Apathy through the eyes of a psychiatrist from Krakow
Apathy is a mental state characterized by indifference, lack of willingness to participate in events happening around, and emotional coldness. It is not a separate disease, but a set of symptoms accompanying a number of somatic diseases and mental disorders. If left untreated, the sufferer’s condition gradually worsens. The patient, who previously simply noticed the lack of joy in life, becomes more and more sick, loses interests and social contacts. Psychologists from Krakow can correctly identify the causes of apathy and provide therapy that will have a positive effect on the patient’s mood, restoring motivation to act and clarity of emotions.
About apathy
Apathy does not always mean a disease – it can develop in mentally and physically healthy people after experiencing severe stress or overwork. Sometimes this disease is a personality trait, a consequence of low social activity and accompanies the natural aging process. In such situations, a person’s mood and activity decline only for short periods of time, returning to normal after rest or changes in environmental conditions. Pathological apathy is a manifestation of diseases of the brain or other internal organs, negatively affecting the course of mental and behavioral processes. In such situations, apathy is permanent, lasts for weeks or months and progresses continuously. The effects of delaying treatment may be irreversible, so it is worth consulting a psychiatrist in Krakow immediately after observing the symptoms.
Due to the specificity of the emotional sphere, men suffer from apathy more often than women. They often delay contacting a psychiatrist and refuse to accept treatment prescribed by a specialist, which deepens the disease and delays recovery.
Types
According to the causal factor, two types of apathy can be distinguished:
- related to somatic pathology;
- arises as a manifestation of a mental disorder.
Symptoms
Main symptoms of apathy:
- loss of desires, inclinations, interests;
- emotional coldness;
- feeling of indifference to everything;
- limitation of social contacts up to complete isolation, reluctance to communicate;
- insulation;
- feeling of loneliness;distraction;
- slow reactions;
- memory deterioration;
- lack of initiative;
- loss of appetite;
- somnolence;
- slurred speech;
- constant weakness, lack of energy.
In this state, a patient spends most of his time lying in bed and looking at one point, communicates minimally with his loved ones, responds in short sentences, speaks in monosyllables or does not communicate at all, refuses to eat, and sleeps a lot. He is not interested in activities that he enjoyed before, or friendly meetings. Sometimes psychotherapy is necessary to achieve complete emotional balance. Psychodynamic psychotherapy differs from other types of therapy in that its effects are observable long after the end of therapy, which is why it is particularly effective for apathetic people.
Where does apathy come from?
The causes of apathy in women and men may be such diseases:
- cerebral circulation disorders;
- consequences of traumatic brain injury;
- dementia (vascular, frontotemporal, Alzheimer’s disease, Pick’s disease);
- encephalitis;
- encephalopathy;
- hydrocephalus;
- thyrotoxicosis, hypothyroidism;
- poisoning;
- chronic fatigue syndrome;
- Lyme disease transmitted by ticks;
- HIV infection;
- oncopathology, especially brain tumors;
- severe cardiovascular, liver and kidney failure;
- hypovitaminosis B12;
- depressive episode, recurrent depressive disorder;
- depression in the structure of bipolar disorder;
- schizophrenia;
- schizotypal disorder;
- schizoaffective disorder;
- stress-related disorders, adjustment disorders;
- alcoholism;
- addiction.
How to treat?
This disease may develop while taking certain medications (oral contraceptives, sleeping pills, some groups of antidepressants, sedatives) as a side effect of the therapy. Therefore, the best treatment results for patients suffering from apathy are observed when the specialist approaches the treatment holistically. A psychiatrist from the Małopolska Synapsa Psychotherapy Center is characterized by an individual approach to the client, ensuring the most comfortable and effective treatment, tailored to the patient’s needs.