What is emotional lability and how does it manifest? – Online Psychologists

Emotions are, without a doubt, one of the capacities by which a person can know if the other is well or if, on the contrary, something is wrong.

What is emotional lability?

It is a term that refers to the instability of a person's emotionsPeople who suffer from it experience sudden changes in their mood, going, for example, from one second to the next, from sadness to euphoria or vice versa.

Although sometimes people do not give importance to the mood swings that another suffers from, this can have a significant impact on people's lives and their interpersonal relationships.

Causes

It is true that it is difficult to be 100% sure about the possible causes that lead a person to develop emotional instability. However, there are some factors experienced by the person that influence the increase of this:

  • Anxiety and stress. One of the reasons why a disorder or syndrome almost always ends up developing is due to anxiety or stress factors. Not knowing how to really control your emotions can lead to uncontrolled stress.
  • Parenting and attachment. How we have been raised will have a direct impact on emotional lability. If we are people who do not accept frustration or failure, we will tend to increase the changes in our mood. In addition, knowing whether during our upbringing we have developed an attachment to something or someone will be essential to understanding why emotional lability develops.
  • Strokes and psychological disorders. It is important to know whether psychological disorders are hereditary and could increase emotional instability. Brain accidents are also directly related, since in these cases, the brain area that regulates emotions may have been affected.
  • Drug useAs you may know, the consumption of certain types of narcotics has one impact or another on the people who take them. This is often directly related to the development of diseases such as schizophrenia, because the ingestion of these substances directly affects the cognitive level.
  • Bipolar disorder, depression or cyclothymiaa subtype within bipolarity, will be psychological disorders in which emotional lability can develop to a greater extent.

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Symptoms

  • Rapid changes in mood. Without a doubt, this is the main one and the one that occurs most often. As we have mentioned before, going from sadness to joy, among others, in a short period of time, without an apparent reason, is one of the symptoms that people with emotional instability suffer the most from.
  • Impulsiveness about decision-making, which leads to later regrets for not having thought better before acting.
  • Instability in relationshipsWhen a person cannot directly control their feelings, this will significantly influence any of their relationships, whether friendship or romantic, since that person cannot give 100% to them due to instability.
  • Difficulty regulating emotions.Not being able to control what we feel can sometimes lead to frustration, anxiety and even stress.
  • Excessive emotional sensitivity. Watching a movie and crying for no apparent reason may seem silly, but this is something that people with emotional instability suffer a lot from. What affects some people in one way affects people with emotional instability twice as much due to their excessive sensitivity.
  • Difficulty in having a good and pleasant rest. When a person does not rest enough hours or does not manage to have a pleasant sleep, the emotions are different. It is no longer a question of hours slept, but of the quality of sleep you have had. If you have slept 3 hours and have woken up a lot, your energy will be zero, on the other hand if you have slept through the night, despite being few hours, you will have a little more energy. This can be directly related to the next point.
  • Low self-esteemAs we mentioned in the previous point, a good rest is vital for people who normally suffer from low self-esteem. This is due to possible past traumas that have led to the development of this type of self-esteem. Not feeling sufficient for someone or not seeing yourself capable of achieving certain things can influence emotional instability.
  • Optimism and pessimismBoth are related. Neither an unrealistic view of what is happening around us, nor a pessimistic one, will help. We must always seek balance between the two.

Psychological treatment

Although there are several ways to treat emotional lability, the most recommended is always the online therapyIf this is not enough, pharmacological treatments may also be used. However, a combination of these two is also recommended when treating patients.

In the case of going to therapy, the resources that will be used will be:

  • The type of therapy that will be used will be based on cognitive-behavioral since it is the most effective in these cases. When a person suffers from emotional instability, it means that there is something that is causing this emotional imbalance. Therefore, it will be important to delve into those situations that are causing an emotional imbalance and thus find a solution. That is why therapy will be so important.
  • Thanks to therapy, the person will acquire tools to improve their emotional intelligence and thus know how to manage feelings that may affect them on a daily basis.

He drug treatmentwill be used in the event that therapy is not sufficient, as long as it is recommended by a professional trained in this field. Although it is an option, it is always recommended that this type of treatment is not used alone; continuing with therapy will help in a quick recovery.

Even though we think that emotional instability can be challenging, there are always tools, such as therapy, that can help you combat it.

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