Agitated depression - what is it?

Agitation is a powerful emotional arousal in which a person feels fear and anxiety. This condition is aggravated by speech and movement disorders. The patient makes the same type of fussy movements unconsciously. It is extremely difficult to speak in this state, since consciousness is in a stupor, and the ability to reason and think logically is reduced to zero.

In addition, pallor of the skin, tachycardia, tremors in the hands and increased sweating are noted. Experts consider this condition to be prepathological within normal limits, but in particularly stressful situations it can be seriously aggravated.

Agitated depression is a common type of depression that involves alternating states of sadness and anxiety. A person can fall into despair, and after a few minutes succumb to panic and unimaginable fear. This disorder is called agitated, from the word “excitement.”

Plunging into melancholy, the patient thinks with disappointment about the uselessly wasted years of his life, in his opinion, about the lost opportunities. These thoughts are aggravated by self-examination and self-flagellation. In a state of panic and excitement, the patient, on the contrary, worries about his future life.

A bright picture of the future does not take shape, and life seems over, which is why obsessive suicidal thoughts appear. These two opposite states alternate with each other and “compress” the human psyche in a vicious circle. To find the cause of depressive neurosis and eliminate it, a consultation with a psychiatrist is required.

This psychological illness is more common in middle-aged or elderly people. According to statistics, representatives of the stronger sex encounter it more often. If agitation or depression of the same name appeared before the age of 30, the patient usually copes with it on his own.

At this age there is still a strong feeling that “everything is ahead.” Being in middle or pre-retirement age, on the contrary, a person begins to reflect on the past years and states with despair that not all goals have been achieved.

Agitation: what it is, causes of development, diagnosis and treatment

Translated from Latin, agitation means “to set in motion.”
Its main symptoms are unconscious motor and speech restlessness. At the same time, the patient is in strong emotional arousal, experiences anxiety and fear, fusses, loses causal connections between phenomena and the ability to reason, feels emptiness and distraction, and can only perform simple automated actions. The condition has not only mental, but also vegetative manifestations.

Agitation can be a prepathological condition under severe stress or mental illness (anxiety neurosis, Alzheimer's disease, depression, catatonic schizophrenia). Or it may be a symptom of an infectious disease, alcohol or drug intoxication.

What is agitation and why does it occur?

Agitation – (Latin “set in motion”) is a psycho-emotional state characterized by uncontrollable fear, excitement, speech and motor restlessness. People in a state of agitation are not able to control their behavior, speech and emotions, they scream, run, make many unnecessary movements, their actions and words may seem inadequate, devoid of logic and meaning.

It is quite difficult to say exactly what agitation is. According to psychologists, this condition is borderline - between physiological norm and pathology.

If agitation occurs periodically - as a reaction to very strong stress, then, most likely, these are personal characteristics of a person that are not related to psychopathology.

But if periods of excitement appear regularly and are not associated with experienced events or are not proportional to them (when such attacks occur in response to any stimulus), then it is necessary to exclude somatic and psychopathological conditions in which similar symptoms occur.

Agitation can occur at any age; such attacks occur in both children and adults. In children, attacks of agitation can occur during infectious diseases, accompanied by an increase in body temperature or during strong emotional experiences, even positive ones.

There are 2 groups of reasons for the development of agitation:

• Severe stress: fear, psychological trauma - agitation occurs as a mental reaction to shock, passes quickly and does not require treatment or medication. Also, overstimulation of the nervous system can cause fatigue, chronic lack of sleep, excessive consumption of drinks containing caffeine or pharmacological drugs that cause stimulation of the nervous system.
• Somatic and mental illnesses - agitation occurs as one of the symptoms of the disorder.

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This condition can be caused by:

• Infectious diseases
• Intoxication
• Anxiety neurosis
• Depression
• Psychoses
• Schizophrenia
• Alzheimer's disease.

It is believed that this condition occurs more often in people whose nervous systems are weakened. Predisposing factors may be vitamin deficiency, metabolic disorders, vascular pathologies, head injuries, decreased immunity, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and so on.

Diagnostics and therapy

To diagnose agitation, a specialist needs to observe the patient’s behavior and correctly differentiate this condition from akatasia, which has similar symptoms. This aspect is very important, since some medications used for agitation are absolutely contraindicated for akatasia.

In addition to an external examination, as prescribed by a doctor, diagnostic tests such as a clinical analysis of urine and blood, analysis of thyroid hormones, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, screening of medications used by patients, measurement of blood pressure and pulse can be used.

Treatment of agitation, as a rule, turns out to be quite effective, since many causes of the pathology are easily correctable. If agitation is not caused by an infectious or mental illness, its treatment is usually carried out using a complex method, in particular, with the help of drugs from the following groups:

• Sedative antidepressants. Such medications can be used as a sedative, taking into account possible side effects such as drowsiness, dry mouth, stool disorders, etc. They are prescribed in cases where agitation is combined with a depressive disorder;
• Antipsychotics. Drugs in this group can be prescribed if the patient exhibits clouding of consciousness and paranoia;
• Antianxiolytic medications. These medications should also be taken with caution and strictly as prescribed by your doctor. Daytime drowsiness is possible as a side effect.

Agitation in some cases involves treatment using common psychotherapeutic techniques. As a rule, patients are offered fairly simple behavioral techniques that will help them learn to control their own emotions and promptly switch from a stressful situation. Regular psychotherapy helps to increase stress resistance and emotional stability in general.

Signs

Agitation can be distinguished from the usual excitement that engulfs a person during nervous excitement by the following signs:

• Motor excitement - a person is in constant excitement, he can wave his arms, walk in a circle. Also characteristic are tremors of the limbs, obsessive, repetitive movements, and the inability to stay in one place.
• Speech excitation - motor excitation is accompanied by speech excitation. This may include an endless stream of words, incoherent shouting, profanity, or shouting. It is very difficult for a patient to shut up, as well as to stop.
• Change in emotional state - during agitation, a person experiences strong fear, anxiety, and the need to urgently do something, go somewhere or do something.
• Motor and speech disinhibition - motor and speech excitation is replaced by disinhibition - movements become uncoordinated, aimless, and pronounced tremor occurs. In this state, a person can cause harm to himself and others, since he is not aware of what is happening around him. Speech disinhibition is manifested by incoherent shouts, fragments of phrases, and the possible appearance of turns of speech that were previously unusual for the individual (profanity).
• Change in thinking - when experiencing agitation, a person feels an almost complete absence of thoughts, “emptiness” in his head, he loses the ability to reason, think sensibly and make informed decisions.
• Lack of criticism means there is also no criticism of one’s behavior. A person in a state of agitation does not consider his behavior strange or wrong; most often he resists the attempts of others to calm him down.
• Autonomic reactions - emotional and motor arousal are accompanied by redness or paleness of the skin, profuse sweating, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and so on.

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If agitated activity occurs as a result of psychopathology, an attack of excitement may be accompanied by hallucinations, delusions, attacks of unmotivated aggression, tics, and suicide attempts.

Causes

According to clinical experts, agitation is the result of psychological trauma or severe stress. A sudden change in the environment or fear may act as a provoking factor.

For people whose profession involves risk to life, such a condition is not uncommon. The problem under consideration should not be confused with traditional confusion.

Excessive anxiety can be caused by a mental or infectious disease from the list below:

• excess caffeine or vitamin deficiency;
• drug addiction or alcohol intoxication;
• abstinence (withdrawal syndrome) when withdrawing from drugs or alcohol;
• taking certain medications;
• endocrine disorders;
• bipolar mental disorder;
• senile decline or catatonic schizophrenia;
• involutional or agitated depression;
• Alzheimer's disease.

If you have at least one of the listed problems, it is worth organizing treatment in such a way as to eliminate the main problem, after which motor and emotional anxiety will also go away.

Symptoms

Symptoms of agitation appear quite clearly during relapse. First of all, this is a violation of movement coordination and speech dysfunction .

Under the influence of feelings of anxiety and fear, the patient may experience increased blood pressure and body temperature , increased sweating , increased pulse and heart rate, and pale skin .

In this state, breathing often becomes frequent, sometimes intermittent, tremors of the limbs, anxiety and fussiness appear.

Under the influence of other diseases, agitation can cause obsessions, hallucinations, lack of criticality, logic, analysis, cause-and-effect relationships . Some patients may use curse words in their speech that are not typical for them in everyday life.

The patient finds himself completely helpless in the world around him and can only make automatic movements. This condition causes a feeling of danger in him and can be expressed in uncontrolled aggression. Careless actions towards a patient on the part of relatives, friends, strangers or medical personnel can lead to negative consequences.

In addition to the above, agitation is often accompanied by sleep disturbances . This causes insomnia and disruption of the usual routine.

Who is susceptible to agitation?

People with infectious or mental illnesses are also susceptible to agitation. This condition is characterized as prepathological within the psychological norm.

For example, police officers, firefighters, military personnel, stuntmen, pilots, submariners. An attack can be triggered by physical and mental overload that a person has been experiencing for a long time. Severe fatigue also provokes this condition.

It may be one of the symptoms of a number of diseases:

• neurosis
• depression (involutional, agitated)
• catatonic schizophrenia
• Alzheimer's
• senile decline
• endocrine disorders
• avitaminosis
• alcohol addiction
• drug addiction
• dementia
• withdrawal syndrome

The manifestation of agitation affects the human psyche and the autonomic system. In this state, the patient ceases to control himself and there is a danger of causing physical harm to himself and those around him.

Treatment

Therapy for agitation should be aimed at eliminating the cause that caused its development. If this is a stressful situation, the use of tranquilizers is indicated. If agitation occurs as a result of the disease, it is treated.

Drug correction of agitation is carried out only as prescribed by a doctor and under his supervision. For this purpose, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antianxiolytics can be used.

Antidepressants, antipsychotics, antianxiolytics and psychotherapy are the basis for the treatment of agitation

Psychotherapy plays an important role in eliminating agitation. It allows the patient to develop resistance to stressful situations, nervous and physical fatigue.

Frequent feelings of anxiety and excessive agitation are the first signs of agitation

page » Hysteria » Frequent feelings of anxiety and excessive excitement are the first signs of agitation

Danger and anxiety overcome every person from time to time. This could be fear for your family, for your health, for your future, or for the stability of your usual lifestyle.

Source: https://gudi1991.ru/psihoterapiya/azhitaciya-eto-v-psihologii.html

Causes

Agitation in some cases is a variant of the norm. For example, it can be triggered by a severe stressful situation - both acute and chronic.

More often, agitation is considered as one of the symptoms accompanying the following mental diseases:

• Alzheimer's disease;
• agitated depression;
• anxiety neurosis;
• catatonic schizophrenia;
• involutional depression;
• affective insanity.

The state of agitation can be provoked by the use of narcotic or psychotropic substances, or alcoholic beverages. In addition, pathology occurs against the background of severe infectious diseases.

The mechanism of agitation development is complex and currently not fully understood. It is assumed that they play an important role:

• cerebral ischemia;
• metabolic disorders;
• influence of toxins;
• neuroreflex mechanisms;
• autoimmune and immune reactions;
• psychological characteristics of the individual.

Agitation: characteristics and symptoms

Mental disorders are one of the biggest problems of modern society, as more and more people notice signs of certain diseases. Agitation is a disorder that is associated with increased emotional arousal, accompanied by fear and anxiety, manifested in speech and movement.

You can often come across the expression that a person is “in agitation,” i.e. joyful or restless - in fact, simple emotional arousal has nothing to do with this mental disorder. A person who is in agitation will be extremely fussy, restless, and will also tend to repeat the same movements, etc.

Causes

The causes of agitation, like any mental illness, are very vague. It is difficult to say with certainty what became the basis of this disorder. Usually it is influenced by a complex of reasons, ranging from a predisposition to such diseases and ending with overwork or stress.

At the moment, researchers put forward a number of reasons that may trigger agitation:

• Severe stress associated with sudden fear.
• A job that involves constant risk, exposure to something dangerous, and constant change and change.
• The result of drug intoxication, or “delirium tremens.”
• Pathological effects of certain medications.
• Disorders of the endocrine system (for example, a disease such as hyperthyroidism).

The risk group includes older people - usually due to serious traumatic events, they can be susceptible to this disorder. It can also manifest itself against the background of age-related mental disorders (dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc.).

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This disease may be one of the symptoms of other, more serious mental disorders:

• Schizophrenia.
• Neurosis.
• Agitated depression.
• Bipolar disorder.

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Naturally, the specific treatment will depend on the cause. But it must be said that the cause of this disorder is quite difficult to establish. It is impossible to say unequivocally what exactly – what event or experience – became the main trigger.

Main features

It is necessary to pay attention to how agitated activity will manifest itself, since it will be somewhat different from other disorders. We should also not forget that the patient himself may not notice these signs; it is important for relatives or close people to pay attention to this in order to seek help as early as possible.

The main signs of agitation:

• Agitation begins to unfold with the manifestation of fussiness and restlessness in movements.
• Trembling appears in the hands, the skin turns pale, sweating increases, breathing and heart rate increase.
• Thinking becomes confused, speech becomes confused. It is difficult for a person to complete a sentence; he seems to rush from one thought to another or repeats the same words.
• The more serious the disease, the more pronounced the symptoms will appear - moreover, during attacks the patient can cause harm to both himself and others. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the signs of the disorder as early as possible.
• If agitation acts as a symptom of other diseases, then it can be accompanied by visual or auditory illusions, sometimes by attacks of spontaneous shouting of curses, as well as motor tics.

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Agitation is a common symptom of a disease called agitated depression. Her symptoms will be somewhat different. It must be said that with this disorder a combination of various symptoms will appear, characteristic of both ordinary depression (depressed mood, apathy, sleep disturbances, etc.) and agitation.

Firstly, such patients experience causeless anxiety. They begin to worry about their loved ones, their health and physical condition. They are captured by a certain premonition that something bad is about to happen.

Secondly, the patient’s speech changes, he repeats the same phrases, usually somehow related to his anxiety. Moreover, this can amount to a couple of words, which he will restlessly repeat and repeat.

Thirdly, there are behavioral changes. It will be difficult for the patient to literally sit still. He will constantly move, move, restlessly walk from corner to corner.

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With serious development of this disease, it can be combined with delusional states and obsessions. In some, especially severe cases, suicide attempts may occur, as well as various types of auto-aggression (aggressive behavior directed at oneself, for example, self-torture).

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Help and treatment

So, it is important to know that agitation as an independent disease is currently completely curable. But if it is a sign of another disease, certain difficulties may arise.

First, it is important to establish the cause of the disease. After the specialist determines the factors that led to the development of the disease, treatment is prescribed.

1. Often such patients are offered to undergo a course of individual psychotherapy. Once the patient becomes calmer, he may be referred to a psychotherapy group, where he can practice skills for interacting with other people.

2. It is also important that the psychotherapist be visited by the patient’s relatives, since the need to create a certain atmosphere at home falls on their shoulders.

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3. Most often, the treatment of agitation is medicinal, since psychotherapy alone is not capable of returning a person to normal life. Medicines are prescribed depending on the characteristics of the disease; these can be both antidepressants and antipsychotics.

Experts recommend not to avoid preventive consultations with a psychologist. After all, it is worth preventing physical illnesses and maintaining your mental health. Daria Potykan

Source: https://www.grc-eka.ru/eto/azhitaciya.html

What is agitated depression and how to overcome it

Agitated depression is also called anxious depression. This is an unusual form of depressive disorder in the human psyche. It combines two contradictory symptoms - melancholy and anxiety. At the same time, melancholy manifests itself when a person looks into the past and cannot come to terms with it.

It constantly seems to him that he has not done what he should, or has done, but not enough. There are regrets about actions and words, frequent accusations of oneself for something, or, on the contrary, conversations that the person is not to blame.

Anxiety is expressed in fear of the future. It seems to the patient that something bad is bound to happen to him or his loved ones soon. The patient exhibits excessive physical activity. He can constantly rush around, walk around the room in circles, sometimes even run. At the same time, constantly expressing your concerns out loud.

Symptoms

Speech and motor agitation are the first sign that a person is susceptible to agitated depression. Also, this type of disease is characterized by standard symptoms of ordinary depression - such as apathy, melancholy, insomnia and poor appetite. Here are the specific signs of anxious depression:

• The initial stage of the disease occurs in a person with constant worries and anxieties, which he voices. They may consist in the fact that it seems to a person that something bad will certainly happen in the future. In this case, the picture can be blurry and presented in general terms, or vice versa - have a fairly specific appearance, such as a car accident or murder. At the same time, there are no real threats to life or health for both the patient and his relatives.
• The speech of a person susceptible to this disease becomes cyclical. This means that there is regular repetition of the same phrase or word. Often, instead of phrases, these can be entire topics that the patient constantly talks about.
• A person in a state of continuous physical agitation cannot concentrate on anything, often changes positions, wrings his hands, is unable to sit still and constantly walks.
• At a late and severe stage, there is a high probability of attacks of self-torture, including suicide attempts.
• Another sure sign that accompanies a severe stage of anxious depression is various forms of delusions.

In general, the disease manifests itself as attacks of depression, and then causeless anxiety, which alternate with each other. Anxiety is directed to the future - it is presented in gloomy colors.

It is followed by apathy, mental returns to the past.

In the patient’s mind, the following picture emerges: the past is lost, the person did not manage to achieve anything, and will not achieve anything, because something bad will definitely happen in the future.

The vast majority of victims of agitated depression are middle-aged and elderly people. This happens because young people can still see a chance to change something and influence the future.

And in middle and old age, the human psyche becomes weaker and more susceptible to various disorders.

At this age, it is much more difficult to cope with the stress on the nervous system, as a result of which the mental state suffers.

In most cases, the cause of such depression is a person’s loss of self-respect. This may be due to the loss of an environment, resources or circumstances in which a person could respect himself and know that he is also valued by others. For example, the cause was various failures that shook the psyche or material or moral losses.

For older people, the onset of depression may be retirement. In this case, older people, if they worked before, lose their usual social circle and, sitting at home, begin to feel unnecessary. All this plays a direct role in the formation of anxious depression.

Often people, observing the first symptoms of agitated depression in one of their loved ones, mistake this for a bad character that has deteriorated in old age.

But this can only worsen the disease if relatives, for example, ask a person to shut up when he begins a new anxiety attack, accompanied by delirium.

As a result, this disease will become chronic and gradually worsen the patient’s condition.

Treatment

The treatment process involves medication and antidepressants, as with any other type of depressive disorder. Antidepressants have a positive effect on the body, reducing symptoms of apathy and melancholy, relieving emotional stress, and also normalizing sleep and restoring appetite.

The direct treatment of the disease is carried out by specialists in the field of psychiatry. Taking into account the symptoms and causes of the disorder, the psychotherapist individually selects the most suitable antidepressant and also determines the required duration of its use. The prescription of drugs will also depend on the severity and dominant symptoms of the disease.

More information on the topic:

Source: https://psyup.ru/chto-takoe-azhitirovannaya-depressiya-i-kak-ee-pobedit/

What is agitation in psychology

page » Hysteria » Frequent feelings of anxiety and excessive excitement are the first signs of agitation

Danger and anxiety overcome every person from time to time. This could be fear for your family, for your health, for your future, or for the stability of your usual lifestyle.

However, if fear and anxiety groundlessly penetrate a person’s life, this is already a serious cause for concern.

Experts call this human condition agitation and classify it as a mental disorder.

Diagnosis of the disease

Diagnosis of the disease should be carried out carefully and comprehensively. Agitation is a condition similar in symptoms to the disorder akathisia, which occurs from taking antipsychotics. If the diagnosis is incorrect and an increase in the dose of antipsychotic is prescribed, this only aggravates the patient’s condition.

At the beginning of the diagnosis, doctors conduct long-term observation of the external manifestations of the patient’s behavior. Then various studies are prescribed:

• Analysis of urine
• blood analysis
• thyroid examination
• MRI or CT scan of the brain
• screening of medications used by patients
• heart rate measurement
• blood pressure determination
• somatic and infectious diseases

This integrated approach allows us to obtain objective reasons for the occurrence of agitation. Based on the results obtained, the patient is prescribed appropriate treatment. Late diagnosis of the disease can lead to the patient needing urgent care and large doses of medications.

1. Constant anxiety. The initial stage of the disease in all patients proceeds the same way, manifesting itself in the form of anxiety and worries about loved ones. A person with agitated depression begins to feel (for no reason) that something terrible will happen to his loved ones or to himself - an accident, unexpected death, murder, etc.
2. Anxious verbigeration. In a conversation with a patient, you may notice that he begins to pronounce and often repeat the same phrase or words. The phrases themselves are often short and monotonous.
3. Motor agitation. This symptom is expressed in a behavioral disorder of the patient - he can jump up in the middle of a conversation or in a calm environment, wave his arms, walk somewhere, constantly change his position.
4. Melancholy raptus. At an early stage of the disease, a person begins to wring his fingers; in more severe cases, he may begin to harm himself, even causing serious injury.
5. Delusional ideas, thoughts (Cotard's delirium, for example).

Anxiety, loneliness, depression, fear, hatred and self-rejection are what a person with agitated depression experiences. If you do not provide the patient with qualified assistance in time, everything may end in his suicide.

Agitated depression: symptoms, treatment

There are many depressive disorders, and each of them has its own set of symptoms specific to this condition.

Agitated depression is also one of the forms of depression, in which the main, leading symptom is the state of so-called “agitation,” that is, motor and speech excitation.

But other symptoms inherent in all depressive states are also characteristic of this disease.

Agitated depression most often occurs in middle-aged and elderly people, usually from the onset of menopause and later.

With this diagnosis, we can talk about changes in emotional state, since it implies the manifestation of two groups of symptoms that at first glance contradict each other.

This is apathy, melancholy, depression, sadness, characteristic of any depression, on the one hand, and overexcitation, “agitation”, on the other.

It is very important for the patient’s family members to show attention and patience throughout the entire rehabilitation course. Be attentive to the elderly members of your family, because untreated depression can develop into serious, irreversible mental disorders, as well as lead to suicide attempts or serious injury to the sick person himself.

Symptoms of the disease

Agitated depression manifests itself with a range of symptoms. In addition to the usual signs characteristic of depression (apathy, melancholy, sleep and appetite disturbances, headaches, etc.), this form of depression also has special symptoms:

1. At the initial stage of the disease, loved ones should be wary of the fact that the patient begins to experience and voice constant anxiety: it seems to him that some kind of misfortune will happen to him or his loved ones. This anxiety may be pointless, or it may have clear images, for example, “someone will get hit by a car,” “they will kill me,” etc. At the same time, there are no real threats to the life and health of the patient or his loved ones.
2. The patient's speech consists of short, repeated phrases, rather monotonous, on the same disturbing topic. There may be repeated utterance of the same alarming phrase - “anxious verbigeration.”
3. A state of motor agitation is also observed, which expresses itself in restlessness, frequent changes of posture, and constant walking.
4. With mild agitation, the patient may wring his fingers; in more severe conditions, frantic excitement and self-torture may occur, even to the point of attempting to kill himself. This syndrome is called melancholic raptus.
5. Very often this disease is accompanied by various forms of delusion - delusions of accusation and self-blame, delusions of ruin, Cotard's delirium, etc.

Causes of the disease

As already mentioned, the risk group includes mainly middle-aged and elderly people. First of all, this is due to the fact that in old age the human psyche has difficulty coping with numerous stresses, and it is much more difficult for it to recover than in youth.

The causes of agitated depression are mainly psychological and are associated with a loss of self-esteem, or with the loss of those resources that the patient wanted to use in order to strengthen or increase self-esteem.

This includes any circumstances and events that could lead to the loss of self-esteem of any ordinary person - personal failures, financial losses, loss of prestige.

Self-esteem can also decline when the sources of its support are lost - for example, the death of a loved one, or divorce.

Many older people also have a hard time retiring; they lose the social circle that helped maintain a person’s prestige and self-esteem.

All these prerequisites can play a role in the formation of agitated depression. Remember that these are not just bad character traits, but a disease that needs to be treated in a timely manner, to prevent the chronic course of the disease.

Agitation

Agitation is an intense emotional impulse, which is accompanied by an anxious feeling and fear, turning into motor restlessness and the need to move. An individual who is in such a mood becomes quite fussy.

It is capable of performing only simple automated motor operations. He has a feeling of lack of thoughts, the ability to reason and identify complex cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena is disrupted.

Thus, the meaning of the word agitation implies a clinical disorder expressed in motor restlessness and the need to move.

The condition in question occurs under severe stress and certain mental illnesses, such as catatonic schizophrenia, depressive states, Alzheimer's disease, and anxiety neurosis. Also, the described phenomenon can be provoked by drug exposure or alcoholic libations.

Causes of agitation

Sometimes the emotional state of human subjects can be considered as a symptomatic manifestation of individual pathological processes. With such symptoms, it is necessary to carry out corrective drug and non-drug therapy.

The conditions under consideration also include agitation, which is qualified by doctors as intense emotional arousal, giving rise to a number of unpleasant manifestations.

Sometimes the state of agitation is absolutely natural, but in other circumstances it can act as a “bell” signaling the presence of quite dangerous pathologies.

It should be understood that the described disorder does not develop in a vacuum. It is provoked by external factors and internal reasons.

So what is agitation in medicine? This term refers to the excited state of an individual, accompanied by motor restlessness, fear and anxiety. Speech anxiety may also occur. In principle, agitation is considered a natural response of the body of human subjects to tension caused by severe stress.

In other words, the described condition is detected under the influence of stressors or psychological trauma. In some individuals, the phenomenon in question appears as a result of severe fright or sudden changes in the environment surrounding the person. In addition, this condition is sometimes inherent in people whose work activity is dangerous to the individual’s life.

Among the external factors that provoke agitation, in addition to the effects of stressors, one can highlight increased physical stress, accumulated fatigue, and excessive mental stress that persists for a long period. Attacks of the affective state in question are often caused by pharmacopoeial drugs, consumption of high doses of alcohol-containing drinks, caffeine, and dependence on psychotropic substances.

Since the state of agitation can be a manifestation of an illness, a number of ailments can be identified that are internal factors that give rise to emotional overexcitation:

– infectious diseases;

– intoxication;

– endogenous depressive moods;

- Alzheimer's disease;

– anxiety neurosis;

– worsening senile changes that occur in the individual’s psyche, for example, with dementia;

– catatonic schizophrenia;

– senile decline;

- bipolar disorder.

In addition to the above, the described condition can also be provoked by endocrine ailments, advanced vitamin deficiency, and vegetative-vascular dystonia.

In psychiatric science, agitation is considered a serious problem that occurs in extreme circumstances. An individual, being in a similar state, is at risk of displaying aggressive behavior towards the environment and himself.

With a pronounced anxious depressive state, an individual often causes damage to other people's property. In addition, this disorder in patients is often the main cause of injury to medical staff.

Mental disorders are considered a rather big scourge of modern society, since every year more and more human subjects are exposed to these disorders.

In psychology, agitation is considered a disorder generated by a strong surge of emotions, which is accompanied by strong fear and anxiety, manifested in unconscious speech and motor excitation.

Symptoms of agitation

The emergence of agitation marks a number of different manifestations, but often the individual himself does not notice their presence.

The literal translation of the word agitation is excitement. Therefore, a characteristic manifestation of the pathological condition in question is the occurrence of motor disinhibition or speech anxiety.

In addition, the individual may experience trembling of the limbs, excessive sweating, and increased heart rate. The listed manifestations are often accompanied by rapid breathing.

In a state of agitation, the dermis becomes pale in color.

In psychology, agitation is a behavioral defect consisting in the uncontrolled transition of affective tension into motor restlessness. It is a concomitant symptom of various mental illnesses, for example, anxiety neurosis, involutional depression, catatonia.

When the state in question occurs, the individual “meets” a feeling of absolute absence of thoughts, his head seems empty. The patient becomes unable to reason sensibly or identify complex causal relationships.

Agitation is accompanied by a feeling of fear and anxiety, turning into speech disinhibition or motor restlessness. An individual in such a state is forced to perform unconscious motor acts of the same type. In addition, he is characterized by fussiness. The patient can only perform simple automated operations.

Agitation is determined by the presence of the following signs. The individual's behavior changes when the violation in question occurs, but he himself is not aware of it. Speech disinhibition, fussiness in motor acts, hand tremors, pallor of the dermis of the face appear, sweating increases, and the heart rate increases. In this case, the individual is in a hyperexcited state.

Particular attention is paid to the emergence of a state of agitation against the background of Alzheimer's disease, since depressive moods, hallucinations are added, behavioral disorders intensify, and a person is drawn to wandering.

If the disorder in question is a symptom of other ailments, then it is often accompanied by attacks of spontaneous shouting of swear words and motor tics.

Signs of agitation in depressive states are somewhat different from those given above. This illness manifests itself as a combination of various symptoms characteristic of ordinary depression (apathy, dream disorder, depressed mood) and those inherent in agitation. First of all, people suffering from agitated depression develop causeless anxiety.

They begin to worry about loved ones and their health. Patients have a premonition of something bad. The speech of such patients changes; they reproduce the same phrases that convey their excitement. Often this comes to the point of endless repetition of just a few words. Behavioral changes are also noted. It is difficult for an individual to sit in one place.

He has to constantly move.

Treatment of agitation

Therapeutic intervention, first of all, must begin with diagnostic measures, including, first of all, observation of the individual.

After all, what is agitation in medicine? This term is a state of extreme excitement, which is accompanied by anxiety of inexplicable etiology and fear. Therefore, agitation will be accompanied by vegetative symptoms, namely: pallor, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweating, and tremor.

While in the described state, an individual may involuntarily injure himself or cause harm to those around him.

If agitation has developed against the background of a mental illness, then therapeutic correction is carried out with the help of psychotherapy and the prescription of pharmacopoeial drugs.

It is psychotherapy that is rich in simple behavioral techniques aimed at helping the patient eliminate the symptoms of agitation. In addition, psychotherapeutic techniques will also increase the patient’s resistance to stress.

Although agitation is assessed as a condition that is within the psychological norm, that is, prepathological, the prescription of pharmacopoeial drugs is still practiced:

– antipsychotic drugs – drugs prescribed to relieve manifestations of paranoia and treat states of clouding of consciousness; they have a number of side effects: drowsiness, unusual motor operations, rigidity;

– antidepressants, which are psychotropic drugs and are used for depressive conditions, they are also characterized by some negative effects: drowsiness, constipation, dry mouth;

– anxiolytic drugs used to suppress anxiety, feelings of emotional tension, anxiety, and fear.

In order to prevent relapses of manifestations of agitation, it is recommended to take psychotherapeutic courses that increase stress resistance. If the disorder in question is provoked by the presence of mental pathology, then it is necessary to act on the underlying illness.

Psychoneurologist Hartman N.N.

Doctor of Medical and Psychological

The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and cannot replace professional advice and qualified medical care. If you have the slightest suspicion of agitation, be sure to consult your doctor!

Source: https://psihomed.com/azhitatsiya/

Agitated depression: causes, symptoms and treatment

Agitated (anxious) depression is a pathopsychological condition in which episodes of melancholy and low mood alternate with periods of excessive physical activity and anxiety.

This condition can occur as an independent disease - a type of depressive disorder or one of the manifestations of another type of depression. Pathological anxiety that occurs with this depressive disorder is often associated with age-related changes, which is why the disease is most often diagnosed in middle-aged and older people.

Causes of depression

People over 40-50 years of age are at risk of developing agitated depression, and the disease continues to “get younger.” Today, people aged 30 and older are faced with a “midlife” crisis and all the accompanying problems.

If earlier the main cause of this type of depression was considered to be age-related changes in the psyche - rigidity, decreased adaptive abilities and impaired recovery of mental processes, then today depression occurs against the background of psychological problems and the inability to cope with emerging problems.

Risk factors for developing a disease such as anxious depression are:

1. Lack of life prospects is one of the most common problems among older people. The realization that there is and will not be anything interesting or important ahead in life can cause depression or cause severe anxiety.
2. Rethinking the meaning of life - in the second half of life or earlier, a person may suddenly realize that the goals he has been pursuing are not really worth such sacrifices or understand that they are not achievable for him.
3. Problems in your personal life. Unsettled personal life, lack of a partner, children or apparently “prosperous family” is one of the most common reasons for the development of agitated depression in women.
4. Problems of self-realization - in the second half of life it is much more difficult to change profession, to do what you really like. Most people suffering from depression, at some point in their lives, find that they are doing a job they don't like, don't need, and don't pay well, and they don't have the ability or strength to change it.
5. Financial difficulties are another important reason for the development of anxiety and depression. Lack of confidence in the future and one’s own financial capabilities creates a sharply anxious state of mind, which can lead to the development of various forms of depression.
6. Criticism and dissatisfaction from surrounding people. Depressive disorders, as a rule, develop in people with certain character traits; risk factors for developing the disease include dependence on other people's opinions, low self-esteem and self-doubt.

Agitated depression is a disease that can develop in completely mentally healthy people, but most often those who have a predisposition to the development of mental illness suffer from this pathology.

Treatment of Anxious Depression

After making a diagnosis of agitated depression, the doctor must assess the severity of the patient’s condition and prescribe appropriate treatment: medication and psychotherapy.

When treating all types of depression, psychotherapy is necessarily used, since taking medications only helps to get rid of the manifestations of the disease, but does not in any way affect the cause of the disease.

Psychotherapeutic treatment is aimed at identifying the causes of depression; the psychotherapist must help the patient understand his problems and teach him to cope with them independently, without antidepressants or sedatives.

Agitation is in psychology

People with infectious or mental illnesses are also susceptible to agitation. This condition is characterized as prepathological within the psychological norm.

For example, police officers, firefighters, military personnel, stuntmen, pilots, submariners. An attack can be triggered by physical and mental overload that a person has been experiencing for a long time. Severe fatigue also provokes this condition.

It may be one of the symptoms of a number of diseases:

• neurosis
• depression (involutional, agitated)
• catatonic schizophrenia
• Alzheimer's
• senile decline
• endocrine disorders
• avitaminosis
• alcohol addiction
• drug addiction
• dementia
• withdrawal syndrome

The manifestation of agitation affects the human psyche and the autonomic system. In this state, the patient ceases to control himself and there is a danger of causing physical harm to himself and those around him.

The course of treatment must be prescribed by the patient’s attending physician. Many remedies have been developed to eliminate agitation, most of which are sold by prescription only. All these medications can be used both in a group and separately.

• Antipsychotics (neuroleptics) - for paranoia, clouding of consciousness. For example, Rispedal, Clozaril, Seroquel, Haloperidol, Geodon.
• Antidepressants (Pamerol, Paxil, Coloft, Prozac, Celexa) - sedatives
• Antianxiological drugs (Buspar, Ativan, Xanax, Serax)

The use of the above drugs can cause various side effects: drowsiness, dry mouth, rigidity, constipation, etc. However, these are temporary difficulties on the path to recovery.

Psychotherapists have developed special techniques for treating agitation. They include working with fears, various relaxations, art therapy and much more.

With the help of techniques that regulate behavior, patients learn the ability to control emotionality and increase their resistance to stress. Work with patients can be carried out individually or in a group.

Such sessions will help you avoid recurrences of agitation, and over time you will be completely cured.

In most cases, treatment of agitation is successful, provided timely consultation with specialists and the correct course of treatment.

Symptoms, treatment and prevention of agitated depression. Mental disorders

Depressive disorders are usually a process caused by a protective mechanism of the psyche and designed to suppress a person’s negative emotions with complete frustration - lack of interest in life, inertia, apathy.

But there are forms of depression, the symptoms of which are radically different from the classic clinical picture. For example, agitated anxious depression proceeds completely differently.

And everyone who does not want to face such a pathology should know about this disease.

What is agitated depression?

With agitated depression, a person not only falls into melancholy and indifference, but is also permanently in a state of “agitation” - in other words, excitement. The main problem with this condition is that depression, accompanied by an active state, can result in a person’s suicide.

The disease is one of the reactive ones, that is, it is a reaction to an external stimulus, and not an organic one. On the one hand, this greatly facilitates the therapy process, on the other hand, it complicates diagnosis.

How to recognize agitated depression?

In order to talk about agitated depression, it is first necessary to establish the fact of the presence of the depressive state itself, and only then differentiate its type.

Thus, the basis of the clinical picture is a feeling of depression, low mood, interpretation of all current events in a negative way.

At the same time, increased agitation of the nervous system complements the human condition with such characteristics as anxiety, emotional lability, and pathological motor activity, which accompanies many mental disorders.

Symptoms in women are usually more severe than in men. This is due to the gender characteristics of the human mental apparatus and the cultural aspect.

Who is susceptible to the disease?

It is very difficult to talk about what can lead to agitated depression or depression in general. The human psyche is a very complex mechanism in which both reactions to external events and processes caused by changes in hormonal levels and the production of neurotransmitters occur.

But the agitated type of depression is rarely based on an organic lesion. The most common factor for the development of this disease is old age. According to statistics, the disease is most often encountered by people who have retired, who have lost their professional authority, or who have changed the rhythm of their lives.

That is why psychologists recommend that loved ones pay close attention to the moment an elderly family member retires. At this time, it is important to make it clear to the person that his opinion is still important and help is in demand. Otherwise, there is a serious risk of facing depression.

Stages

1. The first stage of agitated depression is very difficult to diagnose.
   At this stage, the predominant symptom is anxiety, but the person still retains the ability to reason sensibly, so his anxious thoughts do not appear to be a manifestation of delirium. He may be afraid of a common illness or loss of savings. But as the disease progresses, anxiety begins to spread to all areas of life and even become vague: for example, a person may feel that something terrible will soon happen to someone close to them.
2. At the second stage, external signs of the disease begin to appear, for example, anxious verbalization.
   This term characterizes the speech of a person who is permanently in a state of anxiety. Firstly, a person does not want to discuss things that go beyond his fears, so any conversation comes down to a problematic topic and goes in circles.

   Secondly, the patient’s speech itself is lexically meager, constricted, he speaks in short phrases, and constantly repeats the same words.

3. At the third stage, a period of motor agitation begins.
   A person is active, he feels the desire to constantly move, walk, move his arms, change positions. It is caused by chronic muscle tension due to the constantly activated sympathetic system. By causing a person to want to move, the body thereby tries to “relieve” pathological tension from the body.
4. At the fourth stage, suicide attempts are most often observed.
   Anxiety increases, and along with it, muscle tension increases and, accordingly, the desire to move. In this state, a person is capable of causing bodily harm to himself, consciously or not, and even killing himself.
5. With incomplete suicide attempts at the previous stage, a person develops delusions in various forms.

Psychotherapeutic treatment

In its early stages, depression can be treated with psychotherapy sessions.

The task at this stage is to relieve a person’s tension, teach him to cope with stress correctly, and distract him with activities that will cause him positive emotions.

Taking into account the fact that old age is the most common factor for the development of the disease, a specialist must help the patient adapt to life in a new regime.

In order for agitated depression, which is treated without antidepressants, to be cured, the support of loved ones is very important. The atmosphere in the home, the involvement of the patient in solving important problems and tasks - all this allows a person to rehabilitate and get out of a depressive state faster.

However, doctors do not recommend protecting a person from stress. On the contrary, this approach can worsen depression, so it is important to help the patient cope with problems correctly from a psychological point of view.

Prevention

Reactive depression is much easier to prevent than to treat. The best defense against this disease is “psychological immunity.” It gives a person the opportunity to be distracted from problems that cannot be solved at the moment, and to solve those tasks that require attention.

But such immunity takes years to develop, so the second way to rid yourself of the risk of depression is to live an active lifestyle after retirement. Communication with family, friends, practicing your favorite hobbies, traveling - all this will direct the activity of the nervous system in the right direction.

Knowing what age-related mental disorders are, symptoms in women and men, stages and method of treatment, it will be much easier to cope with the illness that has arisen and avoid it.

Source: https://FB.ru/article/310833/simptomyi-lechenie-i-profilaktika-ajitirovannoy-depressii-psihicheskie-rasstroystva