What Is Emotional Lability And How Does It Affect Us?

If emotions have something, it is that they are universal … and then each culture has its keys. A smile can mean something different from what we know or a frown has the ability to transform the same message. However, regardless of how they are expressed or recognized according to the country and culture where we look, the basic feeling is the same for everyone. However, when emotional states get out of control we are facing a case of emotional lability.

The ability to identify what is happening to the person in front of us gives us security and reduces uncertainty. When we meet someone who is sad, we identify them, we understand why and we can even get to empathize. That is, we know the terrain we are treading and generally we know how to respond more or less correctly. So what happens when we meet someone who shows uncontrolled emotional swings?

It is not “bipolar”, it is labile

It is important at this point to make a clarification regarding the meaning of the unfortunate expression “is bipolar.” It is very common to hear how one person describes another as “bipolar” for the simple fact of not understanding their mood swings in a week. Bipolarity is a serious mental illness, also called manic-depressive.

As described by Dr. Fred K. Berger (2016) the phases can last from days to months. There is a psychiatric diagnosis and a specific treatment for this type of problem. So what we colloquially describe as bipolar is actually closer to being emotional lability.

Emotional lability is not considered a mental health condition or illness as such. So what is it and what does it mean? Basically it is a lack of control of the emotions. It is a feeling of lack of regulation in the feeling and expression of basic emotions.

People who present these episodes of sadness and happiness have, for example, moments of uncontrolled crying or inappropriate laughter. It is a symptom that belongs to some pathologies, such as autism or schizophrenia. Even so, it can be suffered by apparently healthy people who do not have to be diagnosed.

Illness or complicated affective moment?

Emotional lability belongs to the “group of affective problems”. Affectivity is the set of responses that an individual feels and expresses to internal events (thoughts, etc.) or external (work, family, social situations, etc.). What is to blame for these mood or mood swings? Is it biology or is there thinking behind it?

Traditionally it is known that the center of regulation and control of emotions is the limbic system. It is a structure found in our brain. There is something physical in charge of expressing, regulating and controlling emotions.

In this aspect there is a real element that can fail, be altered or stop working properly without us being able to intervene. Brain damage is the main cause when it comes to exaggerated emotional lability and it is completely limiting.

Normally these types of problems are found in people who suffer from multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cardiovascular accidents, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. In a complicated affective moment, we find it difficult to regulate emotions and expressions belonging to the same group, such as sadness. It should not be confused with depression, since there are characteristics of the latter (such as appetite or hunger) that are not altered by emotional lability.

So what is and what is not emotional lability?

Emotional lability surprises those who witness it. Exaggerating a laugh at a seemingly neutral comment or crying uncontrollably at a nondramatic situation are warning signs.

Surely we know a person who is or has gone through a traumatic divorce situation. Perhaps during the week you have moments of relief in which you show sadness and crying. There will be other relaxed moments at a dinner with friends or before a television program. This does not mean that you have emotional lability.

On the other hand, we know that we can influence in some way the emotional regulation of people, as is officially demonstrated by reviews and studies carried out in universities (R. Company, U. Oberst and F. Sánchez, Boletín de Psicología, No. 104, 2012). In the case of lability, the margin of action of the people around is very limited, if not nonexistent.

Being labile does not mean being labile, that is, it is a state of lack of control. Severe cases aside, the person usually has interspersed moments of stability. This affective problem can have very important consequences at the social and work level.

The person may suffer from isolation, depression, or anxiety problems . If we are faced with a case of such characteristics, it is convenient to go to the doctor to make the assessment, refer us to the specialist or schedule an action if necessary.