Neurasthenia: what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment

At some point in our lives all or most of us have felt tired, exhausted and overwhelmed. It is probable that on some occasion our strength was not enough, and that our heads even ached from exhaustion.

Fortunately, this situation has been temporary for most of us and in a short time and perhaps with some rest we have been able to get out of it. Let us imagine, however, that we are in this state continuously: we have no strength at all, we cannot think, our head and back hurt, and we cannot even sleep. That is what happens to people who suffer from neurasthenia, a problem that we are going to talk about throughout this article..

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What is neurasthenia?

The concept of neurasthenia refers to a type of disorder characterized by the presence of profound physical and mental exhaustion and weakness that occurs with the least effort. This fatigue, which is the characteristic and most defining symptom of this disorder, tends to go hand in hand with an inability to relax and the presence of other possible symptoms.

These include alterations such as the presence of irritability that usually leads to querulous behavior or even direct hostility, loss of appetite, trouble falling and staying asleep, depersonalization or feeling strange to himself.

It is common for there to also be concentration problems and mental slowdown, as well as anxiety and multiple concerns. Neurasthenia appears with a fundamentally depressive type of clinic, appearing in addition to the above sadness, high emotionality, anhedonia or inability to feel pleasure, bursts of crying and/or anger, passivity, apathy and sometimes hopelessness. The libido usually decreases to a great extent, and a drop in work performance and an increase in isolation are usually observed.

Symptoms

It is possible that during this table physiological changes appear, such as hypotension, fainting, various pains in the body (generally headaches) and gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, gas and heartburn after eat. Constipation and back pain are also common, and some authors included a possible hypersensitivity in the scalp among the possible symptoms.

This is a problem that as such is more frequent in adult men up to fifty years of age. However, it should be noted that medical syndromes such as fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue are heirs to this concept, and in these cases it is more common in women. Currently it would be classified as a type of somatoform disorder, since the main symptom is the great fatigue and low physical energy that those who suffer from it maintain.

A concept currently in disuse

This concept is currently in disuse and nowadays it is more common to talk about it as a symptom than as a disorder itself., since the set of symptoms that it implies can usually be included in other disorders. However, the term neurasthenia also has its history, and at the time it was considered one of the main types of neurotic type disorders.

It would be in 1880 when the American neurologist George Miller Beard would describe the neurasthenia syndrome at the level clinical (although the concept already existed previously) as an irritating weakness of causes probably functional.

In addition to this author, neurasthenia would be welcomed and investigated by currents such as psychoanalysis. Freud I would come to include it among the two main real neuroses, along with anxiety. It was considered during that time one of the main diagnostic categories, being the label that at that time identified depression.

With the passage of time, however, the concept gradually lost popularity, to the point that in the DSM-II it disappeared from the group of disorders identified in it. Despite this, even today some highly popular diagnostic manuals such as the ICD-10 include it.

Causes

The causes of neurasthenia can be multiple, and different theories have different hypotheses about it.. It is generally considered to have a psychogenic and functional origin, linked to the continued experience of a situation of suffering, discomfort and/or exhausting stress for the subject.

In its beginnings it was considered a product of exhaustion generated due to the high social demand, and over time it has become Added to this consideration is the idea that one of the factors that generates its appearance is the presence of conflicts at the national level. affective. In this sense, neurasthenia can occur in the context of depression or an anxiety-related disorder (also including obsessive-type disorders).

Likewise, pictures of neurasthenia that appear in a context of medical illness have also been identified, such as against certain infections, drug poisoning or toxic products, neurological diseases and some tumors. Dysfunctions in the immune systems or at the hormonal or metabolic level, such as hyper/hypothyroidism or diabetes, can also be contexts in which neurasthenia occurs. Finally, extreme hunger, anemia or the lack of enough rest on a daily basis are other possible motivators.

Treatment

The treatment of neurasthenia depends to a large extent on the causes that its appearance may have. In the case of those pictures that appear due to medical/biological causes, The treatment of this condition will depend to a large extent on the disease that generates it: treating its origin will improve the person's condition.

In addition to this, from the field of pharmacology, people with neurasthenia can benefit from the use of benzodiazepines I antidepressants that help them reduce their level of discomfort in such a way that it facilitates the realization of behavioral changes at a psychological level can work beliefs, expectations and self-demands that the person may be maintaining, with strategies such as cognitive restructuring to modify them.

Training in stress management and the practice of pleasant activities and relaxation techniques, as well as working on vital motivations, can also be useful.

Bibliographic references:

• Arias Parra, G. (1957). Current concept of neurasthenia. Lecture given at "Medical Seminar". Jaen, Spain.

• Beard, G.M. (1889). A Practical Treatise on Nervous Exhaustion (Neurasthenia). Its Symptoms, Nature, Sequences, Treatment. New York. b. Treat.

• Martinez Jimenez, M. (2017). Neurasthenia and fibromyalgia: the link between the nervous system and culture in complex clinical entities. En-claves del pensamiento, 11 (22). Mexico.