Ideoaffective incongruence is among the psychological disorders of affectivity, which encompasses emotions, feelings and mood. In the case of parathymia there would be a disconnection between these elements, and the way of expressing them. That is, what is felt is not the emotion that is expressed.
If it has ever happened to you or it happens to someone you know, read on to find out. the causes of parathymia, the types of parathymia, some examples and treatment that would apply.
What is parathymia
First of all, let’s look at the definition and meaning of parathymia. Parathymia refers to a difficulty when expressing emotions. This, also known as discordance or ideo-affective incongruence is the disconnection between the emotions felt with the emotions expressed, that is, although the person feels a certain emotion, he expresses a completely opposite one. This can lead to many problems, since if other people do not understand their difficulty, they may feel offended and consider what the individual expressed as a lack of respect.
Parathymia can have two parts or components, which we will see below with examples:
- The disagreement may refer to The intensity when expressing an emotion, that is, its intensity is greater or less than appropriate, such as laughing outrageously in a play.
- Parathymia or affective discordance also refers to type of emotion that expresses itself, such as laughing when one should be serious.
Causes of parathymia
Parathymia usually appears as consequence of other disorders. The most common thing is to see it as a symptom of schizophrenia, especially in the case in which the negative symptoms of schizophrenia occur. On the other hand, brain damage can also cause parathymia. This damage may be due to trauma or dementia or neuronal degeneration.
Likewise, it can also sometimes be seen as a symptom and consequence of something like, for example, bipolar personality disorder. It is also quite common in manic depressive psychosis. Therefore, as we mentioned, it is not common to suffer from this disorder in a unique way.
Other affective symptoms that we can find in mood disorders are the and the.
Types and examples of parathymia
There are different types of parathymia depending on how it presents.
- Parathymia: The most common is the one already mentioned, in which an emotion is expressed that does not match what one feels. This happens, for example, when someone laughs at a funeral or cries at a wedding. Another example is that the person tells you that he is suffering, and even that he wants to kill himself while smiling.
- positive parathymia: consists of showing a state of euphoria and hyperactivity. It is quite common in the manic phase of or in organic disorders such as moria, which consists of the fact that after a brain trauma, the person would enter a state of euphoria or mania as a symptom of a brain injury, which at that time It is still reversible.
- Negative parathymia: The opposite happens than in the previous one, there is a state of sadness that lasts more or less over time. It is quite common in the depressive phase of bipolar disorder.
Parathymia should not be confused with emotional indifference. This consists of the inability to express an emotion or the inability to change emotional state. In parathymia you can express different emotions and, in general, change from one to another.
Treatment
Parathymia usually has pharmacological treatment. It is quite common to use antipsychotics, antidepressants and anxiolytics in order to alleviate the symptoms although, as we mentioned, since it does not occur in isolation, this medication is usually administered to alleviate the other symptoms of said disorders. This type of medication is used in order to relax the person and facilitate the correct delivery of blood.
On the other hand, as a psychological treatment, it would try to carry out a Emotional education in which the person could understand when they should express each emotion. Likewise, the facial expressions corresponding to each emotion would be shown and these expressions would be rehearsed with the person.
However, the most important thing is to attend to the cause of the problem and take it into account for its solution since if, for example, the cause is an organic brain damage, this rehabilitation would take place more while if the original problem is a mental disorder. personality, the most appropriate would be the medication already mentioned.
On the other hand, another function of psychological treatment is to ensure the adherence to pharmacological treatmentsince it is quite common for the patient to refuse to take the medication, which could increase the problem since a greater number of imbalances would occur in the transmission of neurotransmitters that cause these psychological disorders.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Buela-Casal, G., Caballo, V., and Carrobles, JA (2002): Manual of psychopathology and psychiatric disorders. XXI century. Madrid.
- Belloch, A.; Sandín, B. and Ramos, F. (2008). Manual of Psychopathology. Volume I. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
- Vallejo Ruiloba J and others, Introduction to psychopathology and psychiatry, Masson, Barcelona, 1999, 4th edition, page 233