Majied’s flat affect was a symptom of her schizophrenia, a diagnosis she says she received at 28. The New Orleans–based substitute teacher says she thought, Wow, I have this. Having a school textbook put a name to symptoms like this is an experience Kirkham shares with Wakilah Majied, 35, who came across the definition of flat affect last year in an abnormal psychology course at community college.
It’s like a dial tone instead of a greeting. For someone with a flat affect, their mouth may remain a straight line, or their tone of voice unchanged.
Your face would react without you having to say a word: your eyes opening in celebration, or the soft exhalation of a breath, as your mouth turns down to show empathy. Let’s say your coworker, in a single conversation, shares both good and bad news: She got a promotion and her dog died. Just like if you had asthma and you suddenly couldn’t exercise-it limits you.” “Expression of emotion is an integral component of personal well-being if someone’s emotionality is unusual in some way, that’s potentially consequential. You’re getting a reaction from people that doesn’t align with your own self-image.” And that experience can be tough. “ can create a dissonance in terms of how you think you’re making your way through the world and navigating day-to-day activities and what’s really happened. Jeffrey Lieberman, M.D., professor and chair of psychiatry at Columbia University, said that flat affect exists on a spectrum of severity, and most who experience it don’t even know they have it. “I do my best to give that same energy back to someone, but it doesn't always come across the way that it's supposed to.” She says she sometimes forces herself to smile to make sure she's appearing friendly. Wakilah Majied, 35, who experiences flat affect as a symptom of schizophrenia.
0 kommentar(er)
