Emotional mutism: what it is and what are its symptoms
Emotions are indispensable for human beings . That is why psychology has always been interested in these, in how they influence our thinking, our behavior, our relationships and even our mental health.
In recent decades, the concept of emotional intelligence has been gaining ground in the world of behavioral science since research confirms again and again that the correct expression and regulation of emotions favors the mental well-being of individuals. However, some individuals may have difficulties in relation to their emotions. It is what is known as emotional mutism .
- Related article: "What is Emotional Intelligence? Discovering the importance of emotions "
What is emotional mutism?
Emotional mutism is a concept that is often used to refer to Alexithymia, which is the inability to express our own emotions and which may be a consequence of a neurological disorder or some pathology, for example, conduct disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder.
But emotional mutism does not affect all people equally, since there are two types of mutism: primary and secondary. Primary mutism is the most serious and is caused by a brain injury. For example, because of a stroke or multiple sclerosis. Also, the symptoms of emotional mutism may appear in individuals with autism or parkinson's (during the first stage of development). Patients with ADHD may also suffer from this disorder.
The secondary emotional mutism is one that has its origin in a bad learning or is a consequence of some disorder that makes correct recognition and emotional expression impossible. For example. the post-traumatic stress that appears after a sexual abuse. Studies say that 30% of individuals affected with a psychological disorder can suffer emotional mutism.
Symptoms of this disorder
Although emotional mutism may appear as a lack of emotional expression, the problem is much deeper, because the lack of expression also has to do with problems of identification of emotions and interpretation of the mind of others (theory of mind), that is, their thoughts or their emotional states.
In summary, the symptoms of emotional mutism are:
- Difficulty in identifying and interpreting the thoughts, emotions and feelings of others
- Limited understanding of what causes feelings
- Difficulty expressing feelings and emotions, recognizing them and using them as internal signals
- Difficulty recognizing facial signals in others
- Problems in the location of the sensations of the own body
- Tendency to use action as a coping strategy in conflict situations
- Cognitive rigidity
- Concrete thinking, devoid of symbols and abstractions
Although emotional mutism does not appear in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), these symptoms are characteristic of many psychological disorders. Emotional mutism is not necessarily a pathology, but may appear as part of a disorder or as a result of some brain injury.
Types of emotional mutism
As I mentioned in the previous lines, emotional mutism can appear for different causes .
These causes serve to classify the different types of emotional mutism. There is primary and secondary emotional mutism.
Primary emotional mutism
The causes of primary emotional mutism are biological, that is, there is a neurological deficit that affects the connection between the limbic system and the neocortex, for example. The limbic system manages emotions and the neocortex could be said to be our emotional brain. However, primary emotional mutism may also appear because of a communication problem between the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. Very roughly, we could say that the first regulates the emotions and the second the language.
The origin of these events may be hereditary, or may be due to a neurological disease such as Parkinson's.
Secondary emotional mutism
This type of emotional mutism usually appears as a consequence of a traumatic experience in which the person has suffered so much that he can be affected. For example, in the case of post-traumatic stress caused by a rape or by the experiences of a war, etc.
However, emotional mutism also appears as a symptom of other psychopathologies or deficient learning, for example, in the case of depressive disorder, poor emotional education or different eating disorders.
Treatment and intervention
The treatment of emotional mutism can be complex, mainly because the patient will rarely seek help, but it will be a family member or friend who will participate in the request for assistance. The cause of the affected person not coming for help is due to lack of awareness of the problem. This makes the family become indispensable in these cases. Only with the collaboration and support of these can the treatment take effect.
Because the causes can be varied, the treatment can also be. However, the intervention is usually carried out with three options: the administration of drugs (when the individual suffers primary emotional mutism), psychotherapy and a planned life strategy (this is why family support is so important).
Psychological therapy may be different depending on the type of emotional mutism , because those treatment strategies focused on the improvement of emotional intelligence, may only be effective for secondary emotional mutism.
The development of empathy has also been shown to be effective in patients affected by ADHD. In these cases, some of the activities that can be carried out are:
- Improvement of self-knowledge and observation of one's emotions.
- Observation of the emotions of others.
- The ability to understand, label and regulate one's emotions.
- Learn to express emotions.
- Speak freely about emotions and not hide emotional difficulties.
- Learn to solve problems and work on the style of coping and making decisions.
- Work self-motivation and learn to persevere in the goals and objectives.
