The 16 disorders and alterations of affectivity

Before the appearance and manifestation of a certain psychopathology, an alteration of the affective or emotional state appears inherently.

Usually, these types of psychological expressions tend to be confused since they are often used incorrectly and interchangeably. In order to know in a concrete way the definition of the deviations of affect, we have made a list of the main affective disorders.

• Related article: "The 16 most common psychological disorders"

What is affectivity?

Affectivity is defined as the set of states and tendencies that a person experiences in a proper and immediate way, that is to say that it presents a mainly subjective nature.

What's more, considerably influences the conformation of the personality and behavior of the subject, therefore being transcendental in the psychological development of the individual and is intrinsically associated with the communicational property since this is one of its fundamental purposes. They are usually indicated using pairs of antagonistic terms such as joy / sadness, pleasure / pain, pleasant / unpleasant, etc.

In the DSM definition, affect is understood as the behavior that expresses the subjective experience of a state of mind, or what is the same, emotion. Thus, this concept is linked to a more changing and brief phenomenon, while humor refers to sustained and more permanent emotions.

1. Pathological joy

It refers to an extreme state of euphoria and hyperactivity and is related to the presence of a manic episode or an organic picture called «moria», which is characterized by an excess of excitement, childish behaviors and a tendency to play word games.

2. Pathological sadness

Set of symptoms based on an intense feeling of grief, sadness and distress in which the person experiences a significant decrease in interest in the environment. It is usual in depressive episodes.

• Related article: "The 6 differences between sadness and depression"

3. Pathological distress

It is a manifestation related to a notable increase in the state of physiological tension accompanied by a permanent feeling of intense fear, such as a state of continuous alertness. This deviation is frequent in anxiety disorders, mainly.

4. Affective indifference or coldness

It refers to a state of absence of experiencing affective sensations and is usually linked to apathy or poor emotional reactivity. It usually occurs in schizophrenic pictures, in histrionic personality pathologies, in organic-cerebral or endocrine alterations.

5. Anhedonia

Anhedonia is defined by the inability to experience pleasure and it is common in schizophrenia and depression.

• Recommended article: "Anhedonia: causes, symptoms and treatment"

6. Parathymia or affective inadequacy

In this alteration there is an incongruity between the affectivity expressed by the person and the contextual situation in which it manifests itself. It is typical of both schizophrenic disorders and organic-brain conditions.

7. Emotional or affective lability

This pathology is characterized by sudden changes in affect combined with the inability to contain oneself emotionally.. It is typical of dementias and pseudobulbar pictures. In this last syndrome, uncontrollable attacks of laughter or crying can occur, more frequently the latter.

• Recommended article: "Emotional lability: what is it and what are its symptoms?"

8. Dysthymia

This state is defined by the manifestation of a permanent low mood, with little fluctuation. In DSM V, dysthymic disorder is distinguished or, what is the same, persistent depressive disorder. It is chronic in nature, although the intensity of the symptoms is lower than in depressive disorder.

• More information: "Dysthymia: when melancholy takes over your mind"

9. Dysphoria

It is understood as a feeling of general emotional discomfort, with a depressed mood and presence of cognitive anxiety and restlessness, rather than physiological. A significant presence has been observed in disorders of sexual identity.

10. Aprosodia

This pathology is defined by an alteration in the use of affective language, more specifically in prosody (tone, rhythm, accent, intonation) and emotional modulation. This affectation is found in Parkinson's patients or in patients who have suffered an injury to the right cerebral hemisphere.

11. Alexithymia

In this case, there is also an alteration in emotional language, although it refers to the propositional aspects of language. That is, the person is unable to find a word that expresses her affective state. It is common in chronic pain disorders.

• More information: "Alexithymia: the inability to say 'I love you'"

12. Affective stiffness

In this affectation, the ability to modulate and modify the emotions experienced is lost. and is associated with episodes of mania, depression or schizophrenia.

13. Ambivalence or ambithymia

In this manifestation, the expression of contrary emotions about the same object or phenomenon occurs simultaneously.. It is found in various personality disorders as it can also occur in non-clinical subjects.

14. Neotymy

It is defined as a feeling "of new appearance", before which the patient affirms that he cannot recognize it in himself or have previously experienced it. (stolen or imposed emotional states). It is often associated with psychosis, epilepsy, or significant drug use.

15. Apathy

Lack of motivation, lack of "desire to do anything" and indifference to received external stimulation that is attributed to depressive states.

16. Abulia

It is defined as the inability to perform any action voluntarily, lack of energy to respond behaviorally. It is related to those pathologies of decreased motivation in the clinical child population.

• Related article: "Abulia: what symptoms warn of its presence?"

Bibliographic references:

• CEDE (2012) CEDE Manual of PIR Preparation, Psychopathology. VOL.1.
• Married, M. (2015) PIR Exam Preparation Manual vol. 1 ”Editorial MAD.