Aboulomania: symptoms, causes and treatment

This mental disorder makes us obsess about a decision that we never get to make.

All of us at some point in our lives have been tormented by the fact of having to make a complicated decision, which generates high levels of anguish and uncertainty. Now let's imagine that this feeling accompanies us constantly, in each and every one of the activities we perform.

This discomfort is what is experienced with aboulomaniaThis is a very rare mental disorder in which the person feels incapable of making any type of decision, no matter how simple it may be, and which is also accompanied by obsessive thoughts about these decisions.

What is aboulomania?

Aboulomania consists of a strange mental disorder that affects the will of the person, weakening it and generating a feeling of constant and pathological indecision. As a consequence, the person feels absolutely incapable of making any type of decision, not even in the activities that he/she carries out throughout the day.

In addition, this disorder is highly related to pathologies such as anxiety, stress, depression and feelings of anguish. and feelings of anguish, which also greatly interferes with the person's ability to initiate and maintain social interactions. In the most severe cases, it can even lead to suicide.

Although feelings of doubt, indecision or uncertainty are not usually abnormal when they are experienced occasionally and with a normal degree of intensity, in cases of aboulomania these feelings become obsessions that generate high levels of anguish in the person who suffers from them since, in addition, these doubts flood absolutely all the contexts and activities of the patient.

Therefore, when it comes to making a decision, regardless of its importance, the person with aboulomania feels a sense of anxiety, the person with aboulomania feels the need to constantly re-evaluate his or her decisions, which he or she tends to qualify as "bad" or "bad".which he/she tends to qualify in a negative way. As a consequence, this uncertainty and negative over-analysis of situations ends up becoming a typical picture of obsessive disorders.

Aboulomania and abulia: differences

Abulia is another disorder related to will and motivation, similar to aboulomania, in which the person also experiences a decrease in motivation, energy and will with the main difference that in this case these feelings do not become an obsession for the patient, who acts almost automatically, as if by inertia.

Unlike abulia, in aboulomania this inability to make decisions becomes obsessive, and generates recurrent and intrusive thoughts.and generates recurrent and intrusive thoughts in the person, who is unable to avoid the constant rumination of these.

What symptoms does it present?

The main symptom experienced by a person with aboulomania is, as mentioned above, a total inability to make any kind of decision. This disability is constant and continuous, and extends to all areas of the person's life.

Moreover, this uncertainty generates very high levels of distress and anxiety, this uncertainty generates very high levels of anguish and anxiety, since on many occasionsThe person often remains in a harmful or unpleasant situation only because he/she is not able to decide whether to stay in that situation or not.

Ruminations, recurrent thoughts and obsessive ideas about the decisions to be made are other symptoms that belong to a clinical picture of aboulomania. In the same way, just as this disorder presents emotional and cognitive symptoms, a series of behavioral symptoms may also appear such as:

• Avoidance of personal responsibilities. personal responsibilities.
• The person avoids by all means to be alone.
• Passive attitude in intimate or couple relationships. or couple relationships.
• Avoidance of public exposure for fear of being criticized or disapproved.
• Avoid ending a relationship so as not to feel helpless.
• Problems expressing disagreements or disagreements with other people.

What is the cause of this disorder?

At the moment, it has not been possible to determine the exact cause of aboulomania. However, it is hypothesized that factors related to the psychological development of the person, together with Biological factors, may trigger this type of aboulomania. may trigger this type of will disorder.

As for the organic root of aboulomania, a possible involvement of the prefrontal cortex is speculated. The reason is that this brain area is directly associated with conscious decision making.

Some studies point to the idea that this organic basis, together with certain authoritarian or overprotective parenting styles may play a very important role in the development of this disorder.

Researchers theorize that parenting styles dominated by overprotective and intrusive parental behaviors may encourage child dependency and dependence. may encourage the child's dependency, so that if the child has an organic susceptibilityIf the child has an organic susceptibility, it is quite likely that he or she will develop a will disorder such as aboulomania.

However, these researchers treat this subject with great caution, specifying that the person must go through many other negative experiences for this disorder to appear. These experiences can include anything from very traumatic abandonment or breakups to situations in which the person has felt publicly humiliated or embarrassed. In addition, they can also lead to a lot of self-doubt and self-doubt, they can also generate numerous doubts and a great deal of uncertainty. The person is not able to perform any type of activity correctly, nor is he/she able to assume responsibilities or to lead an independent life.

How can it be diagnosed?

The first step in the diagnosis of aboulomania is to completely rule out that there is an organic basis that produces it. To do this, the medical professional must perform all kinds of tests and physical examinations, as well as a complete medical history.

Once the possibility of organic damage at the cerebral or neurological level has been eliminated, the patient should be referred to a specialist, the patient should be referred to a mental health specialist.. Next, the psychologist or psychiatrist in charge of the case should take a complete medical history of the patient. For this purpose, the health professional may use the following diagnostic tests:

• Millon's Clinical Multiaxial Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-II).
• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)
• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Is there a treatment?

As a general rule, the number of people suffering from aboulomania who decide to seek help or treatment is very small. However, due to the symptoms related to anxiety and depression that accompany this disorder, some patients end up seeking some form of treatment, some patients end up seeking some form of psychological assistance..

If the mental health expert is able to bring the problem of aboulomania to light, symptomatic treatment for anxiety or depression problems can be carried out together with training in skills that facilitate the development of the person's autonomy.

Training in assertiveness techniques and in social skills can be very effective in reducing the symptoms of aboulomania, as well as helping the person to establish healthy personal relationships with others.