Mental state, brain function and mental clarity are the most important factors affecting the quality of life. If a person does not perceive reality, does not act consciously, then it is more difficult for him to adapt among people and society. Often, mental disorders and unusual human behavior are explained by a number of diseases. One of these is mental disorder. There are several types of such a state, one of which is called delusion. This is the predisposition of the human psyche to changeable states. It provokes a mental disorder that lasts from a few seconds to ten days.
Key Features
- Detachment from the surrounding reality with manifestations of non-perception of time and reality.
- Misperception of location, time space, etc.
- Violation of communication in thinking, lack of clarity of thoughts, statements that do not correspond to reality.
- Unconscious short-term bouts of impaired consciousness.
For a confident diagnosis, doctors rely on the manifestation of all of the above signs.
Five fundamental stages of human delusion
- Stun.
- Delirium.
- Oneiroid.
- Amenicia.
- Twilight blackout.
Stun
Stun is a pathology that has a distinctive feature - mental impoverishment. The patient becomes more withdrawn in behavior, with slow coordination of movements, detached, in a state of prostration. He does not quite clearly understand the speech in the dialogue, answers inaccurately. But this stage of the disease does not have obvious mental disorders. The person does not experience aggression, there are no hallucinations, confusion of consciousness to a high degree, insomnia. If left untreated, this stage can become more difficult, causing the person to stop talking, then move, and fall into a coma. The initial stage of a stun is called a Numbing.
Delirium
Delirious manifestation of changes in consciousness, the so-called delirious syndrome, is directly opposed to the diagnosis of stunning. The disease is active, the patient has visions that are not related to the surrounding reality, he lives in his own world of hallucinations. Mania of persecution and grandeur may appear. The patient sees non-existent persons, himself in the role of someone, participates in actions with fictional creatures from his visions. The patient can actively move, sparks appear in the eyes, porridge in the head. He can talk about people and actionswhich are not really there, but the patient will insist: "I hear voices!" Auditory and visual hallucinations occur throughout the course of the disease.
The patient understands who he is, but does not realize who surrounds him, twilight clouding of consciousness does not allow him to determine his location. The disease progresses at the end of the day and at bedtime. Such patients rarely have a clear mind. With an exacerbation of the disease, they go deep into their own consciousness, they say little, their speech is quiet, commenting on visions and actions outside of time and people who are nearby. With a long course of the disease, a person begins to make the same, abrupt movements, experiences delirium and hallucinations, but less, does not come into contact with others, moves little. After eliminating the causes and symptoms of the disease, he may not remember what happened to him.
Oneiroid
The oneiric form of obscuration is a disorder of a person's consciousness, manifested by a state of delirium and carrying the same symptoms: porridge in the head, sparks in the eyes, fantastic visions and picturesque dreams far from reality. The state of the psyche is changeable, moving from detachment to hyperexcitation. The patient does not see or hear people nearby, lives in his own fantasy world.
Such people rarely have high activity, they can sit or stand in the same place for hours, not saying anything. The facial expression is stony, unemotional, sometimes frightening. After clarification of consciousness, such patients can talk about their travels andadventures, really perceiving their existence. Clarification of consciousness and a more realistic perception of reality comes to a person sometimes after a couple of weeks, but in some cases even after a couple of months.
Twilight clouding of consciousness
This is the most short-term kind of change in consciousness. It can last seconds, sometimes it is a matter of several days. The patient comes out of this state quickly, usually through a long phase of sleep. Often such a patient does not cause suspicion among others. Acts distant and does not understand what is really happening.
But sometimes the disease manifests itself more actively. A person is haunted by a feeling of fear, anxiety, he may begin to show anger. It is expressed in movements, speech and actions. The patient may be accompanied by fits of rage, during which he attacks others, breaks furniture, destroys objects. He is under the influence of delusions and hallucinations. When the attacks subside, the person does not remember his actions.
Drowsy blackout
There is such a thing as a sleepy twilight stupefaction. This is a manifestation of the disease during a sharp awakening of the patient from a state of sleep. There is a disturbance of consciousness. Symptoms: an attack of fear, the patient is afraid of the people around him, makes the same movements. The active phase lasts about 10-20 minutes, after which the patient falls into a long sleep. Rarely, but a person can vaguely remember what happened to him.
You need to understand that the clouding of consciousness in a person in the form of delirium,stunning, amenia in most cases provoked by infectious diseases, poisoning due to chemical intoxication, encephalitis, etc.
The damage to the vessels and the nervous system in the above diseases can lead to such forms of turbidity. Twilight dizziness may be a concomitant manifestation of epileptic seizures or a post-traumatic state. Oneiroid is one of the manifestations of schizophrenia.
Prerequisites affecting the sharp clouding of consciousness
Clarity of consciousness can change dramatically and with high amplitude, from a complete lack of understanding of reality to mild disorders. This condition can occur in almost any person, regardless of existing diseases. The patient may suddenly say: "I hear voices" - and then withdraw into himself.
Main causes of clouding of consciousness
- Injuries to the head under certain circumstances.
- Impaired cerebral circulation, limited oxygen access to the brain.
- Stagnation of blood in the vessels of the brain.
- Pathological changes in the tissues of the brain (for example, progressive Alzheimer's disease).
- High emotional stress.
- Increase or sharp decrease in blood sugar levels, diabetic coma.
- Sudden loss of fluid in the human body.
- In people of post-retirement age, progressive diseases of the genitourinarysystem.
- High body temperature.
- Infectious diseases of the brain - encephalitis, meningitis.
- Ethyl alcohol poisoning.
- Poisoning with drugs, including psychotropic ones.
Main signs of clouding of consciousness
- Not Oriented.
- Ignoring surrounding people and objects.
- Hallucinations.
- Overexcitement.
- Sharp mood swings.
- Uncharacteristic before actions.
- Abstraction, lack of interest in the usual activities.
- Uncleanliness, lack of order.
- Impaired speech, memory and hearing.
- Slow and confused thought process.
- Lack of focus.
What measures to take in case of clouding of consciousness?
You need to call for medical help in a timely manner. Especially when it comes to injuries, poisoning, epilepsy, infectious diseases. It is necessary to constantly contact the patient in order to maintain clarity of consciousness, to provide him with peace until the ambulance arrives.
Methods of treatment of clouding of consciousness
When signs of such a form of the disease as twilight stupefaction appear, a person must be taken for a consultation with a psychiatrist or placed for treatment in a psychiatric medical facility. You should not do it yourself, it is better to call an ambulance so that the patient is taken by paramedics. In case of aggressive behavior of the patient, the ambulance staff administer sedative drugs, after whichbeing transported to the clinic
You don't need to give the patient sedatives yourself. Depending on the severity of the disease and the manifestation of its signs, treatment can take from 3 weeks to many months. In acute attacks of aggression, the patient can be placed in a closed psychiatric hospital. For people with minimal mental changes, there are borderline medical centers. After undergoing treatment, a person can return to their previous lifestyle. But under a combination of negative circumstances, attacks of the disease may recur.
Basically, the patient is prescribed complex drug therapy with psychotropic drugs, antidepressants are prescribed. The patient is under the constant supervision of doctors in a medical facility. When his condition improves, he can be allowed to go home and take breaks in treatment. With an exacerbation of the disease, a second course of therapy is prescribed. With an aggressive course of the disease, a person is isolated from society for a long time.
After discharge from a medical institution, it is recommended not to overload the patient's psyche, not to create disease-provoking situations, to protect him from emotional overload. Doctors advise to undergo rehabilitation at the end of the full course of treatment in order to adapt more easily after a period of isolation from society.
Unfortunately, clouding of consciousness may not be fully cured. On the contrary, the disease can develop into more severe forms, for example, various typesschizophrenia. With such mental illness, some patients never know the happiness of realizing reality. The deep disorientation of the patient for many years makes him undergo treatment in closed hospitals. Sometimes treatment with short breaks lasts a lifetime. Even being among people, such a patient behaves aloofly. The disease does not manifest itself actively, there is no aggression. But a person still leads an isolated lifestyle, has a detached behavior. The changes that have occurred in the psyche are irreversible, attacks of a vivid manifestation of the disease are stopped temporarily.
