Causes of human degradation in modern society. Degradation: signs, causes and prevention of personality decay

Good day, dear readers. Today we will talk about what the problem of personality degradation is. You will know the essence of this concept. Find out what are the reasons for the development of degradation. You will become aware of the characteristic manifestations. Learn how to deal with this condition and what to do to prevent its development.

Definition

The degradation of the personality is a certain state of the human psyche, which does not have the opportunity to be realized in creativity, profession and social terms. At the initial stages, the individual loses his balance, after which his working capacity begins to suffer, activity decreases significantly.

If a person becomes increasingly irritable, she has serious difficulties in concentrating on one object or business, cannot remember information - degradation begins to develop. Along with it, such features as weak will, carelessness are formed, and certain addictions develop.

Insanity is especially difficult case degradation, a state of intelligence, also called dementia. The problem is that today this condition develops not only among the elderly, but also among mature people, regardless of their occupation or material wealth.

There are three types of this condition.

1. Social degradation is characteristic of people who drink alcohol or take drugs. They completely lose social contacts, communication with their own kind is preserved.
2. physical degradation. A person loses the desire to improve his body, there is no understanding that physical health also affects the psyche. A person with an unhealthy diet physical activity, from bad habits ruins his body and health, degrades. A person who cares about his well-being, devotes time to sports, does not have this condition.
3. The spiritual degradation of the personality begins to develop when a person does not have compassion, sincerity, reason and love for himself and his neighbor.

Possible reasons

Factors that can provoke degradation:

• age - older people are more susceptible;
• hereditary predisposition;
• experienced shock, severe grief;
• low self-esteem;
• psychical deviations;
• loneliness;
• drug use, alcoholism;
• stupidity, own weakness;
• cruelty.

Characteristic symptoms

The first signs indicating degradation are inattention, quarrelsomeness and selfishness.

Psychologist Maslow defined the main qualities that characterize a degraded personality:

• the presence of helplessness;
• a person believes that nothing in life depends on his actions, he is only a pawn;
• no goals, no aspirations;
• basic needs for sleep, food, survival and physical comfort remain;
• in rare cases, a person feels shame for his actions;
• he divides all people into close ones and considers them good, and into outsiders who are unambiguously bad;
• sure that only his opinion is correct;
• in colloquial speech there are few adjectives responsible for the emotional sphere and fantasy;
• does not enter into dialogues, as he considers this a useless exercise.

Alcoholic degradation is quite common, which destroys a person's personality. Its characteristic symptoms include:

• emotional instability;
• strong resentment;
• angry outbursts followed by guilt;
• tearfulness;
• the inability to realistically assess the difficulties that arise.

Any degradation can develop sequentially:

• appearance worsens significantly, a person ceases to take care of himself, does not observe hygiene;
• there are certain dependencies;
• gradually loses interest in life;
• the principles of morality are erased;
• common sense is lost, base instincts take its place;
• social contacts disappear;
• the awareness of what is decent and what is not disappears.

Degradation in alcoholism

At first, a person only tries an alcoholic drink, choosing the one that tastes better. Then he starts drinking for some reason, then for no reason, or invents funny reasons. Over time, dependence develops, a chronic illness.

Degradation of this type is characterized by the following manifestations, which appear gradually:

• self-control gradually decreases;
• somatic dysfunctions progress;
• irritability, aggressiveness increases;
• thinking becomes superficial;
• lack of understanding of actions;
• movements become inaccurate;
• there is a loss of social contacts, ataxia and destruction of the personality.

Separately, it is worth considering the behavior of a person with alcohol degradation.

1. An alcoholic is not capable of intellectual activity, self-criticism, his memory deteriorates significantly.
2. For all his troubles, he blames the environment or circumstances, but not himself.
3. A person with alcohol addiction becomes too self-confident, rude, soulless, cynical, there is no responsiveness in him. He has restless sleep.
4. All thoughts of the individual are directed only to alcohol, nothing else interests.
5. Responsibility to society, to close people, children gradually weakens, and eventually completely disappears. Feelings of guilt and shame disappear.
6. Such a person cannot learn new activities, over time, such a person is fired from work.
7. The person does not understand how low he falls.

Alcohol destroys the personality, destroys the family. A person who uses alcohol causes inconvenience to relatives, neighbors, makes loved ones suffer.

Fighting methods

A person with degradation should realize his problem and try to change something in his life, change his attitude towards himself, change priorities, attitudes, worldview.

Therapy should be aimed at eliminating the consequences caused by the degradation of the personality. Psychological assistance is mandatory, and the support of relatives is also important.

In addition to working on yourself, psychotherapy can be represented by:

• group therapy;
• cognitive-behavioral therapy.

If this condition is a consequence of mental abnormalities affecting the brain, in particular the development of senile insanity, then the patient may be prescribed special drugs that support degradation at a certain level, atrophy is an irreversible process.

How to prevent development

It is in the power of man to prevent this disease. The main thing is to put in some effort.

1. You need to read a lot. Literature helps to gain wisdom, and reading allows you to train the brain, keep it in good shape.
2. It is important to eradicate bad habits, not to succumb to temptations.
3. Love yourself and your loved ones. Show concern for them.
4. Take care of your appearance, appearance.
5. Don't take everything that happens in the world to heart.
6. Do not use profanity.
7. No matter how difficult it is, do not give up, everything can be overcome and succeed.
8. Look to the future with a positive, in any situation, find something good.
9. Engage in self-development, find a hobby to your liking.
10. Remember the moral standards, stick to them.
11. Do not forget about the rules of decency.
12. Remember that bad deeds are always punishable.

Now you know what personality degradation is. You need to understand that such a person cannot exist normally, with her behavior she harms other people. Remember what you need to do to prevent or delay the development of degradation, do not be lazy to engage in self-development, read books, treat the problems of others with compassion, and support people.

Degradation is a disease and by no means rare. Many of us are already on our way to this personal "grace" without realizing it. The degradation of personality is nothing but the loss of efficiency, will, interests, feelings, principles. In a word, the global primitivism of a person who is advancing is not by the will of God, but brick by brick is being built by itself.

The best examples of complete degradation of the personality are alcoholics (we will not touch drug addicts, they are still even less than those who like to rinse their throats). Their thoughts are superficial, their ideals are unshakable, the phrases and words of all are similar in simplicity and unpretentiousness. The brain works only in the name of obtaining the main vital need - alcohol. But we will talk about them in more detail.

Causes of degradation

In the world you can find a lot of reasons for lowered hands and loss of faith in oneself. That is why there are countless reasons for the degradation of the personality, each has its own, each is similar.

Often people begin to degrade as a result of the loss loved one, a series of failures, the collapse of hopes. A person commits a slow and sure suicide, as he takes revenge on life for the fact that she acted so meanly and dishonestly with him. “To the evil” of life, he descends, ceases to follow himself and the events in the world, does not develop intellectually, forgets about his once interests. Often - it goes into a binge, because with the degradation of the personality it can be not only a cause, but also a consequence.

Degradation after retirement is also characteristic. Young employees are escorted to a "deserved rest", which is psychologically equivalent to a wake. Spiritual death sets in: there are no more duties and responsibilities, no worries and deeds, no headaches, and the brain is not overworked - but for some reason life is not beautiful.

Psychologists say that retirement is actually very harmful. Only a few manage to avoid the spiritual degradation of the individual by retiring, but only if a person always finds a job even without work. A well-deserved rest is useful only for those who are a versatile person, whose life does not end with leaving work, but on the contrary, free space opens up for a lot of new things. There are few of them.

Stages

The degradation of the personality has a number of characteristic stages that the psychologist Maslow described.

1. A person perceives himself as a pawn, on which nothing depends either globally or personally.
2. The basic human needs come to the fore.
3. The world is divided into “us” and “them”. The patient protects himself from "strangers".
4. The person is overcome by feelings of guilt and shame. The patient blames himself for all mortal sins, even those to which he has nothing to do.
5. The ideology of the degrading is unshakable, it is not subject to discussions, criticism and discussions.
6. Simple language, elementary, easy to pronounce and remember turns. With degradation, the brain does not want to waste energy even on verbal functions.

Alcoholism

There is only one way to protect yourself from degradation - to develop, between new experiences and comfortable old ones, always choose new ones, make decisions independently, regardless of the stereotypes of society.

Don't want to be like a primate? Find out what personality degradation is and make it a rule to develop yourself every day!

Surely you have heard the phrase more than once: "He / she has completely degraded, lost his human appearance."

Yes, each of us has repeatedly seen drunkards sleeping at bus stops, homeless people rummaging through garbage cans, drug addicts with their hands punctured in a sieve, ready to do anything to get another dose.

Even if the situation is not so critical, all the same, in terms of a person’s behavior, his vocabulary and appearance an unmistakable diagnosis can be made: personality degradation.

In my opinion, this is the worst thing that can happen to a person!

And therefore, it is necessary by all means to prevent turning yourself into a monkey

Personality degradation: what are the causes?

The dictionary states that degradation is not limited to humans.

This term is used in psychology, chemistry, ecology, biology, telecommunications.

It means that the characteristics of an object, living organism, element, signal, etc. deteriorated significantly.

The antonym of the word “degradation” is progress.

Personality degradation- the process of turning a normal person into a terrible humanoid.

Signs that a person is degrading:

• unwillingness to take care of oneself, wash clothes, wash, have a haircut;
• abuse of alcohol, drugs;
• loss of interest in life;
• lack of understanding of how to behave in society;
• ignorance of one's place in society and unwillingness;
• ignoring all the laws of morality;
• inability to tame one's base instincts, etc.

Popular reasons that lead to personality degradation:

• psychical deviations;
• age (old people often suffer from this);
• psychological trauma or great grief that a person could not cope with;
• alcohol and/or drugs;
• own weakness and stupidity.

Personal degradation - a sentence that is not subject to appeal?

I am generally convinced that a person can change his life for the better in any situation, correct mistakes and find the right path. It just takes more time and effort sometimes.

Personality degradation is a process that can be reversed if you try hard enough.

Once, on the great expanses of the Internet, I came across a community where former prisoners shared their problems.

It would seem that the most obvious example of personality degradation is a person who committed a terrible crime (and there were murderers and rapists among those who wrote), and then spent several years (or even decades!) in prison among the same monsters. But in this community, I found a lot of stories that amazed me.

“If a person has not read something in a day that increases his mind even a grain, he has taken a step forward in turning himself into a Neanderthal.”
Duvarova A.

Most of all, perhaps, the story of the man Yuriy surprised me (I'm not sure that this is his real name).

He himself is an orphanage, therefore, he tried the horrors of life from childhood.

I walked along the well-trodden path of many orphans: I ran away from the shelter, was homeless, stole, got hooked on some kind of drug (I don’t understand the varieties of cereals), and at the age of 16, in an alcohol-drug fumes, I killed two of my drinking companions. He served either 8 or 10 years (I don't remember exactly).

Once in prison, he realized what bottom he was on and was horrified.

Having firmly decided to change his life, he received the profession of a carpenter in prison, engaged in self-education, reached out to God, and read a lot. Having left, I was able to find a job and get a job in my specialty, and after -.

He married a good girl whom he met in church. Now they are raising three toddlers.

So, everything is possible in this life.

Personality degradation: how not to sink to the bottom?

We come into this world in order to do something good, to live an interesting and honest life, to benefit society.

I will never believe that God, Darwin, the Supreme Mind (who believes in what) created man in order to admire his degradation.

It is the human beings themselves (fortunately, not all) who manage their lives in such a stupid way.

12 ways to prevent personality degradation:

It is in books that wisdom is contained that does not allow our brains to dry out, and the process of degradation often begins with them.

Take care of your appearance.

Even if all sorts of troubles surround you, make them afraid of your beauty, slender toned body, fashionable clothes.

Don't give in to bad habits.

Alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, even overeating are activities unworthy of a normal person.

Believe in the best.

Sad pessimists are the first candidates for the group of finished personalities.

In any situation, you need to see the light at the end of the dark tunnel and strive to bring it closer with all your might.

Parents, friends, your soul mate, animals, life, after all.

A person in love will not suffer from personality degradation.

Don't absorb all the suffering in the world.


Most of the finished individuals argue their condition: "The world is so cruel, why fight, why live, etc."

If you can help with something - help, if not - do not reflect on someone else's tragedy.

Books, videos, courses, classical schools will not let you go to the bottom.

Believe that for all the atrocities committed, reckoning will surely follow.

Most villains commit crimes because they feel impunity, both before the law and before the highest court.

Do not ignore moral standards.

You can not lie, steal, envy, gossip, do nasty things.

All this destroys your personality on a daily basis.

Don't swear.

Bad words ruin our soul, expel money from our wallet, I'm silent about the fact that mats turn us into primates!

Do not forget about the rules of decency.

Picking your nose, scratching your genitals in public, yawning loudly with your mouth open, champing, licking a plate - this is already clear signs personality degradation.

Never give up.

Even if everything in your life is bad right now, you are able to turn the situation on its head and improve your situation.

It's just that you choose something else: to put your hands down and sink to the very bottom.

about the degradation of modern youth

according to N.V. Levashov (famous writer, scientist, academician).

But it's the pure truth. Think about what this all leads to!

Prevent degradation of one's personality- not so difficult, although weaklings think otherwise.

I believe that among my subscribers are strong, stubborn and smart people who will never fall to the bottom, and if they stumble, they will always find a way to climb back to the top.

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Not many people have an idea of ​​what personality degradation is. In a condensed sense, this term implies the complete destruction of human capabilities. If we talk about such a concept as personality degradation in more detail, then it represents a loss of mental balance and performance, as well as a comprehensive weakening of activity. The degradation of a person is the loss of his inherent abilities and qualities, which is accompanied by the loss of judgments, talents and feelings. If a person has become more irritable or his memory has deteriorated significantly and the ability to concentrate on something, then there are processes of degradation. The interests of such a person are significantly narrowed. At the same time, such negative qualities as carelessness, lack of will and complacency can appear.

One of the most severe types of degradation is insanity, which is dementia. With it, contact with the outside world is lost. The person expresses complete indifference to other people and maintains a very carefree life.

Signs of personality degradation can be observed in many people. Moreover, such problems are characteristic not only of chronic losers, but also of completely conscious individuals. This is the danger of the withering process. This state of affairs once again confirms the vulnerability of the individual.

Causes of human degradation

Often a personality degrades due to the fact that apathy takes possession of it. In situations where a person needs to complete some important task or make a responsible decision, many prefer to do nothing. A person without will, who acts only in accordance with his desires and unwillingnesses, has every chance of degrading morally and intellectually.

Personality degradation is a process that can often be observed in adults. At retirement, a person in a sense dies, as younger colleagues see him off for a "well-deserved rest." In fact, in such a situation, the person relaxes, because now there is no need to be responsible for anything or make efforts to achieve any goal. As a result, destructive passivity completely takes over a person. Such an amorphous state can be compared with the preparation for physical death. Surprisingly, among the elderly there are quite a lot of those whom degradation has bypassed.

The problem of personality degradation is more characteristic of lonely people or those who have experienced the loss of a loved one. In the latter case, the person falls into depression, which contributes to the rapid personal withering. Interestingly, a huge proportion of people, wanting to take revenge on life for their misfortune, for the most part kill themselves. Thus, a person practices a kind of slow suicide.

Another reason for degradation can be a sense of guilt. People who feel unwanted are often characterized by personal collapse. If a person has lost faith in himself due to several successive failures, then there is a high probability of degradation.

It is impossible to list all the reasons for the withering of the personality, among which, undoubtedly, there are such as lack of will, drug addiction in all its manifestations, cruelty, procrastination and banal laziness. but main reason yet there is a lack of spirituality, intelligence, compassion and love. It is these elements that make a person a person.

Undoubtedly, there are many examples when a person without a soul can demonstrate an extraordinary mind and achieve considerable success without degrading. However, in order to become such a person, one must initially be a person and be formed in certain conditions.

The famous psychologist Abraham Maslow believed that the degradation of a person has the following stages of progression:

• The formation of the psychology of the "pawn". A person has a feeling that he is completely dependent on some other forces. This phenomenon is called the phenomenon of "learned helplessness".
• The emergence of a shortage of basic goods. Primary needs for food and survival become a priority.
• Formation of a "clean" environment. The whole society is divided into bad and good people, “us” and “them”. Often a person has a feeling of shame and guilt for himself.
• The emergence of the cult of "self-criticism". A person is able to recognize the commission of even those acts to which he has nothing to do.
• Protection of "sacred foundations". The individual categorically does not want to think about the main prerequisites of ideology. Such people do not doubt their "sacred foundations" and are not able to look at them with a skeptical eye.

How to avoid degradation

The spiritual degradation of the individual may well overtake anyone who is not engaged in self-development. Thus, any person has every chance to come to a complete comprehensive collapse. You need to invest time and effort to keep yourself at a consistently high level. Build, improve and do - that's what you need to concentrate on those who do not want to degrade. Otherwise, spiritual death will overtake a person much earlier than physical.

In order to avoid degradation, you should be able to deal with your passivity. This skill allows you to increase the internal energy of a person and strengthen willpower.

There is physical and social death. The second concept implies that a person, being healthy, does not represent any value for society. Moreover, such a person can also harm society, since he is a burden and far from best example. In order to avoid social death, it is necessary to make efforts to maintain an active physical state and be interested in everything that is happening in the world. A person should strive to be useful to the people among whom he lives. To maintain a high life potential, you need to live not only for yourself, not surrendering to the hands of inner passivity. It should be understood that the main food for the mind is both the information that we consume when reading or through auditory perception, and what we talk about and what we are interested in.

Those who have a fairly active life position and live in mission mode will never face the problem of degradation. Usually such people do what they love and have many interests.

It must be understood that the environment has an incredible impact on the development or degradation of the individual. If a person mainly contacts with descending people, then this will not affect him beneficially.

There is a parable about a cucumber, which tried with all its might to keep its freshness. Once in a jar of pickles, he was very unpleasant at first, because the brine did not help preserve freshness. In addition, the appearance of a fresh cucumber was a reproach to its salty counterparts. However, after a while, the pickle ceased to be disgusting to the cucumber, and its neighbors no longer seemed so salty. Cucumber thought that being like everyone else is very convenient. However, in order not to turn into a salty snack, you need to follow the right direction in life.

Now you know what human degradation is. Having a general understanding of this problem, you can easily avoid the fate that is prescribed for a huge number of people.

Helps avoid degradation online brain trainer Wikium . It is based on scientific methodology, developed by neuropsychologists and psychophysiologists. You will effortlessly pump intelligence, improve memory and attention.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

After all, he completely loses the ability to develop and improve. It is so important to establish the root cause and try to eliminate it (of course, if this is possible).

Personality degradation

In a broader sense, this concept means a person's loss of mental calmness, efficiency, a sober mind and the ability to think logically. Moreover, not the best character traits are shown outside: irritability, passivity, and often aggressiveness. The ability to concentrate attention gradually fades away, feelings become dull, and a person lives some kind of his own life, only understandable to him. The degradation of the personality can cause a complete loss of ties with the outside world, and the most severe consequence is dementia.

How to recognize degradation?

It is very important to notice any deviations in behavior in time in order to be able to help a loved one. Signs of personality degradation relate to both external appearance and internal state. In this state, less and less attention is paid to how a person looks, what he says. Speech becomes rather simplified, no one tries to convey their idea in public words (this also requires quite active brain activity). The social circle is getting narrower, those who bring trouble simply disappear from life. The main phrase becomes “I want”, detachment from everything, family, children develops. A person does not want to think about and take care of someone, he seems to fade and plunge into himself, moving away from his loved ones.

Causes of personality destruction

It is not only important to notice the signs of personality degradation, but also to understand the reasons. Undoubtedly, a serious tragedy can cause such a state. Depression, mental anguish can completely change consciousness and lead to the destruction of moral principles and principles. Often, retirement is the trigger for this disorder. After all, for a long time a person was needed, was in a team, and now he is forced to rest. Feelings of guilt, apathy and even banal laziness can make changes in consciousness. In the modern world, where money plays a significant role, material values, the struggle for them and the opportunities that they give, often lead to spiritual destruction. And, of course, drug addiction, alcoholism - these are the main causes of mental disorders. Alcoholic personality degradation is a fairly common occurrence, and it becomes a serious danger. The human appearance is completely lost, thoughts are directed only to where to get the poison. You need to know that the degradation of the personality in alcoholism is irreversible, there are no drunkards who have not lost their normal moral character. It does not matter the type of alcoholic drink, even beer that is light at first glance can become a source of personality destruction.

Stages of personality degradation

If the degradation of the personality is caused by depression, strong emotional experiences, then the following stages are observed. First, a person loses his ideals, his purpose in life. Then moral principles and internal norms are lost. He becomes unable to overcome the difficulties that arise on life path. Envy, aggressiveness, apathy predominate among feelings. Then the ability to actively act and think, to understand others disappears. A person simply repeats other people's thoughts and actions. And, finally, everything ends with a complete loss of a sense of reality. The main argument of such people is a dispute for any reason; in order to achieve their short-term goals, they are capable of vile acts. Very often they try to live at the expense of others, but the relationships that such people are able to create are pathological and destructive. The one who ceases to value and respect himself is not able to appreciate the other. Interestingly, women are less at risk of completely degrading, they are saved by maternal instinct.

Alcoholism and the stages of the destruction of moral character

For the preservation of moral character and normal life, alcohol is a serious danger. The degradation of personality occurs quite quickly. At the initial stage, there is a psychological dependence on alcoholic beverages, it is more comfortable, more fun with them, it is easier to find mutual language. Characteristic- Large doses of drinks are tolerated quite easily, so their amount is poorly controlled. But the quality requirements are reduced. The second stage is characterized by the development of physical dependence, a hangover syndrome appears. In addition, temporary loss of memory is possible. Very often at this stage, all kinds of injuries occur in a drunken state, professional qualities deteriorate, quarrels do not stop in the family (and often it simply breaks up). Aggressiveness increases, psychoses are possible. The maximum level of alcohol degradation reaches the third level. Binges, amnesia, reduced tolerance for strong drinks, nervous breakdowns - these are the symptoms that a person is losing his normal appearance. Over time, the ability to work is completely lost.

How to help?

Personal degradation can stop. First of all, it is worth taking a critical look at yourself from the outside and adequately assessing your actions. To distract from heavy thoughts, you need to spend as much time as possible with people, go to the cinema, to exhibitions, read more books. You shouldn't be alone with yourself. Help people - good deeds add value, you will experience the pleasure that someone needs you. An active life position, a favorite job, a lot of hobbies - this is the guarantee that the destruction of the personality will bypass. Do not be shy to ask loved ones for help, they will gladly surround you with warmth and attention.

Alcoholism treatment

With alcohol degradation, things are somewhat more complicated. After all, a person does not recognize that he is sick and needs help. In addition, there are often times when there is no one to help him. The greater the dependence, the more often all social ties are destroyed. At the last stage, a huge intoxication of the body is added to the problems with the psyche. Therapy should be carried out by both a narcologist and a psychotherapist. At the same time, it is very important to ensure that the patient is aware of the destructive effect of alcohol and changes his attitude towards its use. And, of course, help to remove toxic substances from the body, get rid of the withdrawal syndrome. It also matters gender, the amount of alcohol consumed, mental state. The sooner treatment is started, the higher the likelihood that a person will return to a normal lifestyle. And even reasonable doses of alcohol drunk in the future will not cause hard drinking and other negative reactions.

Dementia - causes, forms, diagnosis, treatment, answers to questions

What is dementia syndrome?

Causes and types of dementia

• Alzheimer's disease;
• dementia with Lewy bodies;
• Pick's disease, etc.

In other cases, damage to the central nervous system- secondary, and is a complication of the underlying disease (chronic vascular pathology, infection, trauma, intoxication, systemic damage to the nervous tissue, etc.).

In some cases, dementia develops as a result of several causes. A classic example of such a pathology is senile (senile) mixed dementia.

Functional-anatomical types of dementia

1. Cortical dementia - a predominant lesion of the cerebral cortex. This type is most typical for Alzheimer's disease, alcoholic dementia, Pick's disease.

2. Subcortical dementia. With this kind of pathology, subcortical structures are primarily affected, which causes neurological symptoms. A typical example is Parkinson's disease with a predominant lesion of neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain, and specific motor disorders: tremor, general muscle stiffness ("doll walk", mask-like face, etc.).

3. Cortical-subcortical dementia - a mixed type of lesion, characteristic of a pathology caused by vascular disorders.

4. Multifocal dementia is a pathology characterized by multiple lesions in all parts of the central nervous system. Steadily progressive dementia is accompanied by severe and varied neurological symptoms.

Forms of dementia

Lacunar

Total

The main classification of presenile and senile dementias

1. Alzheimer's (atrophic) type of dementia, which is based on primary degenerative processes in nerve cells.

2. Vascular type of dementia, in which degeneration of the central nervous system develops a second time, as a result of severe circulatory disorders in the vessels of the brain.

3. Mixed type, which is characterized by both mechanisms of the development of the disease.

Clinical course and prognosis

Severity (stages) of dementia

Light degree

moderate degree

severe dementia

Diagnostics

1. Signs of memory impairment - both long-term and short-term (subjective data from a survey of the patient and his relatives are supplemented by an objective study).

2. The presence of at least one of the following disorders characteristic of organic dementia:

• signs of a decrease in the ability to abstract thinking (according to an objective study);
• symptoms of a decrease in the criticality of perception (found when building real plans for the next period of life in relation to oneself and others);
• three "A" syndrome:

• aphasia - different kind violations of already formed speech;
• apraxia (literally "inactivity") - difficulties in performing targeted actions while maintaining the ability to move;
• agnosia - a variety of violations of perception with the preservation of consciousness and sensitivity. For example, the patient hears sounds, but does not understand the speech addressed to him (auditory agnosia), or ignores a part of the body (does not wash or does not put on one foot - somatognosia), or does not recognize certain objects or people's faces with intact vision (visual agnosia) etc.;

personal changes (rudeness, irritability, disappearance of shame, sense of duty, unmotivated attacks of aggression, etc.).

3. Violation of social interactions in the family and at work.

4. The absence of manifestations of a delirious change in consciousness at the time of diagnosis (there are no signs of hallucinations, the patient is oriented in time, space and his own personality, as far as his condition allows).

5. A certain organic defect (results of special studies in the patient's medical history).

Differential diagnosis of organic dementia

Dementia of the Alzheimer's type

The concept of dementia in Alzheimer's disease

Risk factors for developing the disease

• age (the most dangerous milestone is 80 years);
• the presence of relatives suffering from Alzheimer's disease (the risk increases many times if the pathology in relatives has developed before the age of 65);
• hypertonic disease;
• atherosclerosis;
• diabetes;
• obesity;
• sedentary lifestyle;
• diseases occurring with chronic hypoxia (respiratory failure, severe anemia, etc.);
• traumatic brain injury;
• low level of education;
• lack of active intellectual activity during life;
• female.

First signs

Characteristics of the advanced stage of progressive dementia of the Alzheimer's type

These signs are called senile (senile) personality restructuring. In the future, against their background, a very specific for dementia of the Alzheimer's type may develop. delirium of damage: the patient accuses relatives and neighbors that he is constantly robbed, they want him dead, etc.

• sexual incontinence;
• gluttony with a special inclination to sweets;
• craving for vagrancy;
• fussy erratic activity (walking from corner to corner, shifting things, etc.).

At the stage of severe dementia, the delusional system disintegrates, and behavioral disorders disappear due to the extreme weakness of mental activity. Patients sink into complete apathy, do not experience hunger and thirst. Movement disorders soon develop, so that patients cannot walk and chew food normally. Death occurs from complications due to complete immobility, or from concomitant diseases.

Diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer's type

Treatment

• homeopathic remedy ginkgo biloba extract;
• nootropics (piracetam, cerebrolysin);
• medicines that improve blood circulation in the vessels of the brain (nicergoline);
• stimulator of dopamine receptors in the central nervous system (piribedil);
• phosphatidylcholine (part of acetylcholine, a CNS mediator, therefore improves the functioning of neurons in the cerebral cortex);
• actovegin (improves the utilization of oxygen and glucose by brain cells, and thereby increases their energy potential).

At the stage of advanced manifestations, drugs from the group of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, etc.) are prescribed. Clinical studies have shown that prescribing these types of drugs significantly improves social adaptation patients and reduces the burden on caregivers.

Forecast

Vascular dementia

Dementia in cerebrovascular disease

1. Hemorrhagic stroke (rupture of the vessel).

2. Ischemic stroke (blockage of the vessel with the cessation or deterioration of blood circulation in a certain area).

What disease can cause vascular dementia?

Risk factors

• hypertension, or symptomatic arterial hypertension;
• elevated plasma lipid levels;
• systemic atherosclerosis;
• smoking;
• cardiac pathologies (ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, damage to the heart valves);
• sedentary lifestyle;
• overweight;
• diabetes;
• tendency to thrombosis;
• systemic vasculitis (vascular disease).

Symptoms and course of senile vascular dementia

1. Pseudobulbar syndrome, which includes a violation of articulation (dysarthria), a change in the timbre of the voice (dysphonia), less often - a violation of swallowing (dysphagia), violent laughter and crying.

2. Gait disorders (shuffling, mincing gait, "skier's gait", etc.).

3. Decreased motor activity, the so-called "vascular parkinsonism" (poor facial expressions and gestures, slowness of movement).

Treatment

Senile dementia with Lewy bodies

• orthostatic hypotension (a sharp decrease in blood pressure when moving from a horizontal to a vertical position);
• fainting;
• arrhythmias;
• violation of the digestive tract with a tendency to constipation;
• urinary retention, etc.

Treatment of senile dementia with Lewy bodies is similar to the treatment of dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

Alcoholic dementia

epileptic dementia

How to prevent dementia - video

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about causes, symptoms and

Are dementia and dementia the same thing? How does dementia progress in children? What is the difference between childhood dementia and oligophrenia

Unexpectedly appeared untidiness - is this the first sign of senile dementia? Are symptoms such as untidiness and slovenliness always present?

What is mixed dementia? Does it always lead to disability? How is mixed dementia treated?

The treatment of mixed dementia is aimed at stabilizing the process, therefore, it includes the fight against vascular disorders and the mitigation of the developed symptoms of dementia. Therapy, as a rule, is carried out with the same drugs and according to the same schemes as for vascular dementia.

Among my relatives there were patients with senile dementia. What is my chance of developing a mental disorder? What is the prevention of senile dementia? Are there any medicines that can prevent the disease?

1. Prevention and timely treatment of diseases that lead to circulatory disorders in the brain and hypoxia (hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus).

2. Dosed physical activity.

3. Constant intellectual activity (you can make crossword puzzles, solve puzzles, etc.).

Personality degradation

The term "degradation" is used in each branch of science in a special sense, but the essence of the concept remains the same. Degradation is a regression, that is, a process opposite to progress. Degradation - decline, decay, deterioration in quality.

Degradation of the personality is a concept used in psychology to denote the process of destruction of the structure of the personality, the replacement of positive qualities and properties with negative ones. If the development of a personality, its growth is a movement forward and upward, then degradation is a descent, a fall down.

Degradation as a psychological phenomenon

The degradation of a person is noticeable from the outside, but is rarely realized by him. It can be difficult to notice it for a subject whose society and environment can be called degrading. When everyone around behaves immorally and lowly, it seems that this is normal behavior.

The problem of personality degradation is connected with the problem of society degradation.

Degradation does not happen momentarily, it is a prolonged loss of a person's "human appearance". A person gradually ceases to follow how he looks, what he says and what he does. He ceases to reckon with others and take care of their interests. He also doesn't care what happens to him.

Personal degradation manifests itself as:

• deterioration in the ability to think, concentrate, perceive, remember;
• the impoverishment of vocabulary, problems with speech;
• disability, unwillingness to work;
• fading positive qualities, manifestation of negative;
• communication difficulties, inability to communicate and negotiate;
• emotional incontinence and lack of will;
• aggressiveness or isolation in oneself;
• selfishness and eccentric thinking.

All signs of degradation can appear at once. It is impossible to talk about the degradation of the personality based on only one of its signs. So, problems in the emotional-volitional sphere do not always indicate the development of degradation. A self-fulfilling person also has difficulty regulating their emotions and behavior.

Why does it happen that a person "descends"? Is it always his own fault?

To answer these questions, it is necessary to understand the causes of the phenomenon of personality degradation.

There are many reasons for human degradation:

Inaction is also an act. A person decides to be passive, apathetic, lazy and bored, instead of moving forward and developing. He does not know how to motivate himself and set achievable goals.

The social role "Child" is a dangerous position in life. It is pleasant and joyful to entrust someone with problems and concerns, but without the ability to overcome difficulties on your own, there is no personal development. Regression is a psychological defense mechanism for returning to childish behavior that underlies this cause of degradation.

This mental disorder can have many causes, such as misfortune, grief, illness, psychological trauma and other suffering. For a long time being in a state of spiritual devastation and a sense of the meaninglessness of life, a person stops in development. Depression is a serious and complex condition and a kind of suicide of the individual.

Another heavy negative feeling. It gives rise to a feeling of own insignificance, depravity, hopelessness. A person decides that there is no point in working on himself: “I am to blame for everything! I'm bad and can't be fixed."

The desire to develop is stimulated by higher emotions and socially conditioned feelings. If a person feels useless, he does not understand for whom and for what to become better. He decides for himself that he will wait until he is loved, and then he will begin to develop as a person. An individual, for the sake of which it is worth developing, is always nearby - this is the person himself. Self-love breeds love for others.

Feelings of powerlessness, hurt pride, hidden resentment, lack of confidence in abilities, in the ability to reach the heights of development and self-realization negatively affect self-esteem, and deprive a person of the desire to work on himself and change.

Abuse of anything negatively affects the functioning of the brain. Harmful chemicals destroy the brain, and subsequently the personality degrades. It has been proven that the brain of alcoholics literally dries up, decreases in size, voids form in it, and the convolutions of the cerebral cortex are smoothed out. Injuries and dysfunctions of the brain lead to the loss of the ability to be a full-fledged personality. The brain is the organ responsible for the functioning of the psyche. For the normal functioning of the brain, you need to eat right, get rid of bad habits, engage in mental and physical labor.

A person who commits offenses and crimes oppresses positive human qualities and abilities, deprives himself of the opportunity to reveal his potential in activities useful to society.

In old age, irreversible changes occur in the human body and brain: the ability to think logically is lost, memory, attention and so on deteriorate. It has been shown that deterioration in work or loss of mental function in older people is associated with retirement. Hence the conclusion: if you want to keep a sober mind longer, you need to remain a socially active person.

Development requires work on oneself, and in order to degrade it is enough to do nothing.

The degradation of a person is the path of least resistance, because growing above oneself, striving for self-realization is more difficult than descending.

How to stop the degradation of personality

The sooner the degradation that has begun is revealed, the sooner the regression of the personality will stop. With significant changes in the structure of the personality and the work of the brain, the help of specialists is needed: psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians.

In the initial stages of degradation, everything is in the hands of the individual. Each person happened to notice a stop in development, but not everyone perceived this as a signal to start working on themselves.

The degradation of personality can be stopped and reversed by one's own efforts.

A person who managed to rise, develop and grow above himself, even if his environment did not contribute to this, deserves respect. Any work on yourself is worthy of praise.

An individual who got rid of a bad habit, overcame fear, received additional education, mastered the new kind labor activity or who committed another volitional act not under duress, but of his own free will, left the comfort zone and climbed a step higher in the development of his own personality.

To stop the degradation of personality you need:

1. Realize the fact of the collapse of the personality, find the real reasons for this. Write down the reasons in a concise manner: uninteresting job with no prospects for professional growth; bad company, negative influence of friends; pathological laziness; lack of incentive for development and so on.
2. Designate development paths, identify ways to change behavior and thinking, and write them down in the form of a corrective plan. If it is difficult to do this on your own, you need to contact a loved one, a psychologist or read the relevant literature.
3. Start corrective action. Working on yourself is the hardest job. It involves a change in lifestyle, habitual way of thinking and behavior. This is a change of priorities, principles, attitudes, attitudes towards oneself and life, a change in outlook.

As a prevention of personal decline and as ways to develop a personality, recommendations are suitable:

• develop culturally: read classical, scientific, educational literature, attend cultural events and places, be interested in art;
• communicate and make friends with educated, respected, positive people;
• engage in creativity, do something with your own hands, draw, master the game on musical instrument, work not for the sake of remuneration, but for the sake of getting pleasure from work;
• lead an active and healthy lifestyle: work, study, play sports, be in nature;
• love yourself and life: enjoy life, see its positive aspects, be confident in yourself and your abilities, be responsive, kind, caring, be friends and love.

For a person who has the desire to be happy and the realization that this is a real goal, nothing is impossible.

Signs of personality breakdown

Degradation of the personality is a reverse development, regression, loss of stability, weakening of activity, decline in working capacity and mental balance. Simply put, a personality loses its inherent features simultaneously with the impoverishment of all skills and qualities: judgments, feelings, talents, activity.

It is possible to single out such symptoms of personality degradation as increased irritability, narrowing of interests, dysfunction of memory and attention, and a decrease in adaptive capabilities. Also, the violation in question can be expressed in the development of carelessness, complacency, weakness of character.

The most severe type of personality degradation is insanity, which manifests itself in carelessness, dementia, loss of contact with the environment, complete indifference to the environment. A common cause of the described disorder is alcoholism, accompanied by severe somatic disorders and neurological dysfunctions generated by the abuse of alcohol-containing liquids. Alcoholics lose social connections, professional functioning and work activities also suffer.

Causes of personality degradation

It is believed that the human subject completely degrades if it ceases to develop spiritually, since the brain atrophies due to “uselessness”. There are many reasons for the degradation of the individual, causing the loss of an individual's faith in himself, which gives rise to a loss of interest in being. Such people cease to develop intellectually, to follow the events. They forget past hobbies. Also, the decline of interest in one's own existence can be affected by the death of a loved one, the collapse of hopes, or as a result of a series of failures. Lonely people are more prone to personal decay.

The listed factors, for the most part, in themselves do not threaten the degradation of the individual. The described violation leads to the desire of people to seek oblivion in alcohol. Such a pernicious "hobby" sooner or later degenerates into hard drinking.

Spiritual degradation of the individual is an urgent problem of modern society. Often, a personal decline is formed in people of the age category due to resignation, retirement. Many psychologists are convinced that retirement is bad for people. The absence of the need to load the brain with responsibility, duties gradually leads to a weakening of personal properties.

Along with this, there are many elderly people who have retained their mental alertness and clarity of thought. If an individual in old age tries to remain a multifaceted personality, constantly invents new entertaining activities for himself, if retirement age is not a sentence, but only frees up time and opportunities for new achievements, then such a person is not threatened with personality degeneration. In addition, the violation in question may be the result of mental ailments or organic pathologies of the brain (epilepsy, schizophrenia, trauma).

Guilt is a common cause of regression in personal development. Individuals who feel useless, superfluous, often lose their best qualities. In addition, if the subject ceased to believe in his own potential due to several successive failures, then the likelihood of personality degradation is also high.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the weakening of personal properties, namely drug addiction, lack of will, cruelty, senile insanity, banal laziness and procrastination (the tendency to push back unpleasant things or important tasks). However, first of all, the spiritual degradation of the individual occurs due to the lack of compassion, intelligence, love and sincerity. It is these listed components that make a person out of a human subject.

Senile insanity, which is considered a severe form of personal degradation, is a progressive illness, which is an irreversible mental disorder. The reason for its onset is the atrophy of the processes that occur in the brain, arising from the pathology of the capillaries. The hereditary factor can aggravate the situation.

The disease develops gradually. Oddities in behavioral patterns are not immediately visible. At first, the individual becomes distracted, a little forgetful, obese, greedy and self-centered. As the disease progresses, the symptoms become brighter. Memory worsens, false memories of incidents that did not happen appear. It is possible to single out such basic symptoms of personality degradation in insanity as complete indifference to what is happening and carelessness.

Signs of personality degradation

In order to be able to respond in time and help a loved one, it is necessary to notice any behavioral deviations in a timely manner.

The social degradation of the individual is revealed as appearance human subject, and in changes in his internal state. The degrading subject pays less attention to spoken words, his own appearance, neatness and tidiness. His speech becomes more simplified, and the circle of communication becomes limited. Patients avoid people who bring unnecessary trouble to their existence. The defining motto of the descending personality is the phrase “I want”. Gradually, detachment from relatives, family and other concerns is developed.

A person who has chosen the path of degradation does not want to think or care about others. He seems to fade and plunge into himself, moving away from loved ones. Long before the complete destruction of the personality, the first harbingers of the approaching degradation appear. The circle of hobbies narrows, mainly in the general cultural sense: they do not attend concerts and theatrical performances, stop reading, watching TV shows. They become characterized by windiness, flat humor, frivolity, carelessness at the same time as capriciousness, inconstancy, discontent and grumbling. The descending individual turns into a familiar, annoying subject, whose judgments are characterized by superficiality and lightness, and whose behavior is characterized by swagger, cynicism, a decrease in disgust and a sense of shame. Such traits as egocentrism, selfishness and deceit are progressing.

As symptoms escalate, intellectual impairment becomes more pronounced. The character of such a person is transformed. The descending individual becomes quick-tempered and irritable. A negative worldview, a prejudiced attitude towards everything that happens, anxiety and inner fear become dominant features. In addition, the individual has a decrease in memory, narrowing of interests, impoverishment of judgments. The ability to concentrate sharply deteriorates.

Signs of personality degradation are lack of will, carelessness and excessive complacency. The destruction of the personality can be seen with an unarmed cursory glance by a slovenly appearance, stoop in appearance, an indifferent look, and inadequate behavior.

The famous psychologist A. Maslow argued that the social degradation of the personality is characterized by the following stages of progression:

The formation of the “pawn” psychology is the phenomenon of “learned helplessness” (a person feels completely dependent on circumstances or other forces);

The emergence of a lack of basic goods, when the original needs become dominant (food, survival, sexual satisfaction);

Formation of a "pure" surrounding society (society is divided into good individuals and bad, "their own" and "outsiders"), the social world for them becomes like black and white;

The emergence of increased self-criticism - the so-called cult of "self-criticism" (the subject pleads guilty even in those acts that he did not commit);

Impoverishment of vocabulary (the subject uses elementary turns in his own speech, it is difficult for him to describe anything, the selection of adjectives causes particular difficulty, since they express human feelings and emotions);

Protection of "sacred bases" (the individual resolutely does not want to think about the fundamental premises of the worldview, he has no doubts about his own "sublime foundations", such a person is unable to look at them skeptically, that is, a person considers his own opinion to be the only correct one);

The emergence of various dependencies.

Below are twelve life aspects that level the threat of personality degradation:

Reading, because it is the book that contains the age-old wisdom of people, which trains the “gray matter” and does not allow the brain to dry out;

Caring for appearance even in the most difficult periods of life;

Fighting bad habits (excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, exorbitant incontinence in food, smoking marijuana - activities unworthy of a well-mannered developed personality;

Faith in the best (saddened pessimists are prime candidates for degeneration);

Feeling of love (you need to love your parents and the rest of your relatives, pets, partner, life), loving person will never go down;

Stop worrying about trifles, you don’t need to suffer just because the world is unfair, and people are unhappy, if the problem is solvable, then it does not exist, and if there is no solution, then excitement and anxiety will still not help get rid of it;

Self-development (learning new things, watching educational videos, attending various trainings, reading, getting a second education - all this will not allow a person to sink);

Belief in the inevitable retribution for the bad deeds committed (most criminals commit offenses because of the belief in their own exclusivity and, accordingly, impunity, both before the posthumous court and before the current legislation);

Following the norms of morality (lies, theft, envy, breeding gossip, committing meanness and nasty things - destroys the personality);

Obscene language should not be abused, because swearing, obscene words destroy the soul;

Following the rules of decency (public scratching of the genitals, picking one's nose in public, champing, licking fingers or plates are considered signs of personal degradation);

As long as the human subject is alive, one should not give up, because only after death nothing can be changed, so one must fight under any, even the most irresistible circumstances.

Degradation of personality in alcoholism

Many people have suffered from this serious disease. However, the terrible statistics do not stop anyone. Everyone believes that alcoholism will not happen to him and intoxicating drinks will not be dragged into his own snares. At first, a person only tries alcohol, choosing the one that he likes, then he begins to abuse intoxicating drinks, which gives rise to a harmful addiction. At the same time, the drunkard is not able to comprehend that exorbitant libations with alcoholic beverages are called this terrible word - alcoholism.

A mental progressive disorder called alcoholism belongs to the category of chronic ailments related to a variety of substance abuse. It manifests itself as a gradual increase in alcohol dependence, a decrease in self-control regarding the use of alcohol-containing liquids, a progressive development of somatic dysfunctions, increased irritability, often aggressiveness, superficial thinking, a decrease in the critical perception of one's own actions, inaccuracy of movements. The last stages of the disease are characterized by the loss of social contacts, gross ataxia, and the destruction of the personality.

The problem of personality degradation and chronic alcoholism are inextricably linked. In a person who abuses intoxicating drinks, intellectual activity is disturbed, memory decreases, self-criticism disappears. Alcoholics blame the surrounding society or circumstances for all troubles. People suffering from alcoholism become rude, overly self-confident, unresponsive, soulless, incorrect, cynical. Their sleep is disturbed and is characterized by frequent awakenings. As the doses consumed increase and become more frequent, the circle of hobbies narrows in alcoholics. All their thoughts are only about alcohol, nothing else can interest them. Alcoholics do not perceive the meaning of many everyday situations, the surrounding society does not touch them. People who abuse strong drinks stop reading books, attending theaters or other public cultural events. This is how the degradation of the personality debuts.

Responsibility and duty to relatives, children, partner, team, friends, society in alcoholics either weakens or disappears altogether. They lose their disgust, feeling of shame and guilt, as a result of which they become untidy, familiar, annoying, do not understand the ridiculousness or wrongness of their actions. An alcoholic often turns into a mercantile, optional subject in professional activities. He is unable to learn new things, to concentrate, to separate the important from the secondary.

The movements of the drunkard are accelerated due to the relaxation of braking impulses, inaccuracies and defects in work appear. The consequence of this is the loss of qualifications, dismissal or demotion, loss of social ties. Alcoholics are unaware of their own fall, making unrealistic false promises, seeking to impress and embellish reality. The humor of drunkards is riddled with flat jokes on important topics. Alcoholics pester others with their own sentimentality and obsessive frankness. Surrounded by drinking companions, they exalt each other, convince of mutual disinterestedness and devotion. People who avoid their company, they condemn, discuss with hostility.

In the workplace, alcoholics do their best to evade official duties without losing material benefits. Behind the endless demagogy, drunkards try to hide their formal approach to work, their laziness.

The first symptoms of personality regression become noticeable approximately six to eight years after the onset of the systematic abuse of alcohol-containing liquids.

Some drunkards become excitable, others carefree and complacent, frivolous, capricious, grouchy, others apathetic, depressed and inert, fourth ones intimately disinhibited. Often one state can be replaced by another. Some drinkers in life are timid and insecure subjects who consider themselves the worst of all. These patients have low self-esteem. However, the state of intoxication transforms them, turning them into boastful and picky individuals. They tend to quarrel and get offended for no reason. Such people in a sober state are rather quiet subjects, and in intoxication they turn into brawlers and fighters. Most often, such behavior manifests itself in family relationships, when there is no need to restrain oneself and control oneself.

Alcoholic degradation has a destructive effect on the individual, it destroys families. It brings suffering to the relatives of the drinker, inconvenience to neighbors, problems in the working environment. The reverse development of the personality caused by alcohol disfigures the life of the drinking individual and society. Alcoholism is a severe disease that leads to loss of personality and social death of the individual. Therefore, it is so important to treat the degradation of the personality, generated by exorbitant libations, in a timely manner. Excessive craving for alcohol-containing drinks must be treated, since every person has the right to a healthy and fulfilling existence.

Personal degeneration, the consequences of personality degradation can be eliminated under the condition of an absolute refusal to consume alcohol-containing liquids.

The treatment of personality degradation provoked by alcoholism is the responsibility of psychotherapists, and the elimination of dependence on alcoholic beverages is the responsibility of narcologists. The most important conditions for an adequate therapeutic effect are the awareness of the alcoholic of the destructive effect of alcohol or other intoxicating liquids and the patient's desire to refuse to consume alcohol-containing drinks in the future. Compliance with the above conditions will make it possible to facilitate the task of physicians as much as possible, which will have a beneficial effect on the therapy itself, and will also contribute to the speedy disposal of manifestations of degradation.

Therapeutic measures focused on eliminating the consequences of the destruction of the personality of the individual, not only include the complete abstinence from alcohol, but also require psychological help and the support of loved ones. Relatives and the immediate environment of an alcoholic should pay more attention to him. Individuals who have decided to permanently free themselves from destructive cravings need the help of their closest ones. And they certainly do not need their condemnation. It is often difficult for recent alcoholics to stop thinking about drinking. Therefore, the task of the family is to distract them from the destructive attraction. You can come up with a hobby that can not only interest a sick relative, but also distract him, take his free time and thoughts. Otherwise, there is a high risk of failure. Without the support of relatives and friends, it is almost impossible for an individual suffering from alcoholism to get rid of this terrible disease.

Popular psychology

Characteristic features of psychosis

Psychosis is one of the most serious mental problems. A person suffering from psychosis undergoes whole line striking changes in thinking, behavior and emotions. The basis of these changes is the loss of normal perception of reality, which is characteristic in a situation of psychosis. Here are examples from observation of a number of patients with psychosis that show what this "falling away from reality" is (Torrey, 1988).

Everything is in pieces. In your head, you put together a picture from these pieces. It's like picking up a torn photograph piece by piece. It's scary to move.

I feel that I can set the weather according to my mood, even control the movement of the sun.

The last week I was with one girl, and suddenly she began to seem to me bigger and bigger, like a monster that was getting closer and closer.

Psychotic thinking. Psychoses are erroneous beliefs that extend to all obvious facts. Psychotic people insist that their hallucinations are true, despite the fact that the facts contradict this. An example is a 43-year-old man with schizophrenia who was confident that he was pregnant (Mansouri & Adityanjee, 1995).

Here are some common types of delusions: 1) depressive delusions, in which people think they have committed terrible crimes or sinful acts; 2) somatic delusions, in which a person thinks that his body is decomposing or that it emits a fetid odor; 3) delusions (delusions) of grandeur, in which a person imagines himself to be a particularly important person; 4) delusions of influence, in which it seems to people that they are controlled or influenced by other people or invisible forces; 5) delusions of persecution, when it seems to a person that someone wants to catch up with him; and 6) relational delusions, in which events unrelated to individuals are given personal meaning. For example, a person may think that a certain television program is a special message to him or her personally (DSM - IV, 1994).

hallucinations and sensations. Hallucinations are imaginary sensations when a person sees, hears and smells objects that are not really there. The most common type of psychotic hallucination is an auditory hallucination. Sometimes heard voices order a person to harm himself. Unfortunately, many are subject to them (Kasper, Rogers & Adams, 1996).

Less common are people with psychosis, in which it seems to them that "insects are crawling under their skin", or patients feel the taste of "poison" in food or the smell of "gas" with which "enemies" are going to "finish" them. Sensitivity changes also occur, such as anesthesia (loss of sensation) or increased sensitivity to heat, cold, pain, or touch.

Emotional disorders. Emotions can fluctuate wildly between overly elated and depressed. A person with psychosis may be over-emotional, depressed, emotionally "smooth" or apathetic. For example, with the affect of flattening, it is almost impossible to detect any emotions. Usually at the same time on the person's face - a frozen empty expression. However, behind their "frozen masks", psychotic individuals continue to experience emotions as intensely as before (Sison et al., 1996).

Communication disruption. Some psychotic symptoms may be considered a primitive form of communication. Through their actions, many patients say, "I need help" or "I can't handle this anymore." Non-verbal pleas for help are necessary, as verbal communication impairment is a classic syndrome of psychosis. Psychotic speech is distorted and chaotic. Sometimes it sounds like "verbal okroshka".

Personality breakdown. Most disorders, such as those just discussed (as well as additional problems related to thinking, memory, and attention), lead to the disintegration of personality and detachment from reality. The disintegration of the personality is associated with the loss of coordination between thoughts, actions and emotions. As a result, a serious deterioration in work, in social relations and take care of yourself. When psychotic disturbances and fragmentation of the personality are observed for several weeks or months (often including during this period a period of deterioration, an active phase and a residual phase), then the person suffers from psychosis (DSM - IV, 1994).

Indeed, the description given above is somewhat exaggerated. It is rare that all of these changes occur at the same time. You may find it frustrating to visit a psychiatric ward if you expect to encounter unusual, dramatic, or incomprehensible behavior there. Extreme psychotic behavior appears as a brief episode. The symptoms of psychosis come and go, most of the time these symptoms are quite mild.

Exist different types psychoses.

Organic psychosis is based on brain pathologies - organic brain diseases, gunshot wounds, injuries, and others. physical causes. Conversely, functional psychosis is caused by unknown causes or psychological factors.

As we will see later, functional psychoses can also lead to physical changes in the brain. It turns out that all psychoses are partially organic. However, the term "organic psychosis" is usually used for disorders associated with a clear brain disorder or brain disease.

Organic psychoses

Psychotic disorders are sometimes directly related to brain diseases. One example is progressive paralysis, which occurs when syphilis attacks brain cells. In cases of developing but untreated syphilis, the patient's behavior may become disorganized and uncontrollable. This can lead to defiling and indecent behavior - the "dirty old man" syndrome.

Lead or mercury poisoning can be a particular cause for anxiety-provoking organic psychosis. Although rare, poisoning can affect the brain and cause hallucinations, delusions, and loss of emotional control. Of particular danger are old buildings where lead paint was used for painting. Lead tastes sweet. Therefore, small children may be tempted by chipped pieces of lead paint and eat them like candy. Children who eat lead paint may become psychotic or developmentally retarded (Dyer, 1993; Mielke, 1999). Lead paints can release lead dust into the air. Children may inhale or ingest the dust after touching contaminated toys. Other sources of lead include sealed water pipes, old lead-lined drinking fountains, lead-glazed utensils, and lead from car exhaust. More broadly, another type of "poisoning" in the form of drug abuse can also cause psychosis (DSM - IV, 1994).

The most common organic problem is dementia, a serious mental disorder associated with impaired brain function. In dementia, there are major impairments to memory, thinking, judgment, impulse control, and personality. This combination of impairments tends to make the person confused, suspicious, apathetic, or withdrawn (Larson, 1990). One of the main causes of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. Other causes may be impaired circulation, repeated strokes, general contraction or atrophy of the brain.

The three main types of functional psychoses are delusional disorders, schizophrenia, and psychotic mood disorders.

Causes of human degradation in modern society

What does the word "degradation" mean? The word "degradation" occurs quite often. It is used when talking about the gradual deterioration, decline, loss of valuable qualities and properties observed in various areas of life - culture, society, art, environment. This term is also used in relation to physical, chemical and biological processes: degradation of soils, proteins, etc.

Psychologists use it when they talk about the destruction of personality - the narrowing and impoverishment of interests, feelings, talents and judgments, a decrease in mental activity and performance, up to complete indifference and loss of contact with environment. The degradation of the personality is also called mental stupefaction. One of the severe forms of personality degradation is insanity, or profound dementia. Degradation of personality component a deeper breakdown of the human psyche: dementia, or dementia.

How does personality degradation manifest itself?

The first signs of degradation appear long before the complete disintegration of the personality. The range of interests of such people narrows, mainly in the general cultural aspect: they stop watching movies, reading books, attending concerts. They are characterized by frivolity, flat humor, carelessness along with capriciousness, discontent and grumbling. They become annoying and familiar. Their judgments are light-hearted and superficial, and in their behavior there is swagger, a tendency to cynicism, a decrease in feelings of shame and disgust. Such qualities as selfishness, deceit, egocentrism develop.

As the disease progresses, mental disorders increase. The character changes for the worse: the person becomes irritable, quick-tempered. Its main features are a negative worldview - an attitude to all events with a negative prejudice, inner fear and anxiety. Memory deteriorates, interests narrow, and judgments and feelings become impoverished. It becomes difficult for a person to concentrate his attention on anything.

Another manifestation of personality degradation is lack of will, excessive complacency and carelessness. Carelessness and complete indifference to the outside world are observed in a severe form of degradation - insanity. The degradation of the personality also affects the external appearance of a person. Characteristic changes in appearance are visible, one might say, with the naked eye: slovenliness, stoop, an indifferent look, inadequate behavior. That's what they say about such people - downtrodden.

The American psychologist Maslow identified several qualities inherent in people with personality degradation:

• attitude towards oneself as a pawn, on which nothing depends either in public or in private life;
• the main thing in their life is the satisfaction of basic primary needs;
• they divide the world into “their own” and “strangers” and try to protect themselves from “strangers”;
• they believe that their opinion is unshakable and not subject to criticism and discussion;
• their language is poor, they use elementary turns of speech. Their brain does not want to expend effort on verbal functions.

Why does personality degradation happen?

A person degrades when he stops developing spiritually. His brain, as it were, begins to atrophy "as unnecessary." There can be many reasons why a person gives up and loses faith in himself, he becomes uninteresting in life, he stops following events, develops intellectually, forgets about his former hobbies - there can be many. This happens to someone with the loss of a loved one, someone loses the taste for life after the collapse of hopes or a series of failures. The most susceptible to personality degradation are lonely people who feel like losers and useless.

But these factors in most cases threaten degradation not by themselves, but by the fact that a person begins to seek solace and oblivion in alcohol and sooner or later goes into a binge. The concepts of alcoholism and personality degradation are inseparable. Moreover, alcoholism can be both a cause of degradation and its consequence.

Unfortunately, quite often personality degradation develops in older people after retirement. Psychologists even argue that retirement is very harmful. Lack of duties, responsibility, the need to load the brain lead to gradual spiritual death.

At the same time, there are many elderly people who have retained a lively and clear mind. If a person remains a versatile personality even in old age, does not sit idle, if retirement frees up time and energy for new activities, then the degradation of the personality does not threaten him. Personality degradation can be the result of mental illness or organic brain disease (schizophrenia, epilepsy, intoxication, trauma, etc.).

Senile insanity as a form of personality degradation

Senile insanity is a progressive disease that is an irreversible mental disorder. The reason for it is the atrophy of all processes that occur in the brain, and this happens mainly due to pathological changes in its blood vessels. Aggravates the situation and heredity.

The disease develops gradually, over the years, and others do not immediately notice oddities in behavior. The person just becomes distracted, forgetful, grouchy, stingy and self-centered. But as the symptoms progress, they become brighter, and it is already impossible not to notice them. Memory deteriorates, there are false memories of events that did not happen. In the end, a person ceases to recognize loved ones, loses self-care skills, and he needs constant monitoring and help.

Alcoholism and personality degradation

Another example of complete degradation of personality is alcoholism. Alcohol for an alcoholic is the main vital need, and his brain works with one goal - where and how to get alcohol. Thoughts of an alcoholic are superficial, phrases and words are simple and unpretentious.

Symptoms of personality degradation in alcoholics appear already in the first stages of alcoholism. They are emotionally unstable: tearfulness, resentment, pessimism can be abruptly replaced by excitability, irritation and anger. They do not have a sense of guilt and understanding of their actions, but there is carelessness, euphoria, underestimation life difficulties. Their actions are inadequate and unpredictable. Alcoholics become rude, deceitful and selfish.

How to avoid personality degradation?

Unfortunately, no one is immune from the risk of spiritual degradation - it threatens any person who will "go with the flow" and not engage in self-development. If you do not improve, do not invest time and energy in your development, spiritual death can come before physical. Another poet N. Zabolotsky wrote:

"Don't let your soul be lazy!

So that the water in the mortar does not crush,

The soul must work

And day and night, and day and night!

If you want to give her an indulgence,

Releasing from work

She's the last shirt

It will rip you off without pity."

People who overcome their passivity, maintain an active physical state, are interested in everything that happens in the world, and take an active life position, are unlikely to face degradation of their personality. The immediate environment is also important: so that there are people nearby who would infect with their desire for new knowledge and skills.

As for senile insanity, it is completely impossible to cure it, but at an early stage it can be corrected. Therefore, when the first signs appear, it is worth being examined: if its cause is vascular diseases of the brain, such as atherosclerosis, the doctor will prescribe the appropriate treatment. Vitamins of group B, in particular B6 and folic acid, and an extract or capsule of Ginkgo biloba.