Causes and symptoms of maladaptation

To become a full, recognized member of society, a person must learn his rules and norms and comply with them.

But sometimes the social environment changes dramatically - when you change your job, study or place of residence - and it takes a short time to adapt to it.

And what if adaptation problems arise? Disadaptation - what it is and how can you fight it?

Basic definitions

Disadaptation in psychology, this is a discrepancy between the psycho-physiological state of a person and a new, changed life condition.

Maladjustment - the inability of a person to exhibit behavior typical for any communication environment, inconsistency with its psycho-physiological norms, deviations in behavior, emotional and physiological condition.

The concept of adjustment disorder

When you change the usual living conditions, established norms, social environment, a person is subjected to stress. In the shortest possible time he must adapt to change while maintaining the possibility of their productive activities.

At such moments, adaptation mechanisms are included that allow a person to accept new values, establish social contacts, and gain psychological and physiological comfort.

However, not always people is able to do it painlessly and with considerable stress, there may be a breakdown in adaptive capacity - a sharp decrease in the psycho-physiological potential of a person and further inability to perform the required tasks.

What does it mean: not adapted, unadapted to life?

Almost at all stages of human life should be integrated into the social environmentin which he lives, to have like-minded people, to build and consolidate personal or professional ties, to seek recognition and authority.

It happens that a person is unable join the new team - the reason for this may be reduced adaptation, as an individual peculiarity of a person, and the complexity of the situation.

With all this he must perform the tasks assigned to him - their professional duties, to keep up with the training, however, due to problems in adaptation, it is unable to do this qualitatively.

For example, a leader may not achieve credibility in the team he leads, a schoolboy - not find a common language with classmates, a soldier - cannot withstand tough discipline and physical stress on the body. In that case, they say that man is not adapted, not adapted to life.

Non-adaptive behavior - what does this mean?

When situations arise in which the adaptation of a person for one reason or another is impossible, he manifests maladaptive behavior.

In this case he refuses reactions that would help him adjust to new conditions - this may be the rejection of values in the new team, unwillingness to submit to external circumstances that are important for others.

At the same time, the manifestation of maladaptive behavior does not mean that a person has chosen for himself autonomous position.

He may experience an internal conflict, doubts, hesitations, but he is not able to solve the dilemma - to obey the general rules or enter into a conflict situation, which is not known what can be ended.

Psychological protective mechanismswhich are included in this, allow us to postpone this decision for later, but it is much harder to eliminate the negative impact on the personality of this destructive internal contradiction, which did not find a timely resolution.

Types of maladjustment

Kinds:

Mental. This type of maladaptation occurs during puberty of a person, when significant fluctuations in the emotional sphere, extreme manifestations of various, including negative, aspects of character are possible.
At this time, adolescents are keenly perceived by any criticism, and they are hostile to the demands that school teachers, family members, and peers make to them.
The response can be both openly conflicting in nature and hidden, which, although it does not manifest itself outwardly, however leads to difficult experiences and can push the adolescent to commit rash acts.
Social. In this case, the person ignores generally accepted standards of behavior, while defiantly violating them, shies away from useful activities, abuses alcohol or is addicted to drugs. The reason for this behavior may lie in the lack of attention in childhood on the part of parents, improper upbringing, lack of emphasis on moral principles on the part of people significant for a person. As a result, social maladjustment can be expressed in a crime by a person of the norms of the law with all its consequences.
Pathogenic. This type of maladaptation occurs when there is a violation in the psycho-physiological development of a person — congenital, caused as a result of brain injuries, etc. These include neuropsychiatric diseases, phobias, enuresis, and others.
Psychological. Psychological maladjustment manifests itself in violation of self-esteem by the individual - it is too high or too low, as well as when the values do not coincide with the social environment.

Mental states

Mental states are manifestations of emotions and moods, will, attention and imagination - euphoria, depression, doubt, determination, dreams, confusion, concentration.

In case of maladaptive mental states, the person has no or significantly reduced control over these manifestations.

Symptoms and signs

In case of violation of adaptation, the following symptoms are characteristic, which may include mental and somatic abnormalities:

irritability. Neutral external factors irritate a person;
aggression. Outbreaks of anger cause even the slightest disagreement;
closure This is a psychological defense mechanism that allows you to maintain the desired emotional background, mood. However, this reduces the intensity of communication, which creates problems with socialization;
rejection of social norms. Categorical rejection of norms and rules established in certain public circles;
the inability to focus on certain tasks;
state of anxiety and anxiety without apparent reason;
sleep disorders;
fast fatiguability;
disorder of appetite in one direction or another;
chest pain and shortness of breath.

The reasons

The characteristic causes of maladaptive syndrome are similar in certain situations. Consider the most common ones.

Although adaptation disorders can be observed in schoolchildren throughout the entire period of study, they are most pronounced in first-graders.

Causes maladjustment first-graders following:

Insufficient preparation for school. This may be expressed in the absence of the necessary knowledge base, unsatisfactory development of psychomotor skills. As a result, a first grader does not have time or can not cope with the tasks.

Insufficient control over your own behavior. In this case, the child can not sit out the whole lesson, focus on the implementation of the task.
The impossibility of creating social ties with classmates and the teacher - that is, social maladjustment.

Disadaptation while serving in the army. Reluctance to serve, as well as lack of motivation to achieve success, difficulties during military service for servicemen may arise during maladjustment, the causes of which may be the following:

Lack of awareness and lack of understanding of the value of military service.
Full change of occupation with a small amount of free time.
Lack of physical fitness.
Harmful habits - addiction to alcohol, tobacco or drugs.
Social disadaptation in the new environment.

Professional disadaptation. With professional maladjustment, a person is not capable of fulfilling his immediate duties with high quality. It occurs for the following reasons:

Social maladjustment in the new team.
Lack of knowledge or skills required to perform professional tasks.
Lack of motivation and interest in professional activities.

The causes of maladjustment may be different depending on the situation and specific professional activity - disadaptation in pedagogy, for example, it can be caused by intensive communication with a large number of people against the background of significant psychological overload - in each specific case, these reasons may change.

However, there are common reasons - for example, social maladjustment, difficulties in building social connections, personal problems - divorce, loss of a loved one - all this can affect the ability to adapt.

Diagnosis

In what cases put diagnosis of adaptation disorder?

It is possible to diagnose maladjustment in a person when he ceases to perceive and adequately respond to significant events occurring in the world around him.

At the same time, a person remains in his own, invented reality with his values. In the future, this leads to loss of full communication with people and personal growth.

Treatment

Adaptation disorders can be treated. as psychotherapeutic methods, and medicamentally.

When psychotherapy is determined by a number of factors that caused disadaptation in the individual.

The doctor interprets the traumatic situation in order to help the person in the future to cope with the stress provoked by these phenomena.

If necessary, prescribed medications to eliminate the effects of stress - antidepressants, nootropic drugs, tranquilizers or mood stabilizers.

Prevention

The most necessary is the prevention of maladjustment for first-graders, since children still cannot give an account of their own actions.

For this The teachers are taking the following preventive measures.:

Psychological support for students. In this case, the teacher must know the characteristics of the child, his personal qualities, and the assessment of his individual abilities.
Creating favorable conditions for personal growth of students.
Timely identification and diagnosis of risks and disorders in the adaptation of first-graders, the provision of psychological assistance in case of detected problems with adaptation.
Creating learning conditions that take into account maladjusted students.

In spite of the fact that an adult person, as a rule, realizes the need for adaptation in a professional team, the manager must also show special attention to the psychological atmosphere in the relations between employees:

Eliminate conflict moments among workers by proper organization of labor.
To encourage a friendly atmosphere in the team.
Monitor respect for young workers.
Organize activities outside of working hours, aimed at achieving team unity.

Adaptive abilities of each individual are individualIn addition, the ability to adapt to new conditions is influenced by many different factors.

It is important to detect adaptation problems in a timely manner, in order to maintain the necessary level of ability to work, success in learning, and to prevent the severe effects of stress, with the help of a qualified specialist.

Primary signs of psychophysiological maladjustment: