The symptoms are manifestations by the patient of a pathological state . There are different types of symptoms, among which we can find physiological symptoms (for example, accelerated pulse or rapid breathing), physical symptoms (for example, headache or dizziness) or psychological symptoms, whether they are affective, cognitive or perceptive.

Of the latter, the psychological symptoms, we will talk about in this article.

Most frequent psychological symptoms

Psychological symptoms may be different depending on the person’s type of disorder. But, what are the most common psychological signs or symptoms?

Below is a list of the 30 most common symptoms of this type and their characteristics:

1. Apathy

Apathy is the lack of interest and motivation towards external stimuli, for example, towards interpersonal relationships or life in general. In extreme cases, this listlessness is typical of depressive states and causes the person to feel weak and powerless, as it affects their motivation.

2. Catastrophic thinking

Catastrophic thinking is associated with pessimistic people, and shows that something is happening inside the person. It is a distortion of reality in which everything is seen in a negative way and problems are anticipated even when they are going to occur . It can be a consequence of stress, anxiety and even depression.

3. Blaming others and the situation

When someone does not have enough self-esteem, self-confidence or is too sad, they often blame others and the situation. This causes the person to lose the capacity for self-leadership and self-motivation and, as a consequence, becomes paralysed (as well as harming others in some cases). It is frequent that it appears together with the learned helplessness.

4. Concentration problems

Concentration problems appear in a multitude of disorders, since when motivation is low, sadness takes hold of a person or the individual is living a stressful situation, attention is usually directed towards the inside of oneself and towards one’s recurring thoughts , which seriously hinders concentration.

On the other hand, it can also happen that the main symptoms of the disorder have to do with alterations of consciousness and attention focus, which can lead to experiencing insufficient inhibition and low control over behaviour.

5. Excessive resentment

Acceptance is one of the best ways to overcome painful situations and is necessary to find emotional stability . When the person is not able to accept the situation, resentment and constant criticism towards others often arise.

6. Feeling of emptiness

The feeling of emptiness is frequent in mood disorders in which the person seems to be living an existential crisis . They feel frustrated for not finding their place in this world.

7. Blaming oneself

A person can constantly blame himself, which shows a low self-confidence and self-esteem that needs to be worked on. This is a way of avoiding facing the problems that arise.

8. Mental exhaustion

When a person suffers emotional problems, stress or anxiety for long periods of time, his mind seems to reach a limit . This is what is known as psychological, mental or emotional exhaustion. The person needs a rest after so much suffering.

9. Sense of failure

This symptom appears intensely and painfully at times when the person does not have high confidence or self-esteem . It refers to a maladaptive emotion.

10. Constant concern

Constant worry is a characteristic symptom of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The person always has a worrying thought in mind, about one or several issues that are considered very relevant. For example, if they are going to be fired from their job.

Some physical and physiological consequences of this symptom can be: muscular tension, feeling of lack of air, accelerated heartbeat, dry mouth, etc.

11. Restlessness (anxiety)

The concern may cause the person not to feel calm, because he or she anticipates dangers and has lost objectivity and the ability to think lucidly based on rational criteria.

12. Emotional distancing

Affective detachment manifests itself in different disorders (e.g. mood disorders or schizoid personality disorder) and significantly affects interpersonal relationships .

13. Feeling of threat

In some disorders the person feels a constant threat . This is especially common in psychotic disorders, such as paranoid disorder, in which the person may think everyone is against him or her and wants to hurt him or her.

14. Sense of inferiority

The feeling of inferiority appears when a person thinks he is (and feels) less than others on a permanent basis. It is a clear indication that the person’s self-esteem is low .

15. Feelings of being out of control

When someone does not have the necessary emotional balance or is going through a bad time in their life, they can feel out of control. In other words, they don’t feel that they have their life under control .

16. Sadness

Although sadness is not a sufficient symptom to diagnose depression, it is a characteristic feature of this disorder. Sadness in a transitory way is totally normal, the problem is when this symptom becomes chronic and makes it impossible for the person to function properly in life.

17. Melancholy

Sadness is a current feeling that makes you feel bad, whereas melancholy has to do with a sad event related to the past and that makes us feel bad in the present . It is also characteristic of depressive disorder.

18. Low frustration tolerance

This way of thinking is totally unadaptive. It has to do with low self-confidence and causes us not to face the various situations that arise throughout our lives successfully. Low tolerance and frustration can lead to avoidance of some situations , for example, in social phobia.

19. Disorientation

It is characterized by the fact that the individual presents a confusion regarding the time and place in which he is . It can be manifested in some psychopathologies such as Delirium Tremens.

20. Emotional Ability

Emotional lability is the inadequate emotional expression , that is, the disproportionate laughter or inappropriate crying. Emotional expression, therefore, does not fit the situation is exaggerated.

21. Drowsiness

Sleepiness is a feeling of tiredness, heaviness and sleepiness that usually appears when a person has a low mood . On the other hand, it is also frequent that drowsiness is a side effect of the psychotropic drugs consumed to treat the disorder or pathology.

22. Insomnia

Insomnia is the inability to sleep , and can appear in different situations: when the person experiences anxiety, worry, stress or have problems to solve in their life. In addition, the problems derived from experiencing the disorder can cause problems in falling asleep, due to the added stress of having more worries.

23. Irritability

Irritability is an exaggerated response to stimuli. The person tends to be irritated by anything and may manifest mood swings . In addition, the interpersonal conflicts that arise from this state of mind and predisposition to anger cause even more reasons to experience stress.

24. Irrational Fear

It usually appears when a person has a phobia. It’s a type of learned fear, which is not real, but rather anticipatory. That is, that originates in an imaginary, distorted and catastrophic thought . For example, the fear of flying.

25. Feeling like the victim

It manifests itself in the presence of an unresistant self-esteem, so that the person becomes the victim on a regular basis as a way of managing anger and rage . It is an avoidant response that serves as a short term justification, but in the long run brings interpersonal conflicts and problems when it comes to evaluating the results of one’s decisions.

26. Feeling lonely

This is because loneliness is a negative state of mind, which is linked to feelings of misunderstanding, sadness and insecurity. This insecurity makes the person perceive that others do not understand him/her and do not share his/her values and tastes.

This perceived misunderstanding by others not only gives rise to a subjective feeling of isolation, but also makes us more likely to have health problems both because of the lack of hygiene and proper nutrition and because of the psychological consequences it generates.

27. Wanting to hurt others

Anger and frustration can manifest themselves in a state of mind of revenge or wanting to hurt others. Many times it remains just that, a state of mind, an idea . In others, however, an individual may behave violently.

28. Depersonalization

Some mentally ill people experience a psychic state characterized by the fact that they feel strange to themselves , to their body and to the environment around them. This, in turn, makes them more likely to adopt a pattern of decisions and actions that leads to loneliness.

29. Lack of hope for the future

The lack of motivation and the lack of vital objectives make a person unable to visualize the future in a positive way . Something that, in turn, also causes serious problems for the individual.

30. Psychological blocks

The mental block is a psychological barrier that can be imposed on a person and that prevents him from clearly understanding some aspects of his life. The individual has the ability to hinder his own progress in achieving certain goals in his life.