancy of life goals;
risk of depression and suicidal thoughts.

What is emotional disturbance?

In psychiatry, emotional disturbances are understood as an unstable emotional state in which life events are perceived inadequately.

That is, the patient is not able to independently regulate the intensity and expression of their emotions.

The following types of emotional disturbances are distinguished: proper disorders of the emotional sphere and violation of the adequacy of emotions.

The first are:

The heat of passion - violent emotions, during which a person does not realize his behavior and environment.
Hyperthymia - mood of joy, expressed in enhanced facial expressions, increased arousal.
Euphoria - state of agitation, inadequate environment.
Often occurs under the influence of alcohol, drugs, somatic diseases. It is also typical for patients with mental disabilities.
Hypotomy is the opposite of hyperthymia. A person is negatively disposed, sees only negative sides, is in a state of hopelessness.
Depressed mood - depressed state, accompanied by melancholy, emptiness, hopelessness.
Panic - a feeling of anxiety, expectation of trouble, disaster. The patient does not find a place for himself, he has vegetative symptoms.
Apathy - a state of indifference, alienation, lack of interest and desires.

Anger - The extreme degree of negative arousal, turning into aggression.
Paralysis of emotions - the complete absence of emotional reactions. Often occurs after severe stress, shock.
Ambivalence - the emergence of two opposite feelings in relation to the same situation, for example, euphoria and apathy.
Phobia is an obsessive state of fear that a person cannot get rid of. For example, aerophobia, claustrophobia.
Mania - the overwhelming desire to commit an action.
Emotional breakdown - splash out of negative emotions. It is manifested by evilness, aggression, rancor.

Violation of the adequacy of emotions manifested by the following conditions:

Dysphoria - longing in half with anger, severe irritability, which arose in response to a minor irritant.
Hypermymia - enhanced facial expressions, reactions change quickly.
Amymia - total absence of mimicry.
Paramimia - Mimics inadequate situation.
For example, a person cries when you need to laugh. Sometimes the patient grimaces without any reason.

Symptoms

Despite the fact that various emotional disorders have characteristic manifestations, they still have general symptoms are present:

A person has no self-control, he does not have power over his emotions.
The patient acts impulsively, under the influence of momentary mood.
He cannot plan and evaluate his actions.
In response to a minimal irritant, the patient has an inadequate reaction in the form of anger, aggression, hysteria, euphoria, etc.
A person often has depressive and suicidal feelings.
He constantly complains about one and all, negatively perceives any objections.
The patient is difficult to find a common language with others, he often arranges conflicts, including with the use of violence.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis can be made by a psychiatrist based on complaints of the patient himself or his relatives.

But in order to diagnose it is an emotional disorder, it is necessary that patient behavior met at least three criteria:

The inconsistency of cognitive functions with accepted norms.
Emotions are far from adequate.
Inability to control drives and needs.
This behavior is common to all areas of life.
A person experiences difficulties in social adaptation.
These violations continue for quite a long time, usually from childhood. Or they are caused by some traumatic event or illness.
The presence of organic brain damage.

Treatment

Therapy begins with determine the cause.

If an organic lesion is found in the brain, then medical assistance is needed.

But the main direction is psychotherapy. Tasks of the psychotherapist:

Conduct testing to study the original source of the problem and find a solution.
Convince the patient that his pathology is curable.
Select the position of a teammate, and not an instructor.

To help patients use individual and group classes. Gestalt therapy is effective. In the classroom, the patient learns to recognize his problem and look for ways out of the situation.

It is advisable to involve relatives of the patient in group classes. In individual sessions, the doctor teaches the patient to manage their emotions and feelings, to adequately respond to stimuli.

Sure to normalize the patient's day regimen. He should have a full sleep, it is necessary to exclude the intake of tonic drinks (coffee, tea), especially in the evening. Also it is necessary to abandon computer games and watching aggressive films.

If the disorder is mild, then try to do without serious drugs. The patient is prescribed antihistamines (Tavegil, Suprastin), which have a sedative effect.

It is also useful to drink away a course of sedatives on a plant basis (Novopassit, Perven, Valerian, motherwort). Chamomile tea with mint and lemon balm helps well.

With pronounced deviations, it is necessary to connect serious drugs. The choice depends on what type of disorder is diagnosed in the patient. The following groups of drugs may be used.:

antidepressants (Melipramine, Fluvoxamine). Shown in a state of depression, depressive and suicidal feelings;
tranquilizers (Phenazepam, Atarax). Eliminate excessive stress, anxiety, help with panic attacks, reduce aggression;
neuroleptics (Haloperidol, Levomepromazine). Assign with increased excitability, aggression, anger, phobias.

When prescribing drugs It is important to observe the following rules.:

To prescribe a tool that has a minimum of side effects.
Start with a minimum dose, increase only in the case of a long absence of effect.
Constantly monitor the patient's condition.
If the prescribed drug is ineffective, stop taking it and choose alternative methods.
Do not take drugs for more than 15 days.
Termination of reception is carried out gradually, so as not to provoke withdrawal syndrome.

Often a patient with an emotion disorder hospitalization required. The grounds for this are the following conditions:

Statement of relatives of the patient about the need for his placement in the clinic.
The statement of the patient about consent to undergo treatment in the hospital.
The behavior of the patient, representing a danger to others and himself.

Forecasts

If the emotion disorder is the result of a severe brain damage, then cure the patient is completely impossible.

With the help of competently organized therapy, it is possible to achieve a state of remission, to make the manifestations not so pronounced.

However, this can not be achieved only with the help of some drugs. Of great importance are psychotherapeutic methods.without which the patient will not be able to adapt in society.