Stupor

Symptom of mental disorders characterized by the patient’s immobility and apathy. When it is severe, patients do not react at all to their surroundings, due to increased muscle tone they become stiff. Stupor can be divided into several forms:

– Depressive stupor occurs in deep depression, when there is a triad of depression. The patient is sad, with a frozen face, very difficult to talk to, sometimes refuses to eat.

– Psychogenic stupor is caused by an affective – shock reaction, when a patient is suddenly struck by a great misfortune (natural disaster, death of a loved one, etc.). The reaction is similar to a faint, stupor, or a very strong state of excitement, typical not only for humans but also for animals.

Hysterical stupor is essentially a reaction of a hysterical personality to a mental trauma. In unfavorable situations (e.g., quarreling with a neighbor), such individuals become listless, sluggish, appear helpless, with a look of suffering on their face.

– Apathetic stupor is characterized not only by complete inactivity but also by indifference, disappearance of interests and desires. Patients lie in bed all day, ignoring what is happening around them, not taking care of themselves (they are indifferent to their appearance, clothing).

Source | Glossary of Most Commonly Used Biomedical Terms and Concepts | Lithuanian University of Health Sciences | Academician Professor Antanas Praškevičius, Professor Laima Ivanovienė