Ambulatory automatism belongs to the special paroxysmal states of partial impairment of consciousness. This is a manifestation of neurotic disorders in the form of clouding of consciousness with a distortion of the perception of the real world. Different severity of the disease can be manifested by a whole range of symptoms, which, depending on the severity, require psychiatric care and hospitalization with subsequent treatment.
Concept and specifics
In psychopathology, the state of outpatient automatism is one of the variants of a pronounced twilight clouding of a person's consciousness. A neurotic disorder without delusions and hallucinations, having an affective character in the form of performing mechanical mechanical actions.
The concept comes from the Latin words ambulatorius - "mobile", ambulo - "walk", as actions are accompanied by uncontrolledmobile activity. The movements may be more or less coordinated, depending on the situation, but are 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 a person.
Some researchers of mental disorders classify ambulatory automatism as an epileptic manifestation. Automatisms can be of an innate nature, due to genetics, or be acquired, manifested in the intellectual, speech, and motor spheres.
Types of automatism, main symptoms
Depending on the severity of manifestations, ambulatory automatism is divided into elementary and complex, but in both cases the following symptoms are observed:
- stunned;
- stupor;
- incoherent 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, melancholy, bouts of fear;
- aggression, anger;
- affective states with the inability to give an account of what is happening;
- possible coma.
Elementary automatism can manifest itself in the form of involuntary chewing, facial movements, various gestures, swallowing, verbal reactions. People suffering from this disease can perform movements and actions regardless of time.and locations.
Complex ambulatory automatism can manifest itself 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 around vaguely, and respond to external stimuli with automatic actions, they can give the impression of clumsy people immersed in their thoughts.
Ambulatory automatism is an involuntary "journey" in a state of clouded consciousness, unconsciousness, prostration, usually ending in a state of deep sleep.
Time period of manifestation of the disease
Outpatient automatism can be short-term and long-term. An example of a short-term manifestation is somnambulism, and a sufficiently long one is trance. Outwardly, such automatisms are characterized by fairly organized behavior, lasting from several minutes to several hours, days, even weeks. Some automatisms are mistaken for a non-convulsive form of manifestation of an epileptic seizure.
Most often, ambulatory automatism is characterized by short-term, but sudden bouts of loss of clarity and clarity of consciousness. The peculiarity of this state is not only in its abrupt appearance, but also in the same unexpected disappearance.
Causes of occurrence, examples of manifestations
Psychiatrists refer primarily to the pathology of the brain as the main causes of this disorder. Doctors distinguish two classes of causes:
- functional (stress, various traumatic situations, psychosis, hysteria);
- organic (often epilepsy, brain damage caused by neoplasms, traumatic brain injury, damage to the radial departments, and other pathological processes).
The most common examples of automatisms are:
- somnambulism or sleepwalking (unconscious sleepwalking);
- dystrophic disorder (self-isolation with pronounced anger, fear, rage);
- long-term and short-term trance states;
- the state of uncontrolled talking in a dream - somniloquia;
- hallucinatory type (visual, auditory hallucinations, more often of a frightening nature, illusions);
- delusional type (the presence of inadequate, obsessive ideas);
- hysterical psychosis.
First aid, treatment
Disorder of consciousness of this type is diagnosed using MRI, EEG, CT of the brain and compiling 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, be sure to call an ambulance.
Doctors fix the patient, inject "Diazepam" or drugs of similar action ("Seduxen", "Relanium", "Sibazon"). Then the patient is taken to the psychiatric department to normalize the condition with the appointment of an individualpsychotherapy. If a patient is diagnosed with ambulatory 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.
