Asthenia
Asthenia is a psychopathological disorder, the characteristic symptoms of which will be rapid fatigue, weakness, sleep disorders, hypersthesia. The danger of this pathology is that it is the initial stage of the development of disorders of mental activity and more complex psychopathological processes. It is also important that asthenia is considered a very common pathology that occurs in diseases in psychiatric, neurological and general somatic practice.
The content of the article:
Causes of asthenia
Classification of asthenia
Clinical manifestations of asthenia
Diagnosis of asthenia
Treatment of asthenia
Asthenia
Asthenia usually accompanies many infectious diseases (influenza, ARVI, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis), somatic pathologies (peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, pneumonia, hypertension, arrhythmia), post-traumatic, postpartum and postoperative periods. Therefore, it is found in the practice of various specialists: neurologists, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, surgeons, traumatologists, psychiatrists. It usually acts as one of the early symptoms of a major disease that begins to develop in the body.
Asthenia should be distinguished from the feeling of fatigue caused by the change of time zones, non-compliance with the work and rest regime, mental overstrain. Asthenia differs from fatigue caused by these reasons in that it does not manifest itself after the patient has rested.
Causes of asthenia
As a result of research, it was found out that asthenia can be caused by many social factors. Namely, such factors include various life difficulties and circumstances, frequent stress, chronic diseases. All these problems affect not only the psychological health of a person, but sooner or later lead to asthenia.
It is also worth noting that asthenia, on the one hand, is a trigger for the development of many diseases, and on the other hand, it can be one of their manifestations. In particular, the symptoms of asthenia are observed in traumatic brain injuries, degenerative and infectious processes in the brain, circulatory disorders in the brain.
Asthenia is based on nervous exhaustion, which can appear due to prolonged illness, strong emotions, depression. The trigger mechanism for the onset of pathology is a deficiency of nutrients, metabolic disorders, excessive energy consumption.
Classification of asthenia
According to the International Classification of Diseases, asthenia syndrome belongs to the class of neurotic diseases. In clinical practice , it is customary to distinguish the following variants of the disease:
asthenia, which is considered as a symptom of endocrine, somatic, mental, infectious and other diseases;
asthenia caused by mental and physical overload, which is considered a secondary pathology, since it can be eliminated after its cause is eliminated;
chronic fatigue syndrome, which is accompanied by weakness and frequent fatigue.
In the classification of asthenia, the following clinical forms are also distinguished: somatogenic (organic, secondary or symptomatic) and psychogenic (primary, functional or nuclear). There are also reactive and chronic forms of the disease.
In most cases, the organic form of the disease is diagnosed after suffering from somatic and infectious diseases, degenerative changes that have occurred in the brain, as well as injuries. This type of disease develops in more than 45% of all cases.
Functional asthenia is a reversible condition that occurs as a protective reaction to depression, stress, excessive physical or mental stress. The psychiatric form of functional asthenia appears as a result of insomnia, anxiety or depression. The acute form is considered to be the result of stress and overload at work. The chronic form of asthenia occurs due to a sharp weight loss, in the postpartum period, after the transfer of an infectious disease.
Clinical manifestations of asthenia
The clinical picture of asthenia is very diverse, due to several factors. The symptoms of asthenia depend on which disorder forms the basis of it. The most mild form of pathology is considered to be asthenia with hypersthenia, which is manifested by impatience, short temper, a sense of internal tension.
Asthenia with irritability syndrome is characterized by two main symptoms — fatigue and a feeling of irritation. The most severe form of asthenia is considered hyposthenic, which is characterized by a feeling of impotence and severe fatigue. Patients often experience an increase in the depth of asthenic disorders, which eventually leads to a change in the mild form of the disease to a more severe one.
In most cases, the symptoms of pathology are completely absent or very poorly expressed in the morning. However, in the afternoon and even more so in the evening, they gradually increase and intensify. It is believed that one of the most characteristic signs of pathology is normal well-being in the morning and its deterioration in the evening.
Doctors also pay attention to the fact that the symptoms of the disease depend not only on the depth of the accompanying disorders, but also on the etiological factor and the constitutional characteristics of the patient. Sometimes the opposite effect is observed, when the gradual development of asthenia leads to an increase in the characteristic features of the patient. To a greater extent, this is characteristic of patients who are prone to asthenic reactions.
Increased fatigue
One of the most characteristic symptoms of asthenia is increased fatigue, which is always accompanied by a decrease in productivity (especially with excessive intellectual load). At the same time, patients complain of forgetfulness, poor intelligence, weakening of concentration, and therefore it becomes quite difficult for them to focus on something. At such moments, patients try to force themselves to think about one thing, but completely different thoughts appear in their head quite involuntarily.
During episodes of asthenia, it becomes difficult for patients to formulate their thoughts, they fail to choose the right words for this, they complain of inconsistency. Unfortunately, in such situations, a short rest can improve the general condition for a short time. Some, instead of resting, try to force themselves to do work with the help of willpower. Moreover, the work begins to seem incredibly difficult and even unbearable. As a result, there is inevitably a feeling of tension and uncertainty in their own intellectual capabilities.
