“Querulant” is a term that comes from the Latin “querulus” which means “who complains.” With this terminology we can refer to an individual without mental health problems who shows a tendency to seek a lawsuit, whether through a confrontation in the field of justice or not.
On the other hand, we could also refer to another person who presents a hostile and pathological reaction because he considers himself aggrieved, and feels that he gives too much importance to the harm caused.
So that, Let’s see what cherulancy is from the perspective of psychology and psychiatry and why it can become a psychopathology that deserves to be treated by a mental health professional.
Non-pathological querulance (it could also be called “normal”) has to do with the attitude of a persistent, obstinate and stubborn individual becausealways want to be right or always wanting to get your way.
In these cases, the action and posture of the complaining subject always reaches an intensity that is limited, without becoming overwhelming or harmful, and there is an instance in which it puts a brake on the situation and stops the escalation of the confrontation.
This control or limit does not happen in the same way in a person with pathological cherulence. And in extreme cases, the complaining person may become one because of a mental disorder.
The DSM-5 is a diagnostic and statistical manual that is updated over the years, which classifies the mental disorders that exist and details their typical symptoms. Within the manual it is understood that the querulating delirium remains within a persecutory delirium Without making conceptual mention of it, previously in the manuals of previous versions the term querulating paranoia does appear occasionally with its conceptual framework; However, in the DSM-5 this no longer happens.
Psychotic disorder, querulating disorder, querulating paranoid disorder, or querulating delusion? All names refer to the same pathology. According to the DSM-IV classification, the central idea of the subject who suffers from it has to do with the belief that he has been deceived, spied on, followed, slandered, persecuted, or sabotaged in relation to his long-term goals.
Usually, the center of the delusion is some injustice that must be modified by legal action, and the person suffering from it may have repeated attempts to obtain satisfaction by appealing to the institutional bodies that administer justice. People who have developed this disorder are irritable and may react violently towards those people who they believe are causing or harming them.
What is querulancy from a psychiatric perspective?
Querulancy from the perspective of psychiatry is a mental characteristic of individuals suffering from querulating delirium
The pathological complainant or complainant is a type of person who needs psychiatric care, since he is a subject who constantly files complaints, complaints, accusations and legal disputes being a problematic person for the entities in charge of administering justice and for those around her.
In other words, querulance is another characteristic of the subject’s behavior and can be a pathological trait that can occur in a personality disorder, or various mental disorders. That is, it is not a mental disorder, but rather one of its effects.
The complaining paranoia
The ICD 10 is a manual for the classification of physical and mental illnesses developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), and classifies the complaining paranoia with the code (F22.8).
It is worth pointing out that the diagnostic and classification manuals of the ICD and DSM consider this mental disorder within their diagnostic and classification manuals. Of course, there is a bit of variation in any case when naming it, as we have already seen when reviewing the different names used to call the same phenomenon.
On the other hand, querulating paranoid disorder is a psychiatric and psychological difficulty that It is one of the paranoid personality disorders. Querulance may occur in other various personality disorders; However, it is not as pronounced in these psychopathologies, giving priority to the specific disorder.
This form of presentation of querulancy has been cataloged by various authors from the perspective of law, within legal psychopathologies, which consists of a set of dysfunctional behaviors of the individual motivated by a mental disorder, and that cause a considerable impact on the administration. of Justice.
Characteristics of a person with querulous disorder
This people present a pattern of suspicion and distrust, so they consider that they are always “the good guys”, and everything that happens or belongs to the outside is classified as bad, unfair. These people have problems in their work, social, personal and family relationships; fighting for the supposedly just cause can lead them to real and extreme situations such as losing their job, abandoning family obligations, among others.
Who suffers from the querulous delirium? Most of them are people who are seen as arrogant, and who resort very frequently and insistently to the courts that dispense justice, overflowing common sense. In addition to this, these “quarrelsome” people dedicate their desire, time and money to trying to make their point of view prevail, which is not profitable.
This condition, due to the nature of its complexity, does not tend to occur in children or adolescents. The population group that mostly presents it are adults.
In cases of legal material, we can identify limited disability sentences these being justified by the presence of a querulating delirium, which deprives the patient of the ability to act in jurisdictional trials and in lawsuits or administrative claims.
In cases like this, a specialist is appointed to treat this psychopathology, and in turn it is sought that the patient receives the indicated treatment.
Many patients who tend to have these difficulties present self-harm in the form of threats, hunger strikes, complaints of all kinds to government agencies and are even aggressive towards all those workers who belong to an entity that provides justice.
Treatment
These people with cherulative paranoid disorder deserve a mental evaluation by a mental health professional, either a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist. However, it is important to point out that these people They are not very open and it is difficult to encourage them to undergo psychotherapeutic treatment. In addition to this, the vast majority of patients who suffer from this condition have a great complex that makes it difficult to reform, change or transform their mental schemas.
It is important that the person suffering from this alteration undergo treatment and follow-up by professionals who are trained and specialized in promoting the improvement of their mental health. Mainly, the psychologist will play a very important role in the treatment of this difficulty. The psychiatrist will also provide support through pharmacological treatment. Together, these two professionals must carry out interdisciplinary work that goes beyond mitigating symptoms.
