The 9 Types Of Psychological Symptoms (and Characteristics)
When we talk about a mental or psychological disorder, we are referring to a set of characteristics and elements inferred from the analysis of the behavior and responses of an individual that cause significant discomfort and represent a handicap, disqualification or difficulty of adaptation for the person themselves or their loved ones. around.
There are a large number of elements that can be observed in different dimensions of the person, These can be grouped into different types of psychological symptoms..
In order to talk about the different types of symptoms that we can find, it is useful to first define what a symptom is.
A symptom is understood to be the element or characteristic that could be signaling the presence of a medical or psychological problem.. It is therefore not an objective and totally visible indicator, as the lack of a part of the body could be, but rather we would be talking about an indication that something is happening.
Although it could be very useful to have the possibility of directly detecting any condition, unfortunately this is very rarely possible. Taking into account that mental processes are not directly observable physical entities (and even if they were, their meaning could be diverse), obtaining unequivocal signs of the presence of a disorder is not possible, making it necessary to resort to the observation of behaviors. , behaviors and expressions that allow us to visualize the thoughts, emotions and beliefs that make us who, what and how we are.
Different types of psychological symptoms
The human psyche is a complex structure in which multiple systems that perform various functions interact, so there is a great variety of aspects that could end up resulting in a maladaptive relationship with oneself or with the world.
This also implies that there is a wide variety of possible psychological symptoms.which we could group into the following.
1. Perceptive
The perception or lack thereof of stimuli that come from the real world and the differentiation between these and contents produced by the mind are some of the most characteristic symptoms of certain disorders. This category includes both perceptual deceptions, in which something is perceived that does not exist in the outside world, and perceptual distortions in which an existing stimulus in the environment is captured in an anomalous way.
Difficulties in recognizing through the senses the stimuli that are presented to us even though our senses act correctly on a biological level, agnosias, can also be included within this type of symptoms.
2. Of the form of thought
Although when talking about cognitive symptoms we usually think about “what” we think, It is equally relevant to consider “how” or “in what way” we do it.. These types of symptoms refer to the way we think, that is, the way we reason, which is visible through language.
Lack of logic and internal coherence, use of words for characteristics that have nothing to do with their meaning, loss of associations, accelerations and/or inability to follow a line of thought to its conclusion or excessive use of elements that do not have a great meaning. relation to what is intended are some of the psychological symptoms of this type.
3. Of the content of thought
As a living entity that has to make an active effort in order to survive and remain in the world, human beings capture and perceive information from the environment in order to be able to act in relation to events and circumstances that may affect them. To do this, it is necessary to work with the information received, being able to make judgments regarding it and use these to respond to the environment. Interaction with the environment and with ourselves brings each person’s beliefs into play, which for the most part we will use as a basis to establish an action plan for what may happen.
However, Some people have fixed, intense, far-from-reality and inflexible beliefs that cause great anguish. or difficulty in the individual’s life, and the behavior may be an indicator of the presence of a problem at this level. These types of psychological symptoms mainly include delusions, obsessive ideas and overvalued ideas.
4. Of consciousness
Although when we talk about psychological symptoms the first thing we think about is constructs linked to perception, thought or emotion, In order to experience all these things it is necessary to have a certain level of conscious activity..
It is important to keep in mind that we can also find symptomatological elements in this aspect, possibly a decrease in their level (as in stupor or, in extreme cases, coma), a narrowing of what we are aware of, causing the cognitive and behavioral to be dissociated ( an example of this being multiple personality), the introduction of strange elements such as confusion or delirium or even the excess of consciousness that can accompany substance consumption.
5. Of attention
Even having a sufficient level of consciousness to capture the stimuli, we must be able to focus on them and/or direct our cognitive resources away.
So, Another type of psychological symptoms to take into account are those related to the ability to focus, direct, sustain and withdraw attention.. Within this type of symptoms we can find inability, difficulty or excess to concentrate, direct attention, select the stimuli to which to direct it or react to possible stimuli.
6. Of memory and recognition
Memory and recognition are vital elements for human beings, being basic to being able to learn and modify our behavior or acquire skills to respond to the situations of our daily lives.
Psychological symptoms that indicate an alteration in this area include difficulty remembering events from the past (anterograde amnesia), encoding and storing new information (retrograde amnesia), carrying out mental elaborations that are taken for memories (as in confabulation), or a extreme ability to remember events or stimuli (hypermnesia).
7. Of language
As the main communication tool, language, both verbally and non-verbally, allows us to establish links with the environment and with other living beings, and even organize our thinking. Aspects considered as Symptoms in the area of language include difficulties in intonation, rhythm, expression or comprehension.
8. Psychomotor
The human being is an animal that needs to be able to move or move parts of its body to be able to perform most actions. The inability or difficulty in movement, the emission of stereotyped patterns of involuntary movements or excessive movements or motor agitation are typical psychological symptoms of this area.
9. Affective
One of the types of symptoms that have the greatest effect on the subjective well-being of the person and that is most present in most disorders are symptoms linked to emotion and affect. They refer to specific characteristics that show that there is an alteration in the individual’s subjective assessment.
Excessive joy or sadness, anxiety, impulsivity, indifference, decontextualization, inability to express, absence of emotion, excessive rigidity or variability are typical psychological symptoms.
