Avolition: Characteristics, Causes And Treatment Of This Alteration
It is normal when we face an unpleasant task to procrastinate its completion. However, when we talk about avolition, the habit of procrastination is much more significant.
Avolition refers to the complete lack of motivation that makes it difficult or impossible to complete any task. People suffering from this condition cannot even cope with the smallest daily chores; Actions such as washing the dishes or going to the supermarket could present a difficulty comparable to that of climbing a mountain several thousand meters high.
This phenomenon drastically affects the lives of those who suffer from it. It causes them to not feel motivated to take care of themselves or their homes. Additionally, it can significantly interfere with relationships with friends and family.
Finding the right medication for avolition resulting from schizophrenia is complex; Several different therapies may need to be tried before finding one that works. In this article we will talk about avolition, its causes, its symptoms and how to manage it.
The term avolition is used to refer to lack of motivation or inability to undertake tasks or perform activities that have an end goal. These are diverse and can include shopping, paying bills, or attending an event.
In 2006, avolition was identified as a negative symptom of schizophrenia, it also manifests in patients with bipolar disorder or as a result of trauma.
People with schizophrenia usually present symptoms classified as positive and negative. However, it should be clarified that the terms positive and negative in psychiatry do not indicate good or bad. Instead, they indicate the loss of something previously present, such as a lost skill, or the presence of something new in the case.
Among the positive symptoms experienced by patients with schizophrenia; These include behaviors that are not regularly seen in people who do not have the disease, such as hallucinations, disorganized speech, and delusions. However, before these symptoms appear, many people with schizophrenia experience negative symptoms.
The term “avolition” refers to a symptom of negative schizophrenia, which encompasses different manifestations. Avolition refers to the progressive loss of the ability to do or experience things that some schizophrenic patients present. These manifestations include the inability to attend to personal hygiene, or participate in work or leisure activities, even completing a basic conversation.
These are behaviors that are present in other psychiatric disorders, but are not usually seen in people who do not have schizophrenia.
Although some people confuse avolition with laziness, laziness can be attributed to someone who does not have a mental disorder. People with avolition cannot act due to their condition. The inability to act could be said to be akin to being paralyzed by apathy; affected people cannot anticipate the rewards of completing a task.
Causes of avolition
At New York University, an experiment was carried out with schizophrenic patients and a control group that included a reward system in relation to physical effort. The results indicated that people with avolition are unwilling to participate in physical activities, even when offered a reward. The study also indicated significant problems with motivation related to the effort-reward cutoff.
Although avolition is primarily observed behaviorally, little connectivity of the brain regions of individuals with abolition has been found compared to other symptoms, such as pleasure impairment. A recent study showed that abolition can be revealed through neuroscience: it discovered that apathy symptoms were associated with motivation-related circuits in brain regions.
Effects of abolition on mind and behavior
Abolition and the inability to motivate can cause a person to lose interest in daily activities, leading to withdrawal from social contact. Often, afflicted people may also experience little or no pleasure in life. Your emotions may become numb and conversations may lack connection.
The abolition affects all areas of life, including school, work, family, and personal relationships. Some examples may include: lack of eye contact, difficulty starting and finishing projects, not keeping appointments even if they are important, stopping activities or participating in events, disconnected conversations, etc.
Abolition is sometimes mistaken for other conditions that also impair motivational capacity, such as avolition, anhedonia, and asociality. Due to its similarities to depression, abolition is often confused with it as well. However, it is important to note that people with abolition do not avoid activities, literally a lack of motivation prevents them from acting. Generally, abolition is best identified in someone who also presents positive symptoms of schizophrenia, as these are more differentiating.
People with abolition may not realize that most of the symptoms are occurring. A close friend or family member may need to warn them of the problem.
Related symptoms
Abolition shares similarities with and overlaps with other negative symptoms. Psychiatrists and mental health professionals often combine all of these symptoms into one, as they occur together. The symptoms explained below are closely interrelated, making it easy to understand why they occur at the same time as the abolition.
1. Anhedonia
Anhedonia is the inability to feel pleasure or experience joy or pleasure which is usually related to the passive attitude adopted by some people with mental health problems.
2. Emotional dullness
Flattening occurs when a person is unable to express or show emotions. This can be seen in their body language or the way they speak.
3. Alogy
Refers to problems communicating or staying involved in a conversation that some people have. It often involves not asking or answering questions. People with alogia have difficulty forming thoughts and following conversations that change topics frequently.
4. Attention deficit
Patients with schizophrenia often have problems maintaining attention and concentration. They may have difficulty filtering out external noises or stimuli. Additionally, some people with schizophrenia have trouble remembering things.
5. Anosognosia
It is used to name the lack of awareness or perception that a person has about their mental condition. At least half of people with schizophrenia do not realize they have an illness; This is one of the reasons they don’t take their medications. Anosognosia is also one of the main reasons why many patients with mental illness do not seek treatment.
Abolition and schizophrenia
Abolition is observed both in schizophrenia and in other mental illnesses, as well as in neurological disorders. It is one of the most common negative symptoms experienced by schizophrenic patients.
The exact cause of schizophrenia is not known; it likely involves factors such as genetics, brain development, the amount of chemicals such as neurotransmitters, and complications during pregnancy. It is also unknown why some patients diagnosed with schizophrenia experience negative symptoms such as withdrawal.
About a quarter of people diagnosed with schizophrenia suffer from deficit syndrome. This syndrome can be diagnosed when a person presents two or more negative symptoms for more than 12 months and is not accompanied by other significant clinical symptoms of the disease.
Although the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations, may seem more worrying. Negative symptoms of the disease are more difficult to treat and may have a greater impact on the patient’s functional capacity. This is because the positive symptoms of the disorder, such as delusions and hallucinations, seem more alarming.
Abolition treatment
There is no universally accepted method for treating the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. However, these are more difficult to treat than positive symptoms. In general, treatment, as in most disorders, requires combining drug treatment and therapy.
It is crucial to start treatment as soon as possible: medications can take several weeks to fully take effect.
Pharmacotherapy
It is believed that correcting brain chemical levels through neurotransmitters This is why antipsychotic medications are effective in treating schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions.
The majority of patients obtain positive results thanks to antipsychotics. However, some of these medications can cause additional negative symptoms such as withdrawal. Patients taking antipsychotics often also take antidepressants.
Many people have decreased psychological side effects with new antipsychotic drugs such as risperidone and clozapine. However, these medications can cause high blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
Psychological therapy
To perform daily activities, people often need to acquire specific skills to overcome a lack of intrinsic motivation. Consequently, cognitive behavioral therapy and cognitive enhancement therapy may be highly recommended; in this context It helps the person manage their feelings, thoughts and behavior patterns.
