What is emotional lability, and how can it be treated?

Everyone is surrounded by people who react violently to everything that happens. But this does not mean at all that they are mentally abnormal. They are simply impulsive, hot-tempered, unrestrained, sensitive by nature - typical manifestations for sanguine or choleric people. However, excessive impressionability and quick excitability are not always determined only by the type of character. In some cases, they talk about damage to the nervous system and pathology, which in psychology is usually referred to as emotional lability.

What it is

Emotional lability is a serious disturbance in the functioning of the central nervous system, the main symptom of which is mood variability, its sharp fluctuations without objective explanations. The person reacts too painfully to what is happening. He can burst into tears of happiness just because someone gave him a compliment, and a moment later he can throw a real tantrum because someone walked past and didn’t say hello.

Experts explain emotional lability by physiology. To any external stimuli, responses are formed in the cerebral cortex. If the central nervous system is in order, a person can slow down and restrain some of them. But, if it is weakened, this provokes an overly violent response, even to an insignificant event. The opposite concept in psychology is rigidity, when a person is stingy in expressing emotions.

If they say about a person that he is emotionally labile, this means that he is subject to sudden mood swings and reacts too violently to everything that happens around him. Moreover, he is not able to control this flow of emotions. Communication with such people requires endurance, patience and understanding on the part of family.

When emotional instability is normal

• Children and teenagers

If we talk about human life, then any of you will agree that childhood up to 5 years is a period of constant changes, including in mental life. Even the calmest children have periods when parents simply clutch their heads.

The fact is that only closer to four years do most children develop a feeling of shame, thanks to which the child tries to control his physiological and psychological reactions. The complete assimilation of social norms is still far away, therefore sharp transitions from crying to joy, from delight to grief are a feature of age.

The period of primary school age, as a rule, is characterized by a slight calm, after which a storm comes again. Everyone knows that in a teenage child, symptoms of emotional instability are present in most standard everyday situations.

Unstable behavior of a teenager is a fairly common reason for turning to a psychologist. However, with the exception of rare cases, psycho-emotional lability is a normal sign of growing up. In this case, the psychologist works not only with the teenager. Parents of an unexpectedly matured person also have to restructure their views on upbringing.

• Adults

In an adult who does not have mental disorders, emotional lability can be expressed in three cases.

1. A pronounced demonstrative personality . Such people are actors. It doesn’t matter at all whether acting is their profession or not. They don't care where to play. The main thing is that the audience applauds. Surely, each of you has met such a person in your life. The richness of emotions and their rapid switchability are the constant character traits of a demonstrative personality.
2. The so-called cyclothymic personalities. These are people who have their own special rhythm of changing good and bad moods. Some days they flutter like butterflies, while on others literally everything irritates them. Moreover, you will not be able to trace any pattern in this process.
3. Infantile personalities. Emotional immaturity, attempts to avoid responsibility, inability to make decisions are symptoms of mental infantilism. The most common reason for this phenomenon is overprotection on the part of parents. Dear dads and moms, if you do not allow your child to show independence and make decisions, then know that you are taking the right steps towards developing infantile character traits and emotional immaturity in him.

Causes

Emotional lability can be caused by various factors.

Physiological:

• avitaminosis;
• HIV;
• thyroid diseases, hormonal imbalances;
• intoxication (drug, alcohol);
• negative effects of anesthesia on the central nervous system;
• neuroinfections;
• cerebral thromboangiitis obliterans;
• brain damage: ependymomas, astrocytomas, meningiomas, neuromas, skull injuries, atherosclerosis, encephalitis, discirculatory encephalopathy;
• pressure surges, stroke and other vascular pathologies;
• difficult pregnancy or childbirth (eclampsia, intoxication);
• serious illnesses in early childhood;
• epilepsy.

Psychological:

• deficit or excess of attention;
• lack of education;
• pathological bad luck;
• constant stress;
• psychological trauma;
• strong and prolonged emotional stress;
• Hard childhood.

If the lability of emotions is caused by serious physiological diseases, it requires long-term treatment by a neurologist, psychiatrist or psychotherapist. If the cause is psychological, psychologists deal with the disorder.

How you can fall into the trap of lability, the causes of emotional instability

Inadequacy of the emotional reaction appears due to disturbances in the functions of the central nervous system.

This can occur due to social, psychological negative influences, and due to somatic diseases that directly or indirectly affect the functioning of the central nervous system.

If we start from systems theory, this works in tandem. First, micro-psychological negative impacts arise, this gives a small impulse to somatics, then according to the principle of reinforcing feedback - when a change in the state of the system serves as a signal to intensify the initial changes. In simple terms – “get into Kabbalah.”

This can occur due to social, psychological negative influences, and due to somatic diseases that directly or indirectly affect the functioning of the central nervous system.

Causes of emotional instability:

1. Prolonged stress. 16 of the loudest signs of long-term stress on the human body: heartburn, insomnia, suppressed immunity, high sugar levels, stomach pain, low libido, and 10 more in our article Professional stress in clear language (in infographics);

2. 
   Cover of the book “The Sleep Revolution: How to Change Your Life Night by Night.” Read a book

   Lack of sleep. There is a great book about this by the co-founder and ex-editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, Andrianna Huffington, “The Sleep Revolution: How to Change Your Life Night after Night,” she gives a whole lot of arguments in favor of sleep, and just as much about the harm of its absence.

   What 4 theses can be taken away immediately after reading: a person without sleep is almost equal in condition to a person with alcohol in his blood; a fairly large number of accidents in the United States due to lack of sleep; lack of sleep appeared in the social order only during the industrial revolution; before it was a taboo; if you keep a dream diary and analyze your dreams, you can work with your subconscious (and this has been practiced by many famous personalities).

3. Exhausting physical and mental stress. Work-rest balance is important;
4. Conflicts. If a character infringes on someone’s interests, he is met with resistance. 7 basic strategies for dealing with conflict;
5. A life situation that traumatizes the psyche: the death of a loved one, separation from a loved one, violence;
6. Endocrine system disorders. The functioning of some parts of the brain directly depends on hormonal levels. This is why emotional instability can be observed in pregnant women, adolescents, people with diseases of the thyroid gland, adrenal glands, and menopause;
7. Vascular diseases, based on which the nervous tissue receives inadequate blood supply: hypotension; hypertension; atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels; Buerger's disease, cerebral form;
8. Neurological diseases with brain damage due to: traumatic brain injury; tumors; neuroinfections; intoxication;
9. Mental disorders: neuroses; psychopathy; dementia.

Clinical picture

An emotionally labile person differs from those around him in behavior that is noticeable to everyone.

Psycho-emotional signs:

• hot temper, impulsiveness, hysteria;
• rash, unexpected actions without predicting the results;
• rejection of even the most harmless criticism addressed to oneself, intolerance of other people's views and principles, desire to constantly argue;
• inability to self-control;
• tearfulness;
• loud, uncontrollable laughter;
• sudden mood swings;
• spontaneous, uncontrollable reactions;
• bright flashes of emotions in response to everything that happens.

Symptoms at the physiological level:

• hypersensitivity: a person may experience pain from the slightest touch, pain in the eyes from bright light, migraine from ordinary (even quiet) sounds;
• headache;
• dizziness;
• sound hallucinations (noises, knocking, ringing are heard);
• poor, superficial sleep;
• pressure surges;
• weakness, decreased performance, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, impotence;
• blurred vision.

A person’s emotional lability in its manifestations largely depends on the type of character. Phlegmatic people, for example, become irritated at the slightest disruption to their usual order. Anyone who interferes with his actions may be subject to an outburst of anger, which, however, subsides as quickly as it arose.

Emotionally labile choleric people are hysterical for any reason - both joyful and sad. But, just like phlegmatic people, they burn out quickly, although their manifestations are much brighter. In sanguine people, reactions to what is happening last longer than in others, and they are as strong as in choleric people. Melancholic people most often cry and create dramatic scenes with hand-wringing. Their main mood is tragedy, which they see in every little thing.

Diagnostic methods

Patients are examined using several methods:

1. Conversation. The specialist listens to complaints and draws appropriate conclusions. The patient complains of uncontrollable outbursts of anger, tearfulness, and poor general health.
2. Observation. Consulting with a doctor causes some discomfort and anxiety. Unbalanced patients shake their legs, fidget with their fingers, twirl objects in their hands, and tap their pens on the table.
3. Psychodiagnostics. Psychological tests, techniques, and questionnaires are used. Based on the results of the study, the psycho-emotional state of the patient is determined. In case of asthenic syndrome, an additional performance test is carried out.

During the examination, the causes of lability are determined and directions of therapy are determined. In case of mental deviation, consultation with a psychiatrist is required. In other cases, you need to undergo a comprehensive diagnosis and examination by specialized specialists (endocrinologist, neurologist, cardiologist).

Kinds

Depending on symptoms

Impulsive:

• violent actions are possible against those who are nearby at the moment of rage and anger;
• constantly bad mood;
• dysphoria;
• anger, dissatisfaction, irritation, aggression;
• quarrelsomeness;
• sharp and unreasonable outbursts of anger.

Borderline:

• rich imagination;
• impressionability;
• dependence on other people's opinions;
• excessive enthusiasm for something (to the point of fanaticism);
• restlessness;
• frequent change of interests (from one extreme to another).

Depending on the degree of expression of emotions

The concepts of low and high emotional lability are sometimes used, but most experts are against such terminology. This pathology always implies vivid and sharp reactions to what is happening. Symptoms never occur latently. Such people do not cry out of resentment somewhere alone - they throw hysterics and huge scandals. That is, this diagnosis in all cases implies excessive, increased excitability, so the expression “low emotional lability” can only be used to differentiate clinical manifestations in different types of characters (high in choleric people and low in phlegmatic people).

Depending on the reasons

• Organic emotionally labile asthenic disorder

Other names: asthenia, emotionally unstable personality disorder, emotional lability syndrome. Develops against the background of physiological pathologies. It has a separate code in ICD-10 - F06.68. It is the object of study in psychiatry, psychotherapy and neurology. It is diagnosed using general tests, pathopsychological and laboratory studies (electroencephalogram, magnetic resonance and computed tomography). Symptoms manifest not only at the psycho-emotional, but also at the physiological level.

• Psycho-emotional lability

It occurs as a result of the influence of external factors, when the already weakened nervous system experiences another breakdown. Such patients are managed by a psychologist; in rare cases, the help of a psychotherapist is required. Symptoms manifest themselves only at the psycho-emotional level, only partially affecting physiology.

Emotional lability of adolescents - what is it in children?

Inappropriate expression of emotions is typical for people of different age categories. If in adults this is a pathology that requires correction, then does the same apply to children?

First of all, it must be said that a person is exposed to stress at any age. An adult can control his emotional state, but this is more difficult for children.

Adults influence the development of a child’s psyche and emotional state. Peers also matter, but parents and other close people are more important. Children are exposed to stress equally from excessive care and complete indifference on the part of their parents. It is important to find a balance that will allow the little person to grow into a healthy person.

Regardless of upbringing, the child throws tantrums, screaming and lying on the floor in the most inappropriate places. For the first time, he tests how adults will behave. If this situation repeats regularly, the moment is lost. A little manipulator can get carried away and get into the role so much that regular hysterics will lead to constant tension in the nervous system, which results in emotional lability.

Emotional lability: what is it in children - lack of upbringing, pathology or characteristic? Regular manifestation of symptoms signals a problem, and a one-time “action” is a routine check of the extent of what is permitted.

As for teenagers, the question remains open. During puberty and alienation from their parents, children experience a lot of stress due to changes in their body and appearance. In this regard, many of them face problems in communication, in choosing a hobby, and in behavioral strategies. The same algorithm applies here: regular and vivid manifestation of symptoms is a cry for help, rare manifestations are simply a period of growing up.

It doesn’t matter who suffers from emotional lability - a child, an adult, a man, a woman, an elderly person. Anyone can need help, so it is important to use corrective methods and seek professional treatment.

Peculiarities

In children

Children's emotional lability is a consequence of difficult childbirth, infection at an early age, dysfunctional family environment or psychological trauma. A child’s weakened nervous system reacts sharply to any external stimulus, and due to physiology, he cannot restrain this flow of emotions. The deviation is easy to notice by frequent tearfulness, hysterics, hyperexcitability, and moodiness. Such children require constant attention from those around them, physical contact (they huddle not only with their parents, but also with teachers at school, with friends), and look ingratiatingly into their eyes, looking for support and participation.

During adolescence, the disease can worsen as it is aggravated by hormonal imbalance. The negative component in the clinical picture is getting worse: there are fewer and fewer joyful manifestations, they are replaced by anger, aggression, and constant dissatisfaction. If parents miss such a child and do not provide him with timely help, at the moment of an outburst of emotions, the teenager can injure others and himself (not only psychologically, but also physically) and even commit suicide.

In adults

Emotional lability in adults refers to a whole complex of symptoms in which mental and physiological signs of deviation are mixed. Such people can be recognized by constant perspiration on the forehead, tremors of the limbs, darting eyes, nervous and abrupt speech, heavy breathing, lively facial expressions. They catch every word of those around them, do not ignore one incident, discuss everything lively, intensively waving their hands.

Emotional lability in adults can be tolerable when the manifestations are periodic, and unbearable when the person constantly has to endure these inexplicable outbursts. Such people have problems at work, since neither colleagues nor superiors find it necessary to adapt to their mood swings. Personal life usually also collapses; not every spouse will tolerate whims and hysterics at the slightest provocation.

Unfortunately, most often people attribute this behavior to the inability to control their emotions, lack of tact and education. Men like to explain such outbursts of their women as PMS. In reality, everything is much more serious. This pathology of the nervous system requires consultation with a specialized specialist and appropriate treatment.

Symptoms of the pathological condition

The main labile symptom is an instant change in mood regarding someone or something. At the same time, tears easily give way to incomprehensible laughter, and complacency turns into obvious aggression.

At the same time, emotional lability can be expressed in outbursts of affective genesis. People with such a pathology cannot be responsible for their actions, and the basic instinct of self-preservation is dulled. Because of what, such individuals are capable of rash actions.

Labile emotional deviation of an organic nature is mainly associated with the presence of a feeling of being moved against the background of a tearful state.

On the physiological side, in addition to the exacerbation of vegetative abnormalities, for people with emotional lability, a short-term (vasovagal) loss of consciousness may occur, which is present under the influence of emotional manifestations, in which the blood vessels instantly dilate, but there is a significant slowdown in the frequency of contractions of the heart muscle.

But the pathogenicity of emotional lability can manifest itself in weakness of an impulsive and borderline nature.

Labile impulsive weakness is characterized by negative manifestations.

Symptoms of this pathology are:

• Dysphoria (gloominess).
• Irritability.
• Touchiness.
• Vengefulness.
• Pathological stubbornness.

Due to the presence of such signs, it is difficult for a person to work or study in a team, and it is also problematic for him to create and maintain family relationships.

In addition, a person with an impulsive nature of labile pathology does not find life easy, which is why affective outbursts often occur. An aggressive state can be concentrated inside oneself, leading to self-destruction, or into the environment, resulting in antisocial behavior.

Borderline weakness is caused by impressionability, helplessness in difficult situations, fluctuations between interests, intense emotional behavior, emotional and physical exhaustion, loss of time in one work process and neglect of parental instructions in childhood.

Treatment

Treatment of emotional lability is complex and strictly individual. With a correct diagnosis and proper therapy, the symptoms of the disorder weaken and disappear completely over time.

Biofeedback therapy (biofeedback method)

For the treatment of organic emotionally labile asthenic disorder, the following medications are usually prescribed:

• adaptogens;
• antidepressants;
• vaso-vegetotropes;
• vitamin and mineral complexes;
• neuroleptics;
• nootropics;
• sedatives;
• tranquilizers;
• Cholinomimetics.

For the treatment of psycho-emotional lability, medications are prescribed less frequently. Antidepressants or sedatives may be prescribed. But most often, specialists use individual methods (they are also used in complex therapy).

Individual psychotherapy

Through conversations, hypnosis, and trainings, a person is taught to set priorities, control behavior, fight one’s own fears, enjoy life, and relax.

biofeedback therapy

The person is connected to a device that records indicators such as blood pressure, respiratory rate, heartbeat, etc. With emotional lability, they constantly jump. The specialist gives the patient instructions on how to bring them back to normal (with the help of breathing exercises, relaxation, affirmations). As soon as this happens, the computer reports that the indicators have changed. A certain “anchor” is created (smell, picture, music, touch) so that this psychologically comfortable situation is remembered. At the time of an outbreak of the disease, when this “anchor” is reproduced, a person is able to pull himself together and normalize his condition.

Methods of cognitive psychotherapy, art therapy, group and individual trainings are often used.

Drug therapy

The basis of drug treatment is the use of drugs to eliminate the physiological basis of the disease, which serves as a provocateur of deviations of emotional significance.

Based on the pathology present, the doctor may prescribe:

• Tranquilizers (anxiety and panic attacks).
• Antipsychotics in combination with herbal teas (sleep problems).
• Antidepressants (depression).

In a situation where it is not possible to get rid of the pathology, the patient is prescribed drugs that work as a stopper against the further development of the disease.

Psychotherapeutic correction

Such an edit serves as a diagnostic method that determines the presence of fears or the psychological factor of lability. This type of therapy ensures the elimination of difficulties by analyzing them, feelings of anxiety, and the process of resistance to stressful situations with deviations in self-perception.

In addition, work is underway to establish control over the patient’s own aggressive temperament. If there are problems of a social nature with communication traits, then training is often carried out.

It is important that not only medical workers perform their duties efficiently, but also the family of a person with weakness (emotional lability) must learn how to correctly respond to frequent mood swings.

Forecasts

In some cases, when the provoking factor is eliminated, emotionally labile disorders tend to gradually smooth out. For example, if the main cause was hormonal imbalance during pregnancy, after the woman returns to normal after the birth of the child, she no longer reacts so sharply to everything that happens around her and can control her behavior.

Psycho-emotional disorders also usually go away on their own when a person calms down and forgets the traumatic factor. Sometimes this is enough to take antidepressants and go to several consultations with a psychologist.

The most difficult group is patients suffering from an organic, emotionally labile disorder caused by physiological abnormalities. They require mandatory comprehensive treatment. If such a diagnosis is not promptly consulted with a doctor, the condition may worsen over time and develop into a serious mental illness of a chronic nature. Children with untreated syndrome may experience panic attacks as they grow older.

You need to understand that emotionally labile people cause a lot of inconvenience not only to those around them. First of all, they themselves feel uncomfortable due to the fact that they cannot restrain themselves at certain moments. They are not devoid of self-reflection, so they often reproach themselves for such behavior. They would like to change, but they cannot cope with disorders affecting the nervous system on their own. Therefore, they simply need the support of a specialized specialist and appropriate treatment.

Etiology

The exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown. Heredity plays an important role. There is also evidence of dysregulation of serotonin and norepinephrine metabolism.

Psychosocial factors may also be involved. Stressful life events may also play a role in the development of symptoms and subsequent relapses, although their precise role in pathogenesis is not fully understood.

Certain medications may trigger relapse in some patients with bipolar disorder; such drugs include

• Sympathomimetics (eg, cocaine, amphetamines)
• Alcohol
• Certain antidepressants (eg, tricyclics, MAOIs)

Types of psychotypes

Leonhard's accentuation considers cyclothymia as an extreme variant of the norm, not a disease. From the category of people with affective psychoses, 2 groups are distinguished:

A typical cyclothymic individual is a person who experiences periods of ups and downs in mood with the same frequency - 2-3 weeks. The first crisis occurs in adolescence. An active and active teenager suddenly ceases to be interested in what is happening around him, shuns his peers, and spends time alone.

He thinks about the meaning of life, he is not satisfied with the existing state of affairs, and a feeling of his own inferiority arises. Any criticism addressed to oneself is perceived very painfully and can become an impetus for attempting suicide. The very fact of the desire to die is not advertised; the action is performed under the influence of passion.

Depression gives way to emotional uplift; this can be influenced by a new acquaintance, a long-awaited letter, financial encouragement - that is, any pleasant event that becomes a trigger for the transition from the hypothymic to hyperthymic phase. A person is actively interested in current events, empathizes, jokes, and is the center of attention. He is sociable, cheerful, manages to do a lot of things in a day, returns to his old hobbies, and shows affection for people he likes. After 2-3 weeks, in a typical cyclothymic, the light bulb is turned off again, and the whole world becomes dull and gray for him.

In labile cycloids, ups and downs in mood occur at short intervals: each period lasts 2-3 days. These are active, inquisitive, cheerful, charming people who have an unstable character. They are easily upset or offended, they are sensitive to what is happening, react sensitively to changes in attitude towards themselves, and are sensitive to cardinal changes in life. They plunge into depression deeply, hopelessly, and attempts to get them out of this state lead nowhere: the cyclothymic person at this moment is convinced that life is over for him and there is nothing to be happy about.

2-3 days pass and close people note that the cycloid has a sparkle in his eyes, he plans some meetings, talks a lot on the phone, and makes grandiose plans for the future. A typical feature of labile cyclothymics is an overestimation of their own capabilities. They cannot really assess the current situation and at this time they often commit expansive, risky actions that threaten their health and life.