Outpatient automatism refers to the special paroxysmal states of partial impaired consciousness. This is a manifestation of neurotic disorders in the form of confusion with a distortion of perception of the real world. Different degrees of severity of the disease can manifest itself with a whole complex of symptoms, which, depending on the severity, require psychiatric care and hospitalization with subsequent treatment.
Concept and specificity
In psychopathology, the state of outpatient automatism is one of the variants of pronounced twilight stupor of a person's consciousness . Neurotic disorder without delirium and hallucinations, which is affective in the form of performing mechanical mechanical actions.
The concept comes from the Latin words ambulatorius - "mobile", ambulo - "walk", as actions are accompanied by uncontrolled mobile activity. Movements can be more or less coordinated, depending on the situation, but usually accompanied by partial or complete amnesia. Also, this concept has a Greek root - automatos ("spontaneous"), since all actions are performed without awareness and are not controlled by the will of man.
Some researchers of mental disorders attribute ambulatory automatism to the category of epileptic manifestations. Automatisms can be of an innate nature, due to genetics, or be acquired, manifest in the intellectual, speech, motor sphere.
Types of automatism, the main symptoms
Outpatient automatism is divided into elementary and complex, depending on the severity of the manifestations, but in both cases, the following symptoms are observed:
- stunnedness;
- stupor;
- rambling thinking;
- loss of orientation in time and space;
- lack of signs of perception of the environment;
- partial violation or complete temporary disorder of the vestibular apparatus;
- anxiety, confusion, longing, bouts of fear;
- aggression, anger;
- affect states with a lack of the ability to give an account of what is happening;
- coma is possible.
Elementary automatism can manifest itself in the form of involuntary chewing, facial movements, various gestures, swallowing, and verbal reactions. People suffering from this ailment can perform movements and actions, regardless of time and location.
Complex outpatient automatism can occur with absolute detachment from the outside world, in the form of walking, dance movements, rotations in one place, undressing, long-term movements in space. Patients perceive everything surrounding them vaguely, and respond to external stimuli with automatic actions, they may give the impression of clumsy people immersed in their thoughts.
Outpatient automatism is involuntary “travels” in a state of dull consciousness, unconsciousness, prostration, usually ending in a state of deep sleep.
The time period for the manifestation of the disease
Outpatient automatism can be short-term and long-lasting. An example of a short-term manifestation is somnambulism, and quite a long one - trance. Outwardly, such automatisms differ in fairly organized behavior, lasting from several minutes to several hours, days, even weeks. Some automatisms take for a convulsive form manifestations of an epileptic seizure.
Most often, ambulatory automatism is characterized by short-term, but sudden attacks of loss of clarity and clarity of consciousness. The peculiarity of this condition is not only in its abrupt appearance, but also in the same sudden disappearance.
Causes of occurrence, examples of manifestations
Psychiatrists refer to the main causes of this disorder primarily brain pathology. Doctors distinguish two classes of causes:
- functional (stresses, various traumatic situations, psychoses, hysteria);
- organic (often epilepsy, brain damage caused by neoplasms, craniocerebral trauma, damage to the radial sections and other pathological processes).
The most common examples of automatism manifestations are:
- somnambulism or sleepwalking (unconscious walking in a dream);
- dystrophic disorder (self-isolation with pronounced anger, fear, rage);
- long and short-term trance states;
- a state of uncontrolled speaking in a dream - doubtfulness;
- hallucinatory type (visual, auditory hallucinations, often frightening, illusions);
- delusional type (the presence of inadequate, obsessive ideas);
- hysterical psychosis.
First aid treatment
This type of consciousness disorder is diagnosed using MRI, EEG, CT of the brain and compilation of a complete clinical picture. First aid is to create conditions for the safety of a person from himself and social isolation, in order to avoid injury, harm to others. To do this, you must definitely call an ambulance team.
Doctors fixate the patient, administer Diazepam or drugs with a similar effect (Seduxen, Relanium, Sibazon). Then the patient is taken to a psychiatric ward to normalize the condition with the appointment of individual psychotherapy. If the patient is diagnosed with outpatient automatism, treatment is based on eliminating the root causes of the chronic course of the disease using antipsychotics and tranquilizers.
Treatment is carried out by specialists depending on the type of automatism. After the patient returns to a normal (adequate) state, individual psychotherapy is connected.