Parathymia: Definition, Symptoms And Associated Disorders

Does the term parathymia sound familiar to you? It is an affectivity disorder characterized by an inadequacy or disagreement between the affects and emotions and the context. It also encompasses situations or manifestations in which emotional expression is incompatible (or inconsistent) with the patient’s verbal expression.

In this article, we will learn a little more about this disorder, its characteristics, examples, differences in relation to other affective disorders and cases in which it appears more frequently. Furthermore, we will explain what the psychopathology of affectivity consists of. Don’t miss it!

The psychopathology of affectivity

Parathymia is an affective disorder that we will explain in detail later on. First, let’s define what the psychopathology of affectivity is.

This is a very specific field of psychology that deals with studying and describing disorders or changes in affectivity, that is, everything that would be far from “normal” in terms of affects, feelings and emotions.

In turn, affectivity can be defined as the set of states and tendencies that a person experiences in their own and immediate way. It encompasses all the experiences that define and limit a person’s emotional life, and it transcends personality and behavior.

As we can see, it is a phenomenon of a subjective and idiosyncratic nature. But what about parathymia?

What is parathymia?

Parathymia is an affective disorder characterized by inadequate emotional expression in the context (or situation) in which the person is. In other words: in parathymia, the affect that is shown externally is inconsistent with the context or environment in which it occurs.

We also speak of parathymia when a person’s mimic expression does not match the feeling he or she expresses externally (for example, when someone tells us they are suffering a lot while smiling). Parathymia has been given other names, such as inappropriate affect or affective inadequacy.

A very illustrative example of parathymia would be laughing out loud at a funeral, or crying with sadness when hearing good news. On the other hand, a person suffering from parathymia tends to manifest reactions that do not naturally correspond to the content of their experiences.

The inadequacy of parathymia

As we have seen, in parathymia there is an inadequacy, either between the emotional expression (for example, crying) and the context (at a party), or between the emotional and gestural expression (laughs) and what the patient verbalizes (he says he is very sad )

Furthermore, this inadequacy can refer to both the meaning and the intensity of the affective component that accompanies the experience (that is, when this intensity is excessive or less than “expected”).

What disorders is parathymia associated with?

While it is true that a person can suffer from parathymia in isolation (that is, without having another underlying mental disorder), this affective disorder is mostly seen in some mental or medical disorders. Which ones are they?

Schizophrenia

Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857 – 1939) classified parathymia as one of the fundamental symptoms of schizophrenia.

The other symptoms that he considered fundamental in this disorder were the relaxation of thought associations (incoherence), the alteration of the subjective experience of the personality (depersonalization), autism and affective, intellectual or willful ambivalence.

Furthermore, parathymia occurs especially in cases of schizophrenia with negative symptoms. According to Dr. Tomás Rodelgo, when parathymia occurs in people with schizophrenia, they can behave in a “silly” way or with a particular infantile joy.

manic-depressive psychosis

Another disorder in which parathymia often appears is manic-depressive psychosis . The term was coined by Emile Kraepelin, who included it in the 6th edition of his book Psychiatry (1896). It consists of a psychotic spectrum disorder in which psychotic episodes appear that occur with depressive and manic manifestations.

Your course does not deteriorate (unlike the course of schizophrenia). Today, the term is obsolete and the name “bipolar disorder” is used.

The organic-brain syndromes

In organic-cerebral syndromes, parathymia can also (and usually) appear. This term refers to the alteration of mental function due to a non-psychiatric illness. Its most frequent causes are intoxication or overdose of any substance (drugs), dementias, infections, etc.

depression or mania

Although much less common, parathymia can also appear in depressive or manic disorders. To this affectivity disorder would be added several other symptoms in both cases.

In the case of depression, we find other associated symptoms besides parathymia (which is much less typical), such as profound sadness, guilt, fatigue, insomnia (or hypersomnia), lack or excess of appetite, etc.

In the case of mania (manic episode), we find flight of ideas, distraction, decreased need for sleep, verbal language, psychomotor agitation, etc.

Differences in relation to other affective disorders

We must not confuse parathymia with other affective disorders. We only bring together those that can cause the most confusion:

• Emotional lability : in this case, sudden changes in affect occur and there is no control of emotions.
• Affective ambivalence : opposite emotions are experienced simultaneously about the same object or situation.
• Affective rigidity : here there is a loss of the ability to regulate and adapt emotions to the context.
• Neothymia : This disorder involves the emergence of a new feeling, difficult to recognize because it has never been experienced before.

Parathymia is a disease that should ideally be treated from a multidisciplinary perspective (including psychiatry and psychology).

Knowing its causes, the factors that support it and its impact on the patient’s life is essential to treat it and improve the person’s well-being. As always, one must know its global reality and the context in which this affective change arises.