This psychological characteristic can be pathological in some cases.
Emotional lability is a pattern of abnormal and pathological affect , which consists of changing our emotional expression suddenly, quickly and without apparent cause.
For example, it would be to quickly go from laughing out loud to crying, or being very happy and after a few minutes feeling very sad. But be careful, it has nothing to do with bipolarity, as we will see later.
In this article we will understand what this alteration of affection consists of; Specifically, we will know what affectivity psychopathology is, the other four affect disorders that exist, in addition to emotional lability, and how they differ from it.
- Recommended article: “The 27 types of emotions (according to science)”
Psychopathology of affectivity
The psychopathology of affectivity includes different patterns of altered or abnormal affect . Affect, on the other hand, encompasses all those behaviors that we express when we feel certain emotions or when we have a specific state of mind.
On the other hand, affectivity encompasses all those states and tendencies that people experience in an idiosyncratic way; they respond to what we are feeling in the present moment, and influence our personality and behavior. That is, they are subjective and transcendent states.
These states also influence the expression of emotions and how we communicate with others. Generally, from each state we can differentiate two poles: for example pleasure/pain, happiness/sadness, etc.
altered affects
There are five affects typical of the psychopathology of affectivity, and included in the DSM-IV-TR: flattened affect, blunted affect, inappropriate affect, labile affect (emotional lability) and restricted or constrained affect.
Thus, within the psychopathology of affectivity we find emotional lability , which corresponds to a labile affect. But what exactly does it mean and what does it imply? We will see it next.
Emotional lability: what exactly is it?
Emotional lability (also called affective lability), as we have seen, is a concept that belongs to the field of affectivity psychopathology.
Specifically, emotional lability consists of abnormal variability in the expression of affect, with repeated, rapid and sudden changes . For its part, affect is defined by the DSM-IV-TR as “a behavior that expresses the subjective experience of a state of mind (emotion)”.
Thus, affect is made up of emotional states that change depending on what we experience, see, imagine and feel. Unlike humor, another central concept in the psychopathology of affectivity, affect is changeable; while humor reflects emotions sustained over time and lasting.
That is, emotional lability reflects an abnormal pattern of affect. We can manifest this pattern on some occasions in our lives (when we are going through delicate, stressful or complicated moments, for example).
However, emotional lability can also be constituted as a more general way of being (which does not appear only at specific moments), and correspond more to a personality trait of each one.
Affective lability as a personality trait
Thus, as we have seen, affective lability can arise as a consequence of specific periods of life, characterized by intense and/or stressful experiences. However, emotional lability can also be a personality trait , this being understood as a certain tendency to act and behave in specific situations.
In case of manifesting emotional lability, this can generate a lot of confusion and uncertainty in the people around us, who often complain that “they do not understand us”. In addition, it can also cause suffering to the person who suffers from it, in addition to some anxiety.
That is why it will be advisable to go to a professional in case this characteristic is having a negative impact on our lives. It is also true that there are people who manifest it and learn to live with it, being psychologically well.
Differences with bipolarity
People with affective lability can be called socially (erroneously), and in common language, “bipolar” people . This is a wrong “label”, since bipolar disorder is a serious mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of mania; that is, by the alternation of manic episodes (which must last at least one week) together with depressive episodes (which last at least two weeks).
However, the term bipolar is popularly used (we repeat, erroneously) to refer to this emotional lability that we are discussing. Actually, this, although incorrect, is understandable, since people with emotional lability tend to manifest these two poles (mania and depression) alternately and repeatedly.
The fundamental difference with bipolarity is, in addition to the fact that they are very different concepts, the duration of the symptoms; while in bipolar disorder, emotional episodes usually last for months, in emotional lability, the basic trait is that one emotion switches to another suddenly (it can even be in a matter of seconds).
Other affective disorders: differences with emotional lability
In addition to emotional lability, and as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, four other affective disorders are known.
All five types of affect disturbances are found in the DSM-IV-TR. Let’s see what these other disorders consist of and how they differ from emotional lability .
1. Flattened affect
This type of affection appears especially in pictures such as depression or schizophrenia (as one of its negative symptoms). It consists of an absence, or practical absence, of any sign of expression of affection. This is manifested by a monotonous voice and a still face.
Unlike emotional lability, there is no sudden change in the expression of affect or emotions in flattened affect; on the contrary, basically what appears is an absence of any type of affection or emotion, as if the person did not feel anything. It is, then, about two very different and almost opposite types of affections.
2. Dull affection
Also characteristic of depression, blunted affect occurs even more frequently in PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). It can also be called emotional anesthesia, and results in a severe reduction in the intensity of the expression of affect.
That is, the person is shown as extremely absent, as if he did not feel anything. Sometimes it can originate as a maladaptive defense mechanism in the face of especially traumatic situations that the individual is capable of processing and managing.
Blunted affect is more serious than flattened affect, and its difference from emotional lability follows the same line as the latter; thus, while in emotional lability the patient can go from laughing to crying in a matter of seconds, in blunted affect the latter shows practically no emotion, or if it does, it is with minimal intensity.
3. Inappropriate affection
Inappropriate affect manifests itself as a mismatch between the person’s voice and movements , and the content of the speech or ideas being expressed at the time. Also called parathymia. It frequently appears in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, or in patients with lesions in the frontal lobe.
Inappropriate affect can appear together with emotional lability, although it is not very frequent. While the first consists of an inconsistency between what is expressed through non-verbal language (gestures, tone of voice,…) and what is expressed through verbal language, the second refers to sudden changes in the expression of the affected. Thus, in reality they would be two qualitatively different affective disorders.
4. Restricted affection
This affect, also called constrained affect, results in a reduction in the range and intensity of affective expression . It is characteristic of depressive pictures.
It differs from emotional lability in that in restricted affect, the emotions experienced by the person are less in number and intensity than those of any person without any pathology of affectivity. In contrast, in emotional lability, what happens is that emotions and moods vary suddenly, sometimes without any apparent cause.
Bibliographic references
- American Psychiatric Association -APA- (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Madrid: Pan American.
- Belloch, A.; Sandin, B. and Ramos, F. (2010). Manual of Psychopathology. Volume I and II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
- Andalusian CCOO Teaching Federation. (2009). The affective life: motivation, feelings and emotion. Topics for Education, 4: 1-8.
- Torres, A. (2017). Emotional lability: what is it and what are its symptoms? Psychology and Mind.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
