From sadness to joy - like on a swing: what to do with a labile personality type?

Every person’s mood can suddenly deteriorate: due to bad news, an offensive word, or poor health. Someone is trying to hide it from others. Others go to share the problem with their best friend. Still others go for their favorite ice cream to get positive emotions. But there are also those who experience alternating bursts of joy and sadness several times a day. At the same time, they also do not know how to hide their feelings, so everyone around them knows about their unbridled joy and universal sadness. In psychology, for such character accentuation there is a separate concept - labile personality type.

general characteristics

What does a labile type of character accentuation mean? This is a psychotype, characterized by rapid and sharp mood swings against the background of a rich sensory sphere and social responsiveness.

Main features

The main feature is a quick, hardly predictable change in mood and emotions, which manifest themselves as clearly as possible. Such people do not know how to control them and hide them from others.

The labile personality type, which seems harmless at first glance, actually has a whole complex of negative traits that ruin the life of both him and the people around him:

• sharp, uncontrollable, sudden mood swings;
• short temper, irritability, conflict, attacks of aggression up to pugnacity;
• anxiety;
• lack of self-control;
• unpredictability, inadequacy;
• hysterical crying or laughing;
• attacks of apathy;
• jealousy, suspicion;
• poor memory, impaired concentration;
• sadness, despondency, which can lead to depression.

There are also positive features:

• sociability;
• good nature;
• sensitivity, responsiveness;
• devotion, affection;
• sincerity;
• deep feelings;
• well developed intuition.

The “weak link” of a labile person (something that can not only spoil his mood, but also break him psychologically, cause psychological trauma, and lead him to a state of depression):

• emotional abandonment of people significant to them;
• loss of loved ones;
• separation from loved ones.

Conflict situations are those factors due to which labile people’s mood most often deteriorates:

• competition;
• infringement of self-esteem;
• disharmony with others (everyone is good, but he is bad);
• lack of recognition, success, attention;
• fear of punishment;
• criticism.

Briefly, this psychotype can be described as follows. Such people are rarely in a calm state. Every event can throw them off balance. His mood soars (because they smiled at him, he was praised, the sun came out, he passed the project, etc.), and then he sings, dances, and tells jokes to everyone. Then it drops sharply (because the boss looked askance, his head hurt, he made a mistake in the papers, it started to rain, etc.), and then he throws things, cries, refuses to communicate with everyone. And this happens several times a day.

Appearance

The appearance that people with a labile personality type have is distinguished by special features that make them stand out in the crowd:

• an attentive and penetrating gaze, concentrated on one point;
• elongated nose;
• high growth;
• stooped posture;
• jerky, angular movements;
• unsure gait;
• constantly twirls something in his hands;
• conservative style of clothing.

The labile personality type according to Lichko in socionics is an intuitive-logical extrovert (Don Quixote psychotype). And according to Leonhard, the labile type is called somewhat differently - affective.

Classification of psychopathy

The classification of psychopathy is similar to the classification of character accentuations. In addition, psychopathy, unlike accentuation, very often ends up outside of society, and then antisocial tendencies appear in the psychopath’s behavior, as a result of which he breaks the law and commits an offense. Or, having started to abuse psychoactive substances and alcohol, a psychopath may turn out to be a person dangerous to society and to himself.

The question of providing assistance in this situation greatly expands, since we, psychiatrists, together with psychologists and psychotherapists, manage to help a psychopath, teach him to control himself and his behavior, emotions, actions and his psychopathic geshefts. We realize that we can help many people around this psychopath who may suffer if they decompensate.

As a rule, the border between accentuation and psychopathy is not obvious and blurred. Among other things, in psychiatry there is a phenomenon of psychopathization of character accentuations, i.e. a person who is an accentuator of character, being in a difficult life situation for a long time, can gradually turn into a psychopath. This is the so-called pathocharacterological development.

To avoid this, to soften the process, to reduce the likelihood of antisocial behavior, psychopaths, of course, need help. I strongly recommend that everyone who sees such people in their environment and who cares about them, help them, convince them to turn to specialists.

Compatibility

In order to build the right relationships with others, it is useful for a person with a labile personality type to know his compatibility with other character accentuations:

• + labile = identity, mutual understanding, mutual assistance, support, harmonious relationships;
• + hyperthymic-unstable = personality types that complement each other; relationships optimal for friendship and marriage;
• + hyperthymic = pulsating relationships: sometimes easy and relaxed, sometimes boring and annoying, so these types need to take a break from each other from time to time;
• + psychasthenic = mirror relationships, but the mirror turns out to be distorted: one corrects the other without delving into the essence of his behavior - this leads to misunderstandings and claims;
• + hysterical = patronage relationship (on the part of the labile type) without feedback;
• + schizoid = the auditor (labile type) constantly finds fault with the sub-auditor (schizoid), tries to teach him and re-educate him;
• + cycloid = average degree of comfort in a relationship, when you have nothing against your partner, but you don’t feel any particular sympathy for him;
• + comfortable-hyperthymic = relaxation relationship: with such a partner it’s nice to relax and discuss extraneous topics, but you definitely won’t do business with him.

This information will help you build the right relationships with others - friends, colleagues, loved ones and family.

Realization in personal relationships

Emotive relationships are distinguished by sincerity and willingness to give. Unfortunately, such people often do not let anyone near them after the first failure. That's why they remain lonely. After working through the problem, everything becomes somewhat simpler. The compatibility of emotives mainly manifests itself with the same accentuators. Psychasthenics, also mild hysterics. Incompatible with paranoids, rarely compatible with schizoids due to the emotional coldness of the latter. Moreover, they are incompatible with epileptoids, who by their nature are tyrannical and picky.

Types of labile accentuation

Labile-hysterical:

• distorted self-esteem;
• dependence on the opinions of others;
• an irrepressible fantasy in which such individuals will invariably see themselves as a hero and winner.

Labile-affective:

• outbursts of excitability without targeted aggression towards others;
• frequent changes not only in mood, but also in interests;
• lack of concentration, due to which study and work suffer;
• distorted self-esteem makes it difficult to communicate with society.

Emotionally labile type (labile-sensitive):

• excessive expression of emotions;
• unexpected actions dictated by emotions that violate norms of behavior;
• grievances manifest themselves in hysterical laughter, joy - in a river of tears.

Labile-conformal:

• difficult to cope with your emotions;
• inability to criticize either one’s own actions or those of others;
• difficulties in adapting to new conditions.

Highlighting

There is also a labile-cycloid subtype. Its distinctive feature is its cyclical, rather than chaotic, mood changes. Many subtypes represent ordinary character accentuations. However, there are also those who are on the verge of psychopathology. Under the influence of conflict situations and traumatic factors, they can become mental disorders. These include labile-affective, labile-sensitive and labile-hysterical.

What is character accentuation? Who opened it? What was it called before?

The concept of character accentuation was introduced by the German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard in the mid-20th century to designate people who have a clearly inharmonious character, but still not to such an extent that they lose the ability to adapt to society or pose a danger to it. Those. accentuation is not yet psychopathy (personality disorder), but it is no longer a normative standard. To put it simply, accentuation is a pronounced individuality, which, however, does not throw its bearer out of society; only makes him significantly more vulnerable and problematic in some situations, and more successful and productive in others.

There is no special discovery in this - the fact that each character is in some way special, individual, and that the degree of expression of this individuality also varies, was clear at all times. Many people have also tried and are trying to classify characters, creating a typology of personal characteristics. Leonhard only proposed the term and his own classification, which “took root” in Western and then Russian psychiatry. What were accentuations called before? Whatever you like, according to the characterological “shift”, emphasis - an infantile dreamer, an unfortunate poet, a court jester, a power-hungry dictator, a wandering philosopher, a lonely inventor, a two-faced artist, a cunning merchant... Visually highlighting personal characteristics was more the task of writers and playwrights than doctors.

Where does a person get this or that accentuation? What factors give rise to it, contribute to its formation and consolidation?

Accentuation is, as it were, an overly “protruding”, “convex”, noticeable, even conspicuous character trait. It comes from the same place as all the individual characterological characteristics that make us unique and different from each other - from our parents and from the environment in which we grow up. All living nature has its own genotype and phenotype - i.e. what is inherited in genes and what is formed under the influence of the environment. And a person also has a psychotype. So, for example, the fact that an apple tree is an apple tree and not a pear is determined by its hereditary code - genotype. And the fact that from the seeds of the same apple, one apple tree grew on poor soil in the small and weak shade, and another on good soil in the sun became lush and fruitful, is determined by the conditions of its growth - the phenotype.

A person’s personality is made up of genes, and from the influence of the environment (family, school, social conditions), and from the influence of the psychological characteristics of parents - their life principles, credo, moral, ethical and cultural values, rules, beliefs, mental and spiritual needs that together determine the personal psychotype. Popular proverbs like “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, “Oranges don’t come from aspen trees” answer this question with all clarity - human character, incl. accentuated, consists of what is inherited biologically, and of what is formed by social and living conditions, and of what is transmitted by parents in everyday communication.

Studies of the characters of identical twins separated after birth and raised in different families help to differentiate between the influence of genetic inheritance and external factors. As a rule, it is impossible for a person’s direct relatives to be completely harmonious individuals, and he himself would be an accentuant, and vice versa - for a characterologically harmonious child to grow up in a family with accentuants, or, moreover, individuals with psychopathic tendencies. In early Soviet times, the development of genetics was suppressed in order to present the social ideals of Marxism-communism as superior in importance to heredity. What this led to is described in M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Heart of a Dog.”

Character formation, incl. accentuated, is always determined by a complex of reasons, and it is impossible to give preference to some to the detriment of others. However, it can be said that the more constant and persistent any personality trait is, the greater the role heredity takes in its formation, and what is caused primarily by the external environment can be corrected by the new environment. Therefore, the influence of abnormal genetic factors determines the appearance of personality disorders (psychopathy) to a greater extent than accentuations, and accentuations to a greater extent than harmonious characters.

Reasons for formation

Like all other character accentuations, the labile personality type is innate. However, there are factors that can aggravate its manifestations. These include:

• choleric type character;
• peculiarities of upbringing (when the child was not taught to control his emotions or was simply spoiled);
• impaired functioning of the nervous system: neuroses, childhood psychotraumas, severe stressful situations, unpreparedness for global changes;
• physiology: traumatic brain injury, drug addiction, oncology, cardiovascular diseases.

To correct behavior with problems related to the central nervous system, you should consult a psychiatrist. If the issue is physiological, treat existing

Emotive and work

Such individuals choose work based on their interests and character traits. The following professions are generally suitable for emotive accentuators:

• Psychologist.
• Teacher.
• Art worker.
• Doctor.

These are just examples. Emotives achieve great success in jurisprudence and intellectual specialties.

Diagnostics

Want to know if you are a labile personality type? Take the test and calculate your results.

If the test results score from 0 to 10, you are far from being a labile type in terms of displaying emotions and mood swings. Those who get from 11 to 20 points are sometimes similar to similar people, since they do not always cope with the feelings that overwhelm them, but this happens extremely rarely. The range from 21 to 25 points indicates a borderline, very close stage to this character accentuation. Its brightest representatives are those who scored more than 26 points.

Features of communication

People with the described accentuation have many difficulties in communicating with others.

What are they like in love:

• capable of deep, true feeling;
• faithful and devoted;
• they are not sure about the person who is nearby: when they are in a good mood, he is ideal for them; when it’s bad, it’s unnecessary ballast;
• a prolonged period of flirting;
• for them, the family is a refuge for restoring internal balance;
• the spouse is perceived as a friend and ally;
• sex is the last thing they are interested in;
• are having a hard time with the breakup - it can take years to recover.

Those who are in a relationship with such a psychotype must be patient in order to endure the minute-by-minute outbursts of tears and joy. Even in a friend, they most often look for a psychotherapist to share their sorrows. But at the same time they are distinguished by their devotion and are always ready to help.

They are quite responsible at work and always bring projects to completion. They treat their colleagues evenly; intrigue is not their strong point. They never set anyone up, they help out if necessary. However, career advancement is hampered by temperament and restlessness. In those moments when they cannot contain their emotions, they are capable of being insolent to their boss, tearing up important papers, and disrupting a meeting.

How to behave with a labile psychotype:

• Don’t take their mood changes personally;
• find a business that will captivate both parties;
• during times of distress, console and support;
• constantly encourage, praise even for the smallest achievements;
• ask every time about the reasons for the bad mood, and convince that it is not worth worrying about;
• never use aggressive methods of influence;
• avoid conflicts by any means.

Treatment of emotional lability

When the diagnosis is completed and the causes of emotional instability are identified, they begin to eliminate them. The necessary treatment should be carried out by the doctor whose competence is the cause. This could be not only a psychiatrist, but also a neurologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, therapist or other specialist. In most cases, therapeutic treatment is required, but sometimes surgery is also resorted to.

Specific treatment may include the following:

• Individual psychotherapy. During sessions, the psychotherapist helps the patient cope with internal conflicts and fears. In each case, an individual approach is used using cognitive behavioral therapy, auto-training and other methods.
• Group psychotherapy. This approach helps solve patients’ social problems: increase self-confidence, develop communication skills, learn to avoid conflicts and better feel the emotions of others.
• Consulting. The psychotherapist communicates with the patient’s family members, explains to them in detail what emotional lability is, and gives recommendations on how to communicate and how to help the person suffering from it.
• Drug therapy. Drugs that reduce anxiety and tension are usually prescribed: tranquilizers, antidepressants and sedatives.

Correction

Recommendations from psychologists on how to work on yourself are as follows:

1. Give up self-criticism so as not to once again cultivate feelings of guilt. Learn to respect yourself.
2. Take responsibility for your actions.
3. In the evening, make yourself a plan for the whole next day and strictly follow it point by point.
4. To control emotions, you need to subjugate your body. To this end, take up dancing, exercise, and sports.
5. Learn to track the causes of mood deterioration and, if possible, avoid them.

You can take up psychotraining and perform several exercises on your own.

• Exercise "Analyst"

Imagine yourself as an analyst who always analyzes everything. Your task is to pick apart the factors that contribute to the deterioration of your mood. As soon as you feel that irritation or apathy is overwhelming you, start thinking about why this happened. Try not to miss a single little thing: maybe someone said something, elbowed you, didn’t call, etc. Think about why this upset you so much. Record your findings in a separate notebook. Make notes every time you get nervous. After a couple of weeks, re-read the results of your analytical work. Summarize what most often drives you crazy. Try to avoid these factors.

• Exercise “Getting into the Role”

Choose any positive role for yourself in the evening and try to get used to it as much as possible, starting in the morning, throughout the day. You do not have the right to deviate even one step from the designated character, no matter how much you would like to do so. For example, if you decide to be phlegmatic, you need to be calm and balanced, despite mood swings.

• Exercise "Alternative"

Your task is to learn to catch those moments when your mood begins to change for the worse. As soon as this happens, find an alternative activity that will help you release irritation and anger and give you moments of happiness and peace. For example, go for a walk in the park. Or eat ice cream. Or do some breathing exercises. Everyone will have their own method. The main thing is to learn to take control of emotions and promptly replace them with a worthy alternative.

If a person understands that he is not able to cope with emotions on his own, there is no need to hesitate to turn to psychotherapy, which has its own methods of working with such character accentuations:

• drug therapy: antidepressants, sedatives;
• psychotrainings aimed at improving concentration, family relationships and social contacts, and relieving emotional stress;
• treatment of somatic diseases;
• a strict daily routine with meals and walks in the fresh air by the hour and proper sleep;
• balanced diet;
• massotherapy;
• exercise therapy;
• hypnosis.

Despite the duration of the psychotherapeutic course of correction, the prognosis is usually favorable.

What is psychopathy?

Speaking about psychopathy, I can’t help but remember another amazing person - Pyotr Borisovich Gannushkin. It is he who owns the key work devoted to this area of ​​psychiatry - “Clinic of Psychopathy: Their Statics, Dynamics, Systematics.”

A psychopath, in essence, is the same as an accentuator, only the severity of those character traits that we talked about above is ten times higher in him. And most importantly, a psychopath is not able to manipulate his characterological characteristics in different life situations.

As Gannushkin said, a psychopath is a psychopath always and everywhere. Pyotr Borisovich called this criterion the totality of pathological character traits: no matter where, no matter what environment a psychopath is in, he still behaves the same way - it doesn’t matter whether it is beneficial or not for him to exhibit these forms of behavior.

A psychopath does not change throughout his life - this is also Gannushkin’s criterion for psychopathy. It is always stable, fully formed by the end of puberty, by the age of 17–20. We can meet this person 20, 30 or even 50 years later, and we will not see anything new. No smoothing of sharp corners, no new features or mosaic options, it has always been, is and will be the way nature formed it.

Examples of characters and famous personalities

Examples of famous people and characters with a labile personality type:

• Don Quixote is the main character of Miguel de Cervantes's novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha;
• Milla Jovovich is an American actress, model and fashion designer;
• Masyanya is the main character of the animated series of the same name, a broken girl with anarchist inclinations;
• Gromozeka is a character in books about Alice Selezneva by Kira Bulycheva and cartoons based on them (“The Secret of the Third Planet,” for example), a professor of archeology from the planet Chumarosa;
• Edward Norton - American actor, producer, director (main role in the film "The Incredible Hulk");
• Russell Crowe is an Australian and American actor and director (roles in the films “Gladiator”, “A Beautiful Mind”, “Les Miserables”);
• Olga Buzova is a Russian TV presenter, actress, singer, former participant and later host of the reality show “Dom-2” (“TNT”).