How to communicate with a mentally unstable person?

Sometimes in a conversation you can hear an unflattering description of a person. They call him unbalanced, clearly hinting that he is not worth dealing with again. At the same time, not everyone understands the meaning of the word “unbalanced”. Some believe that it means hot temper. Others think more radically and are sure that an unbalanced person is a person with a mental disorder who often becomes aggressive.

What does a mentally unstable person mean?

An unbalanced person is a person who reacts too violently to a problem that has arisen, comments from an interlocutor, or any other unpleasant situation. Simply put, this is an easily excitable person whose mood changes sharply and often due to events happening in life.

A balanced person knows how to adapt to problematic situations and cope with difficulties. Of course, he may lose his temper, get into a violent argument, or otherwise show irritability. But this happens mainly only when the situation is associated with obvious unpleasant consequences for a person.

An unbalanced person rushes into a heated argument and gets nervous over any trifle. Moreover, if the situation only worsened as a result of such behavior, then nervousness quickly turns into hysteria.

At the same time, the increased excitability of an unbalanced personality manifests itself not only in relation to other people. In such a person, a negative mental reaction is directed towards himself. He will panic, begin to self-flagellate, and eventually reach the stage of neurosis faster than an ordinary person.

Many will perceive a good event with enthusiasm and joy. Unbalanced individuals react to positive moments with great enthusiasm, sometimes falling into extreme delight, and try to share the good news with everyone.

Mental reactions are associated with processes of excitation and inhibition in the brain. In an unbalanced person, the first processes dominate.

When an unpleasant situation arises, a balanced person’s heart rate will increase slightly and their aggressiveness will only slightly increase. These are the processes of excitation that are designed to help a person survive. But since the situation is not life-threatening and only creates temporary difficulties, the inhibition processes quickly smooth out nervousness and anxiety.

Symptoms of imbalance

Imbalance is like a river overflowing its banks. In unbalanced people, feelings prevail over reason. This is due to a lack of self-control and self-control.

Symptoms of mental imbalance

• speech is dominated by prepositions, absurd and delusional phrases. According to statistics, the most commonly used prepositions are “for” and “to”;
• conducting a dialogue with oneself;
• causeless laughter;
• dominance of carnal desires (physiological satisfaction);
• manifestation of selfishness. Preference for living alone;
• hostility and aggression towards loved ones (others);
• the desire to show one’s exclusivity;
• hypocrisy;
• irritability;
• panic attacks (groundless occurrence of anxious feelings);
• fussiness;
• the ability to deftly impose one’s worldview on other people.

Central signs of an unbalanced personality

An unbalanced person can be identified by a number of signs:

1. Increased irritability. One of the main signs that appears most often and most clearly. Even minor stress causes a storm of emotions. If during the day a person gets angry several times in a row, then in the evening he will feel completely exhausted;
2. Constant unreasonable fears. A person feels threatened for minor reasons. After a small quarrel, it often seems to him that his opponent is hatching insidious plans for revenge. Hence the inability to quickly move towards reconciliation;
3. Fussiness. An unbalanced person is rarely in a calm state. A constant stream of thoughts in the head and increased anxiety contribute to wasting energy on unproductive and sometimes useless actions. For example, a person first begins to tidy up his desk, and then remembers that he needs to call and make an appointment. When talking on the phone, he nervously looks for a pen and paper to write down the necessary information, rummaging through documents and folders, which leads to new and even greater chaos in the workplace;
4. Arrogance. When an unbalanced person ascribes to himself non-existent merits or simply tries to look important, he unconsciously strives to provide himself with peace of mind. After all, such a person is always at ease where people consider him smart and successful.

Refusal to take medications

With schizophrenia, in addition to thinking and the emotional sphere, the patient’s critical attitude towards himself also suffers. Patients often ask the doctor to reduce the dosage of medications, and often they themselves “quietly” stop taking the medications. They motivate this with the words “I feel better.” It is not possible to influence the patient's decision through persuasion. The result of refusing to take medications is placement in a hospital. After discharge, the scenario repeats. What can you offer relatives? In modern psychiatry, there are prolongation drugs - medications that are prescribed by injection once or twice a month. They are as effective as tablets and are more convenient to take.

Energy in a peaceful direction

The patient, diagnosed with schizophrenia, a young, beautiful woman, discontinued her medications on her own after discharge. Over the course of a month, there was a sharp deterioration in his condition: delusions of religious content, aggression towards relatives and, as a result, forced hospitalization. This was repeated until a certain point, until something changed her attitude towards treatment. Perhaps it was the reluctance to end up in the hospital again. Maybe the endless conversations with the doctor had an impact. But the following happened: she began to regularly take medications and visit her doctor. The woman channeled her irrepressible energy into helping homeless people. She picked them up on the street, gave them food and shelter in her home for a while, then accompanied them to a shelter for the needy. She spoke enthusiastically about her charitable activities. This patient was never admitted to the hospital again.

Strong unbalanced: who is he?

Ivan Pavlov studied in some detail the higher nervous activity (HNA) of humans. According to the scientist, it is on its basis that temperament is formed.

According to Pavlov, there are several types of GNI. One of them is strong unbalanced. In people with this type of IDD, irritative processes predominate, and inhibitory processes are less powerful.

In another way, such people are most often called choleric. People with this type of character have the following traits:

• Hot temper;
• Radical and frequent mood changes;
• The feelings experienced are expressed in speech.

But we should not call all choleric people unbalanced aggressors. With proper upbringing, they are quite capable of controlling their behavior and not falling into hysterics or rage at the slightest provocation.

Of course, choleric people will not be able to completely curb their feelings, and the processes of excitation will sometimes take over. But this will not go beyond the bounds of decency and the person will not have any special problems with the team.

Organic mental disorders

Mental illnesses that occur when a particular area or entire area of ​​the brain is damaged, due to various factors, are called organic mental disorders. This type of disorder includes multiple diseases that can occur due to external influences on the brain (traumatic brain injury) or internal processes (dysfunction). The main syndrome of organic disorders is damage to short-term memory. In such cases, a person remembers only those events, emotions and information that just happened. When repeated attempts are made to remember what happened, even after a few minutes, complete amnesia sets in. Often people “remember” certain moments in their lives, but when checked, this information turns out to be fictitious. The process of treating organic mental disorders includes an integrated approach, which involves medications, work with relatives and caregivers, as well as psychotherapy and psychopharmacotherapy.

Unbalanced person: examples of behavior

A few examples of behavior typical of an unbalanced person:

• At work, an employee was asked to complete a task that he found difficult. Not a trace remained of the employee’s good mood. He immediately began to be rude to clients and colleagues. As a result, after a couple of hours he freaked out and demonstratively tore up the incorrectly drawn up documents, simultaneously finding those to blame for the current situation;
• The girl heard rumors that her beloved guy was cheating on her. Not having waited until the end of the working day, in a fit of anger she comes to his work and causes a scandal there. At the same time, she is not stopped even by the fact that many strangers will look at her hysteria;
• A man's foot was accidentally stepped on on a bus. Instead of accepting the apology, he immediately begins accusing the other passenger of being clumsy.

Suicides

Suicidal behavior is another problem that relatives of patients with a psychiatric diagnosis may face. And the most unpleasant thing about this behavior is the fact that a suicide attempt is difficult to predict. A person can carefully hide his intentions if he has made a final decision. Sometimes the patient manipulates in order to attract attention or gain some benefit. However, distinguishing between a demonstrative patient and a patient who has decided to commit suicide can be difficult and sometimes impossible. The most dangerous is the so-called extended suicide, when the patient decides to “save the suffering” of other people, for example members of his family. And first he kills his relatives, and then himself.

How to communicate with an unbalanced person?

There are a number of rules that must be followed when dealing with an unbalanced person:

• Please exercise caution. Remember that a lot of things can make such a person angry. Therefore, no banter, hints at bad character traits, etc.;
• Don't get into conflict or raise your voice in response. There is no point in arguing with an unbalanced person. Even if you give more arguments in your favor, he will simply resort to insults or throw a tantrum. If, however, the conflict could not be avoided, then answer calmly, but at the same time maintaining confidence;
• Don't give him the opportunity to manipulate you. Refuse the person in a polite but firm manner, explaining the reason for your decision.

Psychopathy

It is worth noting a separate case. There are people who have pronounced qualities such as callousness, lack of empathy, self-obsession and deceit, and only superficial emotional reactions.

Agree, in modern cinema and literature the image of a sociopathic, uncommunicative, self-obsessed hero is glorified. Millions want to imitate them, they take everything from them as a carbon copy, without thinking about the deeper meaning of the character. And forgetting that this is just a character.

Such people begin to behave deliberately rude and unfriendly with people, considering this an interesting trait of their character. They spit on social norms and morals. They don’t put other people’s wishes into anything, just wanting to fulfill their own dreams.

Sometimes such behavior begins in childhood; for some, the first signs appear already at a conscious age. Some have individual qualities.

What to do if you are mentally unstable?

It is unlikely that you will be able to completely correct your unbalanced character. But if you follow a simple plan, emotional “explosions” can be reduced to a minimum:

1. Identify the causes of increased irritability and eliminate them. Perhaps you should think about a less stressful job or simply normalize your daily routine by starting to get better sleep;
2. Express your emotions correctly. For example, you should not suppress a sudden surge of anger towards a colleague who has created problems for you with his mistakes at work. Instead of accusing someone of being “crooked,” try expressing your feelings with subtle irony. Take a deep breath and say, “It sounds like you’re a pro at screwing up projects”;
3. Analyze your behavior, praising yourself for success and not scolding yourself for intemperance. It is best to write down on a piece of paper at the end of the day the moments in which you were able to overcome your anger, and at the same time came out of a problematic situation with dignity. But don't blame yourself for the fact that sometimes you still break down.

Communicating, working, and even more so living with an unbalanced person is not easy. He constantly loses his temper over every little thing, fusses when solving an important issue, and can sometimes be quite arrogant and selfish.

Treatment

Many mental disorders can be cured with the help of psychotherapeutic techniques and psychological exercises. In some cases, drug therapy is also prescribed.

Tranquilizers are mainly prescribed for neurasthenia. Drugs in this group can reduce anxiety and relieve emotional tension.

Neuroleptics are the most popular in the treatment of mental pathologies. Their effect is to reduce mental arousal, reduce psychomotor activity, reduce aggressiveness and suppress emotional tension.

Normotimics regulate inappropriate expression of emotions. They are used to prevent disorders that include several syndromes that manifest themselves in stages, for example, in bipolar affective disorder. The most commonly used are lithium salts, Carbamazepine, Valpromide.

There are contraindications, consultation with a specialist is necessary!

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How can a family help their sick relative and themselves?

Confidential contact with a doctor

“Mentally ill” patients are very sensitive to criticism and encouragement from the attending physician. Ask your doctor questions that concern you, because for many, schizophrenia is a poorly understood condition. However, there is a small “but” here. If the patient’s mental state does not fall under Article 29, then information about his health can be shared even with close relatives only with his consent.

Hospitalization

If the doctor insists on hospitalization, this means that the patient’s mental state cannot be corrected in a dispensary. What is the advantage of this treatment? Firstly, in a hospital it is easier and faster to select adequate therapy, since the patient is under medical supervision around the clock. Secondly, all medications that are prescribed to your relative will be received free of charge. And thirdly, in the hospital the patient is guaranteed to take medications. Many people are frightened by the forced placement of a loved one in a hospital. Relatives feel guilty towards the patient. But in fact, involuntary hospitalization is similar to an operation to open an abscess: an incision is necessary for the abscess to heal.

Risks are close

At the end of 2015, at a specialized conference dedicated to the dangerous behavior of people with mental illness, disappointing figures were announced. 50,000 patients in Russia

, who are under constant dispensary observation, and coercive measures in connection with aggressive and unsafe behavior towards others were applied by court decision to more than 26,000 living in families.
It should be noted that we are talking only about people with official diagnoses, meanwhile, some experts believe that currently about 40% of people in the country suffer from mental disorders
, which have not yet transformed into serious illnesses.

How to live nearby?

There is a temptation to completely control your sick relative. However, by overprotection you deprive his healthy part of his personality (and, of course, there is one) of the right to at least some kind of autonomy. It is necessary to learn to separate a person and his disease. When a patient behaves aggressively or inappropriately, understand: now this is not your beloved son, grandson or husband. This is the illness speaking in him. Later, having “come to your senses,” your loved one will calm down and be able to interact with you differently. In our society, mentally ill people are treated with extreme caution. And that is why it is especially important for your relative to feel your support and love, to understand that you accept him for who he is. And lastly: do not try to punish yourself, take responsibility for what happened. You are not to blame for what happened. No matter what, life goes on.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are the perception of non-existent images. There are several main types of hallucinations: auditory (voices), visual, tactile and gustatory. The patient believes in their reality; it is useless to dissuade him. Hallucinations are a sign of exacerbation of the disease and require prompt medical attention. There are types of schizophrenia in which hallucinations take a chronic form and cannot be treated. As a rule, the patient in this case retains a critical attitude towards them; he understands that they are a product of his disease and do not affect his behavior.

Real life example

Olga has an aunt with very eccentric behavior. Every time she meets her, Olga is tense, as her aunt has a habit of making rude remarks and asking inappropriate questions.

Olga. [Having met her aunt, she demonstrates sincere joy, listens very carefully and monitors her mood.]

- Aunt Lida, I would like to know if you can help me with something. I'm about to redecorate my children's room and you have such a great sense of style. Could you look at some nursery furniture with me next week?

Naturally, Auntie is flattered by such words, and she likes that Olga asked her for advice. Having received help from her aunt, Olga continues to act in the same spirit.

“You helped me so much, Aunt Lida, thank you.” Can I ask you for help again? Next week we are throwing a party and inviting boss Igor. Can you help me create a menu?

Giving someone the opportunity to do something for you or someone else makes them feel good about themselves. (It is better, of course, to seek advice or help in cases where it is not too catastrophic for you if everything goes wrong.) Very soon you will discover that the person communicates with you in a completely different way.

Short review

You can improve your relationship with an emotionally unstable person in this way: 1) make him feel that you value and respect him; 2) demonstrate your trust to him; 3) help the person feel responsibility and freedom of choice.