Emotional lability is an abnormal and pathological pattern of affection.which is to vary our emotional expression suddenly, quickly and without apparent cause.
For example, it would be to quickly go from laughing to laughing to crying, or to be very happy and after a few minutes to feel very sad. But beware, it has nothing to do with bipolarity, as we’ll see later.
In this article we will understand what this alteration of affection consists of; specifically, we will know what is the psychopathology of affectivity, the other four disorders of affection that exist, in addition to emotional lability, and how they differ from it.
Psychopathology of affectivity
Psychopathology of affectivity includes different altered or abnormal patterns of affection. Affection, on the other hand, encompasses all those behaviors that we express when we feel certain emotions or when we have a specific mood.
On the other hand, affectivity includes all those states and tendencies that people live in an idiosyncratic way; they respond to what we are feeling in the present moment, and influence our personality and behavior. That is to say, they are subjective and transcendental states.
These states also influence the expression of emotions and how we communicate with others. Generally, from each state we can differentiate two poles: e.g. pleasure/pain, joy/grief, etc.
Altered affections
There are five affections that are characteristic of the psychopathology of affectivity, and which are included in the DSM-IV-TR: flattened affection, dull affection, inappropriate affection, labile affection (emotional lability) and restricted or constricted affection.
Just like that, within the psychopathology of affectivity we find the emotional labilitywhich corresponds to a labile affection. But what exactly does it mean and what does it imply? We’ll see about that next.
Emotional Ability: What Exactly?
Emotional lability (also called affective lability), as we have seen, is a concept that belongs to the field of the psychopathology of affectivity.
Concretely, emotional lability consists of the abnormal variability of the expression of affection, with repeated, rapid and sudden changes. For its part, affection is defined by the DSM-IV-TR as “a behavior that expresses the subjective experience of a state of mind (emotion).
Thus, affection is formed by emotional states that change according to what we live, see, imagine and feel. Unlike humor, another central concept in the psychopathology of affectivity, affection is changing; while humor reflects emotions sustained over time and lasting.
That is, emotional lability reflects an abnormal pattern of affection. We can manifest this pattern in some occasions of our lives (when we are going through delicate, stressful or complicated moments, for example).
However, emotional lability can also be constituted as a more general way of being (that does not appear only in specific moments), and correspond more to a trait of each one’s personality.
Affective Ability as a Personality Trait
Thus, as we have seen, affective lability can arise as a consequence of specific periods of life, characterized by intense and/or stressful experiences. However, emotional lability can also be a personality traitThis is understood as a determined tendency to act and behave in specific situations.
In the case of emotional lability, this can generate much confusion and uncertainty in the people around us, who often complain that they “don’t understand us”. In addition, it can also cause suffering to the person suffering from it, as well as some anxiety.
That is why it will be advisable to go to a professional in case this feature is having a negative impact on our lives. It is also true that there are people who manifest it and learn to live with it, being well psychologically.
Differences with bipolarity
People with affective ability can be called socially (erroneously), and in common language, “bipolar” people. This is a misplaced “label,” since bipolar disorder is a serious mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of mania; that is, alternating manic episodes (lasting at least one week) with depressive episodes (lasting at least two weeks).
However, the term bipolar is popularly used (we repeat, erroneously) to refer to this emotional lability. In fact, this, although incorrect, is understandable, since people with emotional lability tend to manifest these two poles (mania and depression) alternately and repeatedly.
The fundamental difference with bipolarity is, in addition to being very different concepts, the duration of symptoms; whereas in bipolar disorder, emotional episodes tend to last for months, in emotional lability, the basic feature is that one changes from one emotion to another suddenly (it can even be in a matter of seconds).
Other Affection Disorders: Differences with Emotional Ability
In addition to emotional lability, and as we mentioned at the beginning of this article, four other affective disorders are known.
The five types of affection alterations are found in the DSM-IV-TR. Let’s see what these other disorders are and how they differ from emotional lability..
1. Flattened affect
This type of affection appears especially in pictures such as depression or schizophrenia. (as one of its negative symptoms). It consists of an absence, or practical absence, of any sign of expression of affection. This is manifested in a monotonous voice and with a motionless face.
Unlike emotional lability, in flattened affection there is no sudden change in the expression of affection or emotions; on the other hand, basically what appears is an absence of any kind of affection or emotion, as if the person did not feel anything. There are therefore two very different and almost opposing types of affection.
2. Dull affect
Also characteristic of depression, dull affect occurs even more frequently in PTSD. (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder). It can also be called emotional anesthesia, and results in a severe reduction in the intensity of the expression of affection.
That is, the person is shown to be extremely absent, as if he or she did not feel anything. It can sometimes originate as an unadaptive defence mechanism against particularly traumatic situations that the individual is able to process and manage.
Blunt affection is more serious than flattened affection, and its difference with emotional lability follows the same line as this one; thus, while in emotional lability the patient can move from laughter to crying in a matter of seconds, in blunt affection it shows practically no emotion, or if it does, it is with minimal intensity.
3. Inappropriate affection
Inappropriate affection manifests as a discordance between the voice and the person’s movements.and the content of the speech or ideas you are expressing at the time. It is also called parathymia. It frequently appears in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, or in patients with frontal lobe injuries.
Inappropriate affection may appear alongside emotional lability, although it is not very common. While the first consists of an incoherence between what is expressed through non-verbal language (gestures, tone of voice, …) and what is expressed through verbal language, the second refers to sudden changes in the expression of affection. Thus, in reality, they would be two qualitatively different affectivity disorders.
4. Restricted affect
This affection, also called constricted affection, translates into a reduction in the range and intensity of affective expression. It’s characteristic of depressive paintings.
It differs from emotional lability in that in restricted affection, the emotions experienced by the person are less in number and intensity than those of any person without any pathology of affectivity. On the other hand, in emotional lability, what happens is that emotions and moods change suddenly, sometimes without any apparent cause.