Abulia is a mental disorder characterized by an absence or decrease in willpower. This disorder is most often present during a psychiatric illness. His treatment combines psychotherapy and medication. 

Definition

Abulia is a motivation disorder. The word abulia means deprived of will. This term designates a mental disorder: the person who suffers from it wants to do things but cannot take action. In practice, she cannot make decisions and carry them out. This differentiates this disorder from apathy because an apathetic person no longer has initiative. Abulia is not a disease but a disorder encountered in many psychiatric illnesses: depression, schizophrenia… It is also seen in people with chronic fatigue syndrome or burn-out.

Causes

Abulia is a disorder most often associated with psychiatric illnesses: depression, schizophrenia, etc.

Drug addiction can also be a cause of abulia, as can diseases: chronic fatigue syndrome, burnout or narcolepsy. 

Diagnostic 

The diagnosis of abulia is made by a psychiatrist or psychotherapist. People with a psychiatric illness such as depression or schizophrenia may be affected by abulia. Motivation disorders are an important component of behavioral disorders. Abulia is a syndrome favored by psychiatric illnesses. Drug addiction is a risk factor for abulia.

A decrease in willpower 

Abulia is manifested by a decrease in the spontaneity of action and language. 

Other signs of abulia 

The decrease or absence of willpower can be accompanied by other signs: motor slowdown, bradyphrenia (slowing down of mental functions), attention deficit and increased distractibility, apathy, withdrawal into oneself …

Intellectual capacities are preserved.

Treatment depends on the diagnosis. If the abulia has a cause identified as depression, burnout or drug addiction, it is treated (drugs, psychotherapy). 

If the abulia is isolated, it is treated with psychotherapy which aims to understand why the person has developed this syndrome.

Abulia cannot be prevented like other motivation disorders. On the other hand, it is important that a person who notices changes in his personality (or whose entourage has made this observation) consult a specialist.