Litigation: how it manifests itself and how it is treated

Only own interests

If we consider querulantism as a syndrome of litigiousness, then people suffering from this illness tend to defend exclusively their own rights and freedoms, and not society as a whole. They do not listen to the opinions of others and fight their imaginary enemies alone.

Litigators are very persistent in their aspirations; they have been engaged in litigation for many years. As a rule, the decision made by the court does not bring them satisfaction, and the proceedings continue. Their own imaginary inferiority gives querulyants hidden pleasure; they love to be pitied.

Development hypotheses

People aged 40 to 70 years are most susceptible to developing litigious delusions. The main reason can be called psychogenic factors affecting the psyche. This is a small pension, a financial crisis that is acutely experienced in the country, unemployment, and infringement of human rights. All these factors can lead to the development of Querulant syndrome.

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At the moment, there are two hypotheses of its origin:

genetic;
mental disorder.

The genetic hypothesis considers the origin of litigious conditions due to congenital predisposition. The trigger can be any of the listed psychogenic factors (loss of job, inability to live on a small salary, etc.).

The second hypothesis considers querulants as a group of mentally ill people and psychopathic individuals. Psychopathy with a tendency to querulantism is characterized by the presence of the following characteristics:

delusional ideas involve not only what is directly related to judicial or other proceedings, but also various factors even remotely related to this;
there are no hallucinations, but a state of false memories arises, on which the ideas of litigious delusions are based;
the spheres of intellect and emotions do not immediately undergo major changes, aggravation occurs as the disorder develops and depends on the frequency and duration of periods of exacerbation;
behavior is formally correct, but within the framework of the syndrome it is inappropriate and sometimes overly aggressive.

Querulantism as a sign of schizophrenia is already considered when a person with a querulant mental disorder begins to organize mass riots, which leads to a large number of victims. Wanting to attract the attention of society, authoritative people and institutions, people commit socially dangerous acts that lead to disastrous results.

Admitting such a litigious patient with schizophrenic tendencies to a psychiatric hospital may be necessary. This step usually causes an adverse reaction from the patient, causing an affective reaction. Treatment is long-term and does not always guarantee a favorable outcome.

At the moment, psychiatrists do not generalize the concepts of schizophrenia and queralism. Schizophrenia is considered as a secondary psychogenic disease in people with a predisposition to litigious-querulant tendencies.

Reasons for litigious activity

Litigation disorder most often develops after 40 years of age. The trigger can be some event that is unfair from the patient’s point of view: dismissal, a fine issued, an increase in utility tariffs, etc. However, the true reason is always internal.

This may be a genetic predisposition to litigiousness, hereditary psychopathic personality traits, or some kind of psychopathology. As an independent syndrome, litigious delirium manifests itself on the basis of heredity under the influence of psychogenic factors. Often, litigiousness acts as a symptom of a mental disorder or organic brain damage. The cause may be cerebral atherosclerosis, paranoid schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, supranuclear palsy and other diseases.

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The personality traits of querulyants include toughness, hot temper, and fanaticism. Often, litigious activity develops against the background of paranoid psychopathy with a tendency to litigiousness, as well as in lonely latent homosexuals.

Diagnostic methods

The possibility of diagnosing queruulence depends on the form of manifestation of the disease. There are two such forms:

Litigation as a symptom complex as part of the main psychiatric syndrome. In this case, diagnosis is not particularly difficult, since the patient is already under the supervision of a psychotherapist. When conducting psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, a qualified specialist can easily detect signs of the syndrome.
Suicidal syndrome as an independent isolated disease. In this case, diagnosis is difficult, and people can live with this diagnosis without knowing about it for a large amount of time. For those around them, the troubles simply seem strange, and no one thinks about the psychiatric reason.

It is very important to recognize the signs of querulantism in a person in time, since his behavior without proper treatment can be dangerous for the people around him and for himself.

Litigation (queralism) - can act as a separate disease (chronic litigious delusion, querulatory form of paranoia) or be part of a complex of symptoms of various mental disorders.

Often observed in the clinic of schizophrenia and various psychoses, epilepsy.

People with litigious behavior constantly defend their rights, including through the courts, are absolutely confident in their infallibility and believe that they cannot trust anyone.

Often, some idea that is very important in a person’s life acquires an extremely valuable meaning, this idea is then transformed into nonsense. This is how litigiousness develops as a separate disease.

Litigative syndrome is diagnosed depending on the form of manifestation. If its manifestations are in the symptoms of the underlying disease, then there will be no serious problems with making a diagnosis. If litigiousness acts as a separate syndrome, then the situation becomes more complicated. Moreover, not all patients see a doctor.

During treatment, again, doctors will monitor the general condition of the patient and may prescribe drug therapy to relieve symptoms - reducing anxiety, fears, regulating sleep and wakefulness, etc. They may use psychotherapy. Its effectiveness will depend on the degree to which the patient remains critical of himself and his actions.

Sometimes, over time, querulantism can “subside”, and its manifestations can significantly decrease; cases of long-term remission are not uncommon (if we are talking about an isolated syndrome). And the tendency to litigiousness manifests itself in both men and women, to approximately the same extent. Sometimes, with a successful outcome of the trial, for example, the symptoms are significantly smoothed out.

Litigation arises for various reasons, but a single mechanism of occurrence for different manifestations and forms has not been identified at the moment. Can a litigious personality be formed under the influence of external circumstances or is it a genetic predisposition to the syndrome? This is unknown for now. Among the clinical features of litigiousness one can highlight the absence of hallucinations. The emotional-volitional sphere is disturbed, but without sharp pathological manifestations.

Querulantism often manifests itself in old age or adulthood. The course of the disease, the activity of development, and the likelihood of recovery depend on many factors. The forms of manifestation of litigious syndrome can be different - from the mildest, almost imperceptible, to severe, with high activity and severe delirium, when it becomes necessary to place the patient in a hospital.

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The need for hospitalization

In some cases, it is urgently necessary to place the litigant in a psychiatric clinic. This leads to a negative reaction from the patient, causing in some cases a state of passion. Therapy is usually long-term and does not guarantee a complete cure.

Querulants are often quick-tempered and suspicious, selfish and prefer not to pay attention to the interests of others. Their behavior is demonstrative and aggressive, and quite often it is only veiled under the assertion of their rights. The complaints of such people usually have a threatening overtone (this could be a threat of dismissal, payment of compensation for moral damage, or even physical harm). Most often, threats are exclusively verbal, but there have also been cases of illegal acts.

Treatment of litigious syndrome

As a medical treatment, people with litigious syndrome are prescribed antipsychotics and tranquilizers.

The following methods can be used for psychotherapy of this syndrome:

psychoanalysis;
cognitive behavioral psychotherapy;
psychodynamic approach.

The psychoanalytic approach to the treatment of this phenomenon requires from the psychotherapist not only high professional qualities, but also patience. Litigative personalities have a high level of negativism, which they skillfully project onto the people around them. Querulants often accuse psychotherapists of incompetence, especially when the session begins the stage of psychoanalytic theory and the search for the underlying causes of the disorder.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for querulants is based on the elimination of conflicts, which are the basis of their activities. The psychotherapist helps to understand the cause of the syndrome, explains the imaginary infringement of the rights and interests of the individual, and eliminates obsessive thoughts.

The severe syndrome usually lasts for several years, after which remission may occur. The outbreak of new litigiousness directly depends on the action of psychosocial traumatic factors. Treatment of litigious syndrome does not always have a favorable outcome; many patients experience even greater delirium and querulant behavior. Therapy for such people remains a rather difficult problem today.

(from Latin querulus - complaining), or litigators, represent a clinically and constitutionally heterogeneous group of mentally ill and psychopathic individuals, united by the presence of the so-called. litigious syndrome. The latter is characterized, on the one hand, by the idea of legal damage, legal injustice, and on the other, by the desire to fight against the injustice suffered and at all costs to achieve the restoration of one’s rights. The starting point of K.’s litigious behavior is often some real fact (a penalty, a court decision not in favor of the subject, etc.), which is interpreted by him as excessive and obvious injustice, obliging him to protest. A long, persistent, ever-increasing struggle begins through complaints, protests, initiation of new cases, appeals to higher authorities, etc. Failures and refusals not only do not stop him, but even more convince him of the biased attitude of others towards him. This gives rise to new protests, offensive attacks against the court, and accusations of judges of illegal actions. An inability to correctly understand one's own and others' rights, an extreme overestimation of one's own interests with astonishing indifference to the interests and rights of others, an amazing gullibility towards everything that can be interpreted in one way or another in favor of the patient is increasingly revealed. Ideas associated with a court case acquire a dominant meaning, occupy a central place in the psyche, acquiring the character of extremely valuable ideas. In more severe cases, it comes to the development of delusional ideas, a persistent delusional system with the nature of delusions of persecution. A typical picture of the so-called is developing. "litigious delirium." Delusional ideas are usually limited to the range of ideas associated with judicial experiences and tend to involve in the sphere of delusional interpretation everything that is even remotely related to the judicial case. There are no hallucinations, but false memories, which are one of the sources of delusional ideas, are not uncommon. The intellectual and emotional spheres are not sharply upset. The behavior is also formally correct, but within the limits of litigious actions it is inappropriate, often senselessly aggressive, when the victim, wanting to draw the attention of society or authoritative institutions and individuals to his business, often resorts to violent and socially dangerous actions. The described syndrome can, in specific cases, vary significantly in degree, nature and course: from mild cases with mild querulation, low activity and short duration, to severe forms with persistent delirium, high activity and protracted course (litigious delirium in the narrow sense of the word). Pat. litigiousness and litigious delusions appear most often in adulthood and old age, but depending on the soil and circumstances, they can arise earlier. They always develop on the basis of a stalemate. constitution. Pat. K.'s character does not represent anything definite and specific, but they often exhibit self-confidence, conceit, selfishness, stubbornness, hypomania, and hysterical traits. The course of illness largely depends on external conditions: even in severe and protracted cases, favorable judicial conditions (elimination of reasons for conflict, termination of the case, acquittal, etc.) can have a beneficial effect, including recovery. Placement in a mental hospital b-tse, especially long-term, usually acts unfavorably, fixing litigious ideas and feeding an affective reaction, although in some cases it may turn out to be necessary. Equally, the difficult constitutional basis, the complexity and long-term unresolved legal conflict, age-related changes - all this can adversely affect the course and outcome of the disease. The doctrine of litigiousness and litigious delirium is far from being considered complete. Its modern concept represents, to a certain extent, a compromise between two main trends that have been fighting each other over the past 40 years. The first direction, coming from Schüle, saw the center of gravity in the innate predisposition to litigiousness, based on the special properties of the individual. The second, coming from Hitzig, emanating from ch. arr. from the study of severe, hospital cases and for a long time decisively prevailed, considered litigious delirium as a subtype of hron. paranoia (“litigious paranoia”), and cases of querulation that were milder and with a favorable outcome were classified as “pseudo-queruulants.” However, the development of community psychiatry and the related study of borderline cases, psychopathy and reactive states, acquaintance with cases of queralization in prisons and among those seeking pensions, the clear connection of the onset of b-ni with a real wounding experience and the obvious dependence of the course of b-ni on external conditions prompted Crepe- Lin (Kraepelin), and behind him the majority of psychiatrists, distinguish litigiousness and litigious delusions from paranoia and consider them as a form of reaction, as a psychogenic disease that develops in connection with external circumstances on the basis of a painful predisposition. Only a few authors (Bleuler, Bumke) continue to classify litigious delusions as paranoia. - Along with the described litigious syndrome (resp. litigious delusions), which Raecke proposed to call “genuine,” there are states of litigiousness observed in various mental illnesses: schizophrenia, paraphrenia, progressive paralysis, epilepsy, arteriosclerosis, traumatic neurosis, and especially often with manic-depressive psychosis, which gave Specht reason to consider litigious delirium in all cases a manifestation of this psychosis. Oto so-called symptomatic litigiousness, which develops episodically against the background of other disease processes, must be strictly distinguished from independent, or “genuine”. Litigation and litigious delirium in judicial medicine. relation are of great importance, because timely recognition and implementation of appropriate social measures. protection is important in the interests of the patient himself, the court and society. H itzig Cher den Querulantanwahn-sinn, Lpz., 1895; Kahn E., Die psychopathisehen Persfinlichkeiten (Hndb. d. Geisteskrankheiten, hrsg. Yon 0. Bumke, Band V, T. 1, p. 445, Berlin, 1928); K g a ep e 1 in E., Psychiatrie, B. IV, T. 3, p. 1533, Lpz., 1915; Raecke J., Der Querulantenwahn, Wiesbaden, 1926; Schiile A., Klinische Psychiatrie, Leipzig, 1886.I. Vvedensky.

Consequences of mental deviation

Querulant personality disorder is a very complex psychopathological process, the treatment of which is still a big question.
It is known that even with correct and timely treatment for this disease, some only experience a worsening of their condition and their symptoms return each time with renewed vigor. The consequences of such a behavioral syndrome can be very serious and terrible actions that litigators carry out to attract attention to their imaginary problems. Paranoid litigious people are prone to display aggression and cruelty in the process of defending their rights.

To ensure that the consequences do not turn out to be disastrous for the patient himself and those around him, constant supervision by a psychotherapist is necessary. In most cases, the patient must be admitted to a psychiatric clinic.

Litigation is a person’s tendency to constantly argue, litigate, and defend their interests at any cost, even by “going over their heads.” This syndrome is also called queruulantism; this definition comes from the Latin meaning of the word - to complain.

People prone to litigiousness constantly complain to others that their rights are being grossly violated, there are only deceivers around who dream of trampling on their interests, and there is no justice in the world. Querulants are ready to spend days and nights in search of justice; they go to courts as if it were work, and they derive enormous pleasure from the process of finding the culprits of all their troubles. Often, querulants have character traits such as cruelty, aggression, perseverance, and sometimes treachery. To achieve their goal, such people completely abandon moral principles, forgetting about the concepts of conscience, nobility, and kindness. In search of protection for their violated rights and freedoms, litigators are even in the store, in the hospital, at work, trying to prove that they are right.

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Having understood what litigiousness is, you need to understand for what reasons the syndrome occurs

Scientists have been studying litigious-querulant tendencies since the 19th century, paying close attention to this issue. Psychiatrists were of the opinion that this condition was borderline between fanaticism in psychopathic manifestations and delusion

Psychiatrists still describe this condition, adhering to this opinion. This is how querulantism syndrome begins. A person susceptible to litigious syndrome is obsessed with the idea of legal damage and legal injustice that was allegedly committed against him. It all can start with a very real fact, for example, with a court decision made not in favor of the subject or a fine. The Querulant perceives this as an action against his rights, reacting in the form of a violent protest.

Then endless bureaucratic red tape begins with a bunch of complaints to higher authorities, appeals, and the initiation of new cases. Refusals to consider cases and failures are considered by the litigant as a biased attitude towards him, which causes more and more outbursts of anger. A person loses the ability to soberly separate the boundaries between his own and others’ rights; the goal of proving one’s rightness, regardless of the interests of others, comes to the fore.

Ideas related to success in a legal case become dominant and invaluable. This is how the full picture of the syndrome called litigious delirium develops.

Key symptoms

Diagnosing psychopathology with litigious delusions is not always easy. Such a disorder can occur for a short time in a mild form with mild symptoms without aggression, or it can drag on for decades and occur in a severe form with clearly expressed overvalued delusional ideas. Remission usually lasts for years, but when new conflict situations arise, the disorder worsens.

The most common symptoms of litigiousness are:

the patient’s deep confidence in his importance, significance and special position in society;
the presence of overvalued ideas, hypomania or persecution mania, paranoid activity, demonstrative (often with aggression) behavior;
an uncritical attitude towards one’s painful condition, deep confidence in one’s own rightness;
exaggeration, inflating the problem, negativism, tendency to suspiciousness, self-centeredness, indifference to the rights of others;
obsessive thoughts regarding infringed interests and rights, delusions, emotional instability, resentment;
eternal dissatisfaction with the social and political situation, the attitude of superiors, work in general, health care and other authorities.

The concept and signs of querulantism

Querulant reactions were studied back in the 19th century and special attention was paid to these conditions. The German psychiatrist, K. T. Jaspers, believed that this condition occupies a borderline position between delusion and psychopathic fanaticism and classified queralism as a “psychosis of passion.” Persistent complaint syndrome has another name – litigious disorder.

Currently, litigious syndrome has practically disappeared from psychiatry; scientists are reluctant to study this problem, since the defense of human rights, imposed by Western society, has become commonplace within the framework of both the norm and pathology. Thus, diagnosing and treating litigious disorder is a rather complex and time-consuming task.

Both men and women are equally susceptible to litigious syndrome. The period of development of litigious reactions occurs between the ages of 40 and 70; discontent reaches its peak during socio-political crises. Psychogenic factors, such as a small pension, infringement of rights, unemployment, are a trigger for the development of litigious syndrome.

There are two hypotheses for the development of litigious reactions:

genetic;
symptom of mental disorders.

The first hypothesis considers litigious activity as an innate predisposition that is activated under the negative influence of psychogenic factors. A special place in this scientific view is given to character accentuations, for example, the risk of developing litigious syndrome increases in stuck individuals (according to A.E. Lichko).

Litigious behavior can be a symptom of mental illness, such as schizophrenia or paranoid disorder. Psychopathologies with litigious delusions are quite complex modifications that are accompanied by outbursts of aggression. There are known cases where people with querulant mental disorders have committed mass riots and murders.

Among the main symptoms of litigious syndrome are:

increased sensitivity, emotionality;
constant dissatisfaction with the political situation, health care system, work, etc.;
litigious delirium;
persecution mania;
paranoia;
obsessive thoughts about infringement of one's rights;
hypomania;
aggressive behavior;
egocentrism;
indifference to the rights of other people;
negativism;
exaggeration of problems, suspiciousness;
demonstrative behavior;
super valuable ideas;
lack of awareness of one's illness;
confidence in one's own importance.

Litigators are quite hot-tempered, suspicious, selfish and indifferent to the interests and rights of other people. The behavior of querulants is demonstrative, often aggressive, veiled as a defense of personal rights. According to numerous studies, the complaints of litigious people have direct or indirect threatening overtones. Persistent querents usually threaten with dismissal, payment of financial compensation, or physical harm. Most of the complaints are made only in words, but there have been situations when querulants, obsessed with the infringement of their rights, committed illegal acts.

A distinctive feature of querulants is their advocacy of personal rights, rather than general social ones. Such people fight with their own imaginary enemies; they are of little interest to other people’s opinions. Highly valuable ideas are the driving force for quelerants; their life position is based on self-affirmation and a statement of their importance.

Querulants are distinguished by their persistence; they can participate in legal proceedings for years just to win a case. In most cases, the judicial conclusion does not satisfy the querulers, since they see in everything a hidden negative connotation in relation to their person. Such people get hidden pleasure from the feeling of their own inferiority; they love to be pitied. Failures in legal proceedings further spur querulists, giving them a new charge of energy and encouraging them to be even more active. There is a known case when a US resident filed nearly three thousand lawsuits with various complaints over the course of seven years, for which he was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Almost all litigious individuals lack self-criticism in relation to their mental health.

How to deal with this?

Diagnosis and treatment of litigious syndrome is a complex and time-consuming task. The main problem is that the patient does not recognize his illness, and perceives attempts to prescribe a psychiatric examination and treatment as an infringement of his rights, which often only aggravates the patient’s condition. In dealing with such patients, it is important to show kindness and tolerance. If the cause of litigious activity is brain damage or mental illness, then it is the primary disease that should be treated.

It is working with a psychotherapist that helps the patient realize his painful condition and inappropriate behavior. A psychotherapist or practicing psychologist is able to identify deep, often unconscious, causes of the disorder. When treating litigious syndrome, it is important to understand that any social traumatic events can lead to new acute episodes.

Treatment

Querulence in psychiatry is considered a fairly common illness. In the treatment of litigious syndrome, two approaches are used:

Drug treatment, including the use of antipsychotics and tranquilizers.
Psychotherapy, including psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy and psychodynamic approach.

What can play a positive role?

Only patience and highly qualified specialists can play a positive role in the treatment of queralism using the psychoanalytic method. Litigative individuals skillfully spread their negativism to others. They often accuse the psychotherapist of incompetence, especially during theoretical analysis and search for the causes of the disease.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is aimed at eliminating conflict situations. The specialist helps the querent understand the underlying cause of the pathology, remove obsessions, and explain suspiciousness about the infringement of interests and rights.

Litigation. How to build a relationship with a querulant?

Do you know people who constantly complain about unfair treatment and try with all their might to defend their rights, running through the courts and other legal authorities? The actions of such people sometimes reach the point of absurdity, and the efforts spent on the fight for justice are not comparable to the size of the real problem.

What to do if a person with such problems appears in your life? If litigious activity has developed in a family member, try to consult with a psychotherapist as soon as possible and begin treatment. It is better not to argue with the patient, not to dissuade him that his rights are being infringed. Additional stress and family conflicts can only make the situation worse.

Try to engage the patient in some new interesting activity. The main thing is to strictly follow the instructions of your doctor.

If your neighbor is a litigator, if he constantly writes complaints about you, swears and threatens, then the best solution for you is to simply move. Such a person is capable of poisoning the life of anyone, and suing a litigant will not help resolve the conflict, but will only provoke him. If moving is out of the question, try talking to your neighbor's psychiatrist, he will tell you which course of action is best to choose.

Treatment

Therapy for patients with vexatious delirium syndrome includes two main points:

Drug therapy. Provides for the prescription of tranquilizers and antipsychotics.
Psychotherapy. It involves methods of psychoanalysis, psychodynamic approach, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy.

The psychotherapeutic method of treatment requires that the doctor not only have high professional qualifications, but also maximum patience, because litigious people can actively project their aggression and negativism onto the people around them. This is especially true at the moment when the doctor begins to find out the cause of the syndrome using psychoanalytic theory.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is designed to understand the cause of the syndrome and explain to a patient who is not aware of his illness that he is experiencing an imaginary infringement of his rights. It also helps eliminate obsessive thoughts that cause litigious delusions.

Treatment of litigious syndrome is lengthy and does not always provide for recovery. Querulant can be in a stable state of remission for many years, and then return to the initial signs of the syndrome under the influence of provoking psychogenic factors.

Of course, only an experienced psychotherapist should work with such patients. Treatment at home can be not only ineffective, but also dangerous.

Litigation syndrome

or
querulitism
(from the Latin querulus - complaining) is an irresistible desire for
litigious
activity, characterized by the struggle against “injustice” and for the restoration of one’s rights and infringed interests.

Litigators (querelants)

are a clinically heterogeneous group of mental patients and psychopathic individuals.
Over several decades of studying patients suffering from litigious behavior
, two scientific views on this problem have emerged.

The first doctrine viewed this disorder in terms of an innate predisposition to litigiousness

against the background of psychopathic personality traits.

Another concept highlighted litigiousness

and
litigious
delusion (the most severe manifestation
of litigious syndrome
) as one of the types of paranoia.
The terms “ querulant
paranoia”, “
litigative
paranoia”, “litigational paranoia” can be found in the literature on psychiatry today.
Moreover, a small number of psychiatrists continue to classify the litigious syndrome
as paranoia, while milder forms are regarded as
pseudo-queerulantism
.

However, most psychiatrists now distinguish between paranoia and litigiousness

, presenting the latter condition as a psychogenic disease that develops against the background of a hereditary predisposition as a result of the influence of external circumstances.

In addition to the litigious syndrome

in the form of an independent disorder or, as found in some scientific sources, “genuine”,
litigious
states are distinguished that occur in various mental and organic diseases: schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis, progressive supranuclear palsy, cerebral atherosclerosis and other diseases.
This is symptomatic litigiousness
, appearing sporadically against the background of decompensation of other diseases and pathological conditions.

Litigation syndrome

can develop at any age, but most often debuts over the age of 40 years.
The onset of litigation
can be facilitated by “unfair” dismissal from work, ineffective treatment, incorrectly calculated utility rates, unfair division of property, and any other manifestations of social injustice.

Long-term litigation

the struggle manifests itself in the form of many years of persistent litigation, accompanied by numerous complaints and appeals to higher authorities.
Often, a court decision not in favor of the querulist
at one stage is considered by him as a clear injustice, stimulating his protest activities.

Failures not only do not stop such patients, but even more convince them of their biased attitude towards him. There are new protests, accusations against judges, and insulting attacks towards the court. Such people show extreme tenacity and perseverance, achieving their goals in matters of protecting and restoring their rights or compensating for material and moral damage.

Querulants

often very self-confident, stubborn, selfish.
They are characterized by hysterical features and hypomania. In this case, on the contrary, an inability to adequately understand the rights of others is revealed, indifference to the rights and interests of other people with an extreme overestimation of one’s own interests. Litigators
by pettiness, getting stuck on unimportant details, the ability to elevate minor everyday situations to the rank of events of national importance, and inflating minor grievances into a serious insult.

In more severe cases, delusional ideas are formed in the form of delusions of persecution, and a typical clinical picture of the so-called litigious

delirium.
Delusional ideas are most often limited to the circle of judicial experiences and do not go beyond the scope of a specific court case. Hallucinations are not typical. The behavior of such subjects can be quite calm, however, at the height of litigious
actions it can become not entirely appropriate, and sometimes even aggressive. Socially dangerous actions and even violent actions are possible.

Thus, clinically in different cases it can vary from mild cases with little activity and a short course to severe forms with pronounced persistent delusions and a long course.

Litigative

activity usually persists for several years, then, as a specific conflict situation is resolved, it may fade.
However, if new unfavorable circumstances arise after the period of remission, a new wave of litigation
.

Litigation syndrome

or
querulantism
is a topic that appeared on a site with medical content not by chance.
Indeed, a doctor of any specialty will sooner or later encounter a querulant
. I will give one example from my practice.

Patient K. has been undergoing outpatient and inpatient treatment courses for more than 20 years with different doctors and in different hospitals. Over the years, she has written dozens, perhaps hundreds of complaints against many doctors individually and against departments in general. The patient wrote to everyone: to the local health committee, to the governor, and even to the president. Everyone turned out to be bad: MSEC doctors, because they don’t give a group; practicing doctors, because they treat poorly; diagnostic doctors because they incorrectly interpret the results of examinations, and so on.

Periods of exacerbation, when the patient “scribbles” further complaints, are replaced by remissions of varying duration. At this time, she disappears from the field of view of doctors, only to appear again later. The patient is sincerely confident that her behavior is correct, and no one really wants to treat her properly.

The patient considers herself a mentally healthy person. According to the laws on psychiatric care existing in Russia, it is impossible to examine a patient with a psychiatrist without his voluntary consent if he is not dangerous to himself or to others. Naturally, in our case, the patient will never agree to such a step, because she completely lacks criticism of her condition.

For this reason, treatment of litigious syndrome

remains a fairly serious problem.
Moreover, there are cases where the placement of such patients in a psychiatric hospital not only did not have a positive effect, but, on the contrary, acted unfavorably, further fixing litigious
ideas.

If we talk about drug therapy, then such patients are prescribed antipsychotics: neuleptil, sonapax, chlorprothixene. In case of a sharp deterioration of the condition, the administration of Relanium, tizercin and other drugs is recommended.

In conclusion, I would like to wish all colleagues who in one way or another come into contact with such patients the most important thing. Namely, PATIENCE.

Do you know people who constantly complain about unfair treatment and try with all their might to defend their rights, running through the courts and other legal authorities?
The actions of such people sometimes reach the point of absurdity, and the efforts spent on the fight for justice are not comparable to the size of the real problem. In psychiatry, this kind of behavior falls under the concept of litigious syndrome or litigiousness. There are enough examples of such mental deviations in literature and cinema. How to distinguish a sane person defending his rights from a complainant with psychopathology?

Definition and signs of litigiousness

Already in the 19th century, they began to study such a phenomenon as the querulant reaction. K. T. Jaspers, a psychiatrist from Germany, placed this condition on the border between psychopathic fanaticism and delusion, calling queralism psychosis of passion. Later, persistent complaints received another name - litigiousness.

Querulantism is a syndrome that arises and develops according to the following scheme. A person is captivated by the idea of injustice committed against him. Sometimes this is due to a real court decision not in favor of the claimant. This becomes the starting point and the emergence of protest against the infringement of his rights.

This is followed by lengthy bureaucratic activity in various instances, endless complaints, lawsuits, appeals, etc. Cases of decisions not in favor of the litigant are perceived by the latter as a biased attitude, and everything starts all over again. Such a person is not able to soberly assess the situation; the interests of others fade into the background. The goal of life becomes to prove that you are right.

Querulantism is a syndrome that affects both sexes; its peak development occurs between 40 and 70 years of age. Querulantism manifests itself especially strongly and often in times of severe social and political crises. Unemployment, low pensions, infringement of rights and freedoms - all this is a trigger for litigious people.

There are two hypotheses for the development of queralism.

Who is this wrangler?

In the modern world, an integral part of which is the struggle for the observance of civil rights and freedoms, zealously defending one’s position in court is not always a mental deviation. A true litigator and backbiter with a mental or personality disorder not only fights for his rights, but sees the meaning of his life in this. Moreover, he simply does not care about the interests and rights of other people. Having such a neighbor is not a great joy; such a person often acts as an informer and can endlessly write complaints against neighbors to all authorities on various occasions. A litigious person (or a querulant) is a selfish, stubborn, petty and self-confident person with hysterical and hypomanic traits, who tends to get hung up on unimportant trifles. In severe cases, patients develop delusions of litigiousness against the background of legal proceedings, which in ICD-10 is included in the category of other chronic delusional disorders (F22.8). Failures only spur litigation to new lawsuits and complaints, further convincing them of the bias of judges and social injustice. In extreme situations, protests and other inappropriate litigious actions can be accompanied by aggression and even become socially dangerous.

Symptoms of the disease

The main manifestations of queralism include:

increased emotionality and excessive touchiness;
constant thoughts about an imaginary infringement of personal rights;
indifference to one's responsibilities towards other people;
demonstrating your dissatisfaction in public;
paranoid thoughts;
aggressive behavior;
persecution mania;
exalting oneself over other people;
excessive exaggeration of one's problems;
constant dissatisfaction with surrounding life situations.

The querulant never realizes the painfulness of his behavior and does not admit that he has a mental illness. Such people enjoy being pitied and constantly feel inferior.

Sign of mental disorder

This is a more severe case. As mentioned above, queralism can only be one of the symptoms of another disease, schizophrenia or paranoia. In this case, litigious people are considered mentally ill people. Litigative delirium can cause aggression. There have been cases in psychiatry when litigious people staged mass riots and even committed murder.

Querulants are characterized by the absence of hallucinations, but false memories cannot be excluded, becoming the basis of litigious delusions. The situation worsens during periods of exacerbation and depends on their duration. Formally, the behavior of querulants is correct, but often too aggressive and inappropriate.