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.

Characteristics of species

Psychologists divide lability into two types:

1. Borderline. Characterized by apathy, indifference, detachment, frustration. A person expresses emotions weakly and inactively and withdraws into himself. Anxiety, absent-mindedness, and tearfulness are often observed.
2. Impulsive. It manifests itself as aggressiveness, anger, addiction to bad habits, bad mood, pickiness. Such people are characterized by suicidal tendencies. Without the help of specialists, a person is able to realize his plans. Moreover, an impulsive patient can harm others without realizing his actions. Hot temper, inability to control, unpredictability are the main character traits of the patient. A person is dangerous to others and himself.

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For the central nervous system, any type of lability is destructive. An unstable psyche has a negative impact on all areas of human life. Types of lability:

1. Nervous. It has a negative effect on physiology, health, and general well-being. Changes in blood pressure, impaired thermoregulation, rapid heartbeat, headache, weakness, and fainting are observed. The patient is unable to adequately respond to irritating factors and cope with depression. The slightest emotional distress leads to a significant deterioration in well-being and health problems. Difficulties are difficult to overcome, conflicts are perceived acutely.
2. Intellectual lability. This species is not a pathology. The term refers to a person's ability to quickly switch from one task to another without making mistakes. Such people are called resourceful and enterprising. They have well-developed creative thinking. They quickly adapt and adapt to new situations. The success of an individual depends on intellectual lability.

1. Emotional. Characterized by instability of the emotional background. Rapid changes in mood are impossible or very difficult to control. A minor reason causes strong laughter or tears. A person is dependent on his own mood and state of mind. In an instant he can stop doing something, let everything take its course. Lability affects sleep, perception of reality, metabolic processes and hormonal levels. Increased anxiety and instant mood swings make a person unbearable. Either there is an acute need for society, then you want to retire, hide from everyone. Periods of euphoria are replaced by deep depression and emotional devastation.

Emotional and nervous lability prevents a person from adequately perceiving the situation and reacting to it correctly. The condition can be temporary, when the nervous system is depleted under the influence of external factors, and permanent (with pathologies of the central nervous system, brain). A predisposition to lability is typical for adolescents and pregnant women.

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.

Causes

In a situation where such a concept as lability is understood in a psychological sense, it should be noted that this is the individuality of the nervous system of a particular person, innate in nature and characteristic of a person with a choleric temperament.

It’s common for him to “swing” with his mood. As a rule, even the slightest irritant can cause uncontrolled behavior . This factor may cause problems of physiological and mental origin in the future.

An emotional labile state, if we consider it as a disease that needs treatment, then it must be understood as a set of physiological and mental symptoms.

The reasons for the formation of such a state are considered to be both the somatic part of the body and the mental component.

Physiological reasons include:

• Oncological diseases of the brain.
• Vascular pathologies.
• Brain diseases.
• Traumatic brain injuries.
• Hypotension or hypertension.

An emotionally labile person is a patient with somatic abnormalities. This disease is detected through changes in the body that occur as a result of hormonal changes or due to age. Therefore, lability (weakness) is characteristic of people of the older generation.

In a situation where there is asthenic syndrome, which is directly connected with weakness, it can be defined both as a basis and as a consequence.

As a rule, asthenic syndrome (mental disorder) together with emotional instability often causes anxiety and depression.

The mental part of a negative state usually includes attention deficit, negative parenting and influence on the child. Often, a labile emotional state manifests itself against the background of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Psychotraumatic conditions often become auxiliary causes of lability at different ages.

Often, a person with suicidal tendencies or after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, as well as with neurotic deviations, can suffer from weakness.

As a rule, neuroses or psychological diseases accompanied by a deficit in the control of emotions are considered a sign or basis for a negative change in condition.

In addition, an important factor in the formation of emotional lability is the lack of vitamins and microelements in the human body.

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.

Concept and characteristics

In psychology, the term “mental lability” has a different meaning than in physiology.
This is no longer the number of electrical signals transmitted along nerve fibers, but the rate of occurrence of the mental process plus the speed of switching between them. In any case, attention is paid not only to the level of lability at any particular moment, but also to differences in this level in different situations

In general, in science lability is understood as:

• mobility or mobility (in a normal situation);
• instability (with pathological manifestations);
• variability (dynamics of certain processes).

Since all biological processes in the body are controlled by the nervous system, ultimately general lability is associated with it. This applies to heart rate, number of breaths, and body temperature. There is no question of mood. Therefore, there is a direct connection between the severity of variability and the risk of pathologies. Many psychological and mental disorders can be corrected with due attention to the state of the autonomic nervous system. It shows the tension of a stressful environment much earlier than the brain. The activity of the main organs and systems is activated, and the use of internal reserves begins. Only if a tense situation continues for a long time does the central nervous system become involved.

It is often written that mental lability is definitely a negative thing. This is not so, because this human property allows you to adapt to a changing environment and switch. The lack of possibility of mental mobilization, the unwillingness to reconfigure one’s behavior sometimes causes no less harm than instability. In a normal psyche, both moments must be present, which appear only where they are appropriate. Difficulties and problems are associated with an excessive degree of both conditions. Typically, increased lability means that a person has a specific type of temperament. Cholerics are distinguished by an increased speed of emotional reaction specified at the physiological level.

Quite often, mood instability is associated with:

• neurotic conditions;
• mental trauma in childhood;
• a previous traumatic situation of similar content;
• a person’s unpreparedness for certain social changes and violent upheavals in society.

It is important to understand that lability can also be provoked by purely physiological factors:

• organic brain disorder due to trauma;
• poisoning with psychoactive and narcotic substances;
• malignant neoplasms;
• vascular pathologies.

Therefore, determining the actual causes of abnormal lability is very important. First of all, you will have to check and, if possible, exclude physiological factors

Severe pathological conditions often have to be treated in inpatient facilities. Organic personality disorder (the so-called asthenic syndrome) is accompanied by various negative manifestations, including rapid fatigue, increased sensitivity, decreased activity and dizziness. In any case, both pathological and “conditionally normal” rapid changes in mood have common features (signs).

In case of acute and unreasonably strong manifestations of emotions, even in children and adolescents, it is necessary to seek the help of professionals. Don't think that everything will go away on its own. Even if the problem is not in pathologies (mentioned above or some others), one can be wary of the formation of a labile personality type. People who relate to him are well recognized: their mood changes due to seemingly insignificant factors. Thus, when caught in the rain, unable to get on the bus, or breaking a cup, such individuals fall into deep despondency or take out their irritation on others.

Psychotherapists and other specialists know for sure: during a basic test, people with a labile personality can change their mood inconsistently in just a minute. This entails:

• increased temper;
• impressive conflict potential;
• weakness of self-control;
• tendency to hysterical attacks.

The classification of character deviations developed by Lichko applies primarily to children. They are characterized as emotionally unstable and unpredictable in their behavior. It is enough for someone to “look at them the wrong way” for aggression or a deep decline in self-confidence to occur. On the other hand, seemingly insignificant praise can easily be used to manipulate such children. Both of these extremes must be reversed before they have time to cause negative consequences.

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.

Symptoms of pathology

Emotional lability: what is it in adults? Pathology is accompanied by symptoms that can be used to determine the presence of problems. The very definition of the term suggests that the symptoms express emotional instability. This manifests itself in an inadequate reaction to familiar events.

Most often, people with the syndrome react sensitively to touching films and books, emotional conversations, small children and animals. They often cry, but they themselves cannot explain why. Yes, kittens and puppies are cute, but not to the point of tears.

Aggression and self-aggression also take place. In most cases, they flare up sharply and subside just as abruptly. This symptom is considered a defensive reaction when people try to hide their problems. An unobtrusive question about your well-being or mood can lead to inappropriate shouting and attempts to avoid answering.

Frequent mood swings are a clear symptom. A person can enthusiastically play a game for 20 minutes, and a minute later decide that it is all nonsense and a waste of time. He may study the cinema's repertoire with interest and plan to attend a show, and later give up and burst into tears.

The next symptom is expressed in passion for the task. For example, a constant search for a new hobby and a rapid loss of interest indicate emotional lability. Immersion in the study of the history of Ancient China, a quick change of this hobby to cross-stitching, and then to football - all these are symptoms of pathology. Let us highlight the main symptoms of emotional lability syndrome:

• frequent mood changes;
• immoderate passion;
• aggression;
• auto-aggression;
• increased tearfulness.

All these symptoms are characteristic of each individual at different periods of life. If you notice them, there is no need to immediately sound the alarm. It is worth thinking about help when they are expressed quite clearly and are repeated regularly.

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.

Emotional lability in children

Capricious children are the result of poor upbringing; this point of view is accepted in society. But this is only partly true, since there has been a correlation between the development of neurasthenia syndrome in a child and lack of attention. Emotional lability in children leads to nervous exhaustion, which further intensifies the mental reaction. Demanding increased attention, the child makes “scenes.” Moreover, not only strict upbringing causes protest, which increases emotional instability, but also indulgence in whims leads to a similar result.

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.

Emotional lability as a symptom of emotional disorder

Today, not all emotional disorders arise due to the presence of a mental illness. Many of them are cured thanks to competent psychotherapeutic influence. I talk about how to work correctly with an unstable emotional state in my online training. The training will be useful not only for those who suffer from emotional instability. I also recommend that young professionals who work in the helping professions take it. I am sure that with the help of the techniques contained in the training, specialists will be able to expand their tools for helping other people.

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.

Behavior adjustment

Treatment in each case is selected individually. Methods and methods of therapy depend on the severity of the clinical picture and the cause of the pathological process. Conventionally, treatment is divided into medicinal and specific. In some cases it is possible to do without pills, but not without non-drug therapy.

Drug treatment

Includes taking sedatives and antidepressants. Sedative medications reduce brain activity and normalize the activity of the central nervous system. Antidepressants normalize the emotional background and increase performance. For physiological disorders, nootropic drugs are prescribed. These include Phezam, Piracetam, Aminolog, Gidazepam.

Valerian, motherwort, glod, Glycine or Glycised are prescribed as a sedative. Drug treatment with tranquilizers and antidepressants is carried out under the supervision of specialists. Medicines are selected individually.

Non-drug therapy

First of all, the provoking factors are eliminated. Sometimes it is enough to normalize your sleep and rest patterns and spend more time outdoors. It is recommended to do breathing exercises, meditate, exercise, and eat right. You must go to bed no later than 10 pm. The central nervous system rests and recovers during sleep. Sleeping between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. is especially beneficial. To get positive emotions, they communicate with pleasant people, watch comedy films, listen to music, and go swimming.

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Individual consultation with a psychologist

In our country, it is not customary to address your problems to a psychologist and pay money for someone to listen to you. A psychologist can be a loved one who sees the situation and knows why negative changes occur. If there is no such person, then you still need to go to a psychologist. The specialist determines the cause of the nervous condition and suggests how to get rid of it. Specific treatment methods include individual psychotherapy, group therapy, and counseling.

biofeedback therapy

The method of rehabilitation treatment stands for biofeedback. It is based on the development of self-control skills in patients to improve their condition. Treatment consists of special training and the use of equipment.

During the session, devices and a computer record changes in the functioning of body systems and transmit the image to the monitor. Information is displayed in the form of visual and audio signals. The patient hears how the body functions and reacts to various stimuli. A person learns to control his work, thereby gaining self-control skills in everyday life.

In 15 sessions, patients master the skills of nervous and muscle relaxation, learn to optimize the functioning of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and suppress painful manifestations on their own. The method has a number of contraindications and is not suitable for everyone. Among the contraindications:

• epilepsy;
• obesity;
• impairment of intelligence, memory;
• somatic and endocrine diseases;
• psychopathy;
• children under 5 years of age.

The duration of therapy is determined by the doctor.

Diagnostics

The approach to making a diagnosis against the background of negative manifestations of lability is different for children and adults. Until the age of 10, the pathology is almost invisible. Even experienced specialists have difficulty identifying suspicious conditions.

Internal infections also affect the psyche of children. The diseases are mild, chronic in nature, attacks take a long time to pass and return after a short period of time. They may not be the main cause of mental disorders, but they make the condition worse.

In adolescents, lability is more pronounced. But the difficulty of diagnosis lies in the fact that emotional instability is generated by a hormonal surge and is present in every second child aged 12-17 years.

To diagnose a teenager, psychiatrists carefully interview parents, teachers, and friends. The first sign of pathology is frequent mood changes for no apparent reason.

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In adolescents, lability is manifested by a reluctance to adapt to others, awareness of emotional instability, and the ability to understand what people think about you. There is no desire for leadership.

Sometimes there is hysterical accentuation, when the child shows egocentrism, but knows how to empathize with others and becomes attached. The demonstrativeness of actions decreases.

In adults, pathological lability is diagnosed based on physiological signs based on information about accompanying circumstances:

• changes in hormonal levels;
• severe stress, turmoil in childhood;
• regular life failures;
• diseases of internal organs;
• avitaminosis;
• lack or excess of microelements.

Human behavior is also assessed. Socialization is difficult due to lack of self-control. There are frequent outbursts of anger and authoritarianism in the family. And although these manifestations smooth out with age, they often prevent a person from building a career and improving his personal life.

How does a labile character manifest itself?

The most characteristic features of this personality type are unpredictable reactions and frequent mood swings. As a rule, the mentioned features do not lend themselves to any logic. There is a psychological problem here, when a person is to a certain extent unable to control his emotions and actions.

In adolescence, the manifestations described above very often occur, which can be easily explained by the peculiarities of the maturation processes. However, even at this age there is a limit. If a teenager is too susceptible to frequent mood swings or his reactions are completely unpredictable, going beyond logic and morality, we can already talk about the initial stage of the formation of character lability.

Harbingers of the formation of a labile personality type are inadequate reactions, as well as changes in mood due to unimportant factors. For example, a torn button or sudden rain can lead a person into a state of severe depression, which is accompanied by aggressive attacks or pronounced melancholy.

The “gloomy” state can abruptly give way to bouts of fun with uncontrollable laughter due to a randomly remembered joke or anecdote. All these signs eloquently indicate the presence of psychological problems. In practice, psychologists often meet with people who have a labile character. During conversations, specialists, as a rule, observe several inconsistent and spectrally opposite changes in mood and behavioral tactics.

Characteristic features of accentuation

Negative manifestations of lability include:

• sudden mood swings
• tendency to show aggression, pugnacity
• attacks of hysteria, which may be accompanied by uncontrollable laughter or crying
• decreased self-control
• conflict
• excessive temper

The behavior of a person with a labile character, the quality of his sleep, performance, concentration, appetite - all this directly depends on what mood he is in at a particular moment.

Despite the fact that a labile person has many negative qualities, he is also distinguished by such character traits as sincerity and good nature

For example, when a person chooses friends for himself, he is guided by how well and correctly the friend can react to his private mood swings. A person with a labile character is very strongly attached psychologically to his friends. He perceives gratitude and flattery from others positively, but without showing selfishness and narcissism.

Causes of emotional instability

The instability of emotions cannot be attributed to diseases. It is a deviation of a personal nature, revealed in a frantic emotional outburst. A person suffering from the type of disorder described is characterized by mood swings, irritability, impatience, and, in some situations, aggressiveness. They acutely perceive the slightest criticism from those around them; it is difficult for them to perceive other people's opinions.

To this day, it is quite difficult to determine the true factor responsible for the emergence of emotional instability. However, today we can identify several reasons that directly provoke the onset of the analyzed deviation, namely:

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– psychological trauma;

– hypo- or hyperprotection of relatives;

– constant exposure to stressors;

– persistent overstrain of an emotional nature;

– chronic fatigue due to lack of sleep, malnutrition, improper routine;

– psychasthenia;

– deficiency of nutrients in the body;

– hormonal disruptions or changes;

– mental disorders: depressive states, neuroses, bipolar disorder, manic disorder;

– influence of character accentuations;

– side effects of certain medications;

– congenital defects of the nervous system.

Also, emotional instability in women can often occur at a certain stage of the menstrual cycle or be a consequence of the approach of menopause. This condition is transient and can be treated with specialized pharmacopoeial drugs aimed at normalizing the ratio of hormones.

In addition, emotional instability may be a consequence of the presence of the following somatic disorders, such as: vascular diseases, hypotension, hypertension, brain tumors, diabetes mellitus, brain injuries. Here, instability of emotions should be considered as a symptom of an underlying illness.

It is also possible to identify factors that aggravate psycho-emotional lability. Emotional instability is enhanced by lack of sleep, malnutrition or poor quality nutrition, stress, lack of rest, deterioration of well-being, psycho-emotional shocks, being in uncomfortable conditions, a turbulent environment, forced interaction with individuals who cause antipathy.

Rationale for character trait research

Why it is necessary to study the types of accentuation of differences between individuals has two objectives. Firstly, this is a research goal - to identify as many groups as possible and develop specific advice for representatives of each of them. The more classes are identified, the more effective psychological recommendations for their representatives will be.

Secondly, it is necessary to know the types so that the person himself understands the characteristics and reasons for his behavior and can, in accordance with this, correct it.

Often in this regard, everyday psychology is completely insufficient. For example, there is a common belief that fat people are kind. Conversely, a thin person is sometimes perceived as anxious and wary. Of course, such a breakdown into categories may be partly correct. Even Hippocrates did not avoid such an error in classification, although already in the medical field: once upon a time, an ancient doctor directly linked the tendency to apoplexy with obesity.

Soviet psychologist A. E. Lichko, like the German psychiatrist K. Leongard, used the concept of “accentuation” in their research. When applied to a specific property, this term means that it is highlighted more clearly than others, as if emphasized. In other words, accentuation is the expression of a certain character trait. For a person with this or that quality, certain social situations will be very painful, while others will be easily tolerated. This article will discuss the types of accentuation according to Lichko and Leonhard.

The psychology of differences is not a strict discipline. Types of accentuation are always descriptive in nature and are practically never found in their pure form. Each person can find himself in two or more types.

It should also be noted that assigning oneself to a certain category should not be aimless. When playing psychological tests, you need to ask yourself the question: “Why am I doing this?” If a person understands that he belongs to one group or another, he needs to develop for himself an appropriate compensation and self-help strategy. To do this, you need to study the advice given by psychologists for representatives of different classes and apply them to life.

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