Author Archives: Shervan K Shahhian, LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, The Most Comprehensive Online Library Regarding Mental Health, Psychology and Parapsychology in the World.

A catatonic episode is a medical emergency because of risks like dehydration, malnutrition, or self-harm.

See a Psychiatrist and or a Neurologist for more information.

The main catatonic symptoms are grouped under three broad categories — motor, behavioral, and speech abnormalities. According to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition), at least three of the following symptoms are required for a diagnosis of catatonia:

Core Catatonic Symptoms

Stupor, No psychomotor activity; not actively relating to the environment.

Catalepsy, Passive induction of a posture held against gravity (e.g., maintaining an uncomfortable pose).

Waxy flexibility, Slight, even resistance to positioning by the examiner (as if the body were made of wax).

Mutism, Little or no verbal response (not due to aphasia).

Negativism, Opposition or no response to instructions or external stimuli.

Posturing, Spontaneous maintenance of a posture against gravity (e.g., holding arms outstretched).

Mannerisms, Odd, circumstantial caricatures of normal actions.

Stereotypy, Repetitive, non-goal-directed movements (e.g., rocking, hand flapping).

Agitation, Excessive motor activity not influenced by external stimuli.

Grimacing, Fixed or exaggerated facial expressions.

Echolalia, Mimicking another’s speech.

Echopraxia, Mimicking another’s movements.

Simplified Summary

• Motor immobility or rigidity (stupor, catalepsy, waxy flexibility)
• Decreased verbal/motor response (mutism, negativism)
• Repetitive or purposeless behaviors (stereotypy, mannerisms, echolalia, echopraxia)
• Agitation or excitement (when catatonia appears as excessive, purposeless activity.)
• Shervan K Shahhian

A catatonic episode is a medical emergency because of risks like dehydration, malnutrition, or self-harm.

See a Psychiatrist and or a Neurologist for more information.

Catatonic symptoms refer to a group of psychomotor disturbances seen in various mental and medical conditions (most often in schizophrenia, mood disorders, or neurological conditions). These symptoms can range from severe motor immobility to excessive agitation and bizarre movements.

Here’s a breakdown of the main catatonic symptoms and how they differ:

 1. Motor Immobility (Stupor)

• Definition: Complete lack of movement or response to external stimuli.
• Example: A person remains motionless for hours, doesn’t react to being touched or spoken to.
• Differentiation: Unlike depression-related slowing, in catatonia the immobility is extreme and may include rigidity.

2. Mutism

• Definition: Little or no verbal response despite the ability to speak.
• Example: The person is awake but silent, even when directly addressed.
• Differentiation: Not due to language comprehension deficits or refusal—it’s a motor inhibition of speech.

 3. Negativism

• Definition: Resistance to instructions or attempts to be moved, or doing the opposite of what is asked.
• Example: When asked to raise their arm, the person resists or lowers it instead.
• Differentiation: Different from oppositional behavior; this resistance is automatic, not purposeful.

4. Posturing

• Definition: Voluntarily holding a bizarre or rigid posture for long periods.
• Example: Standing with arms raised or body twisted in an unnatural position for minutes or hours.
• Differentiation: Maintained despite discomfort and without external cause.

5. Waxy Flexibility

• Definition: Limbs remain in positions placed by another person, as if the body were made of wax.
• Example: If you lift the person’s arm, it stays in that position until moved again.
• Differentiation: A key sign of catatonia, showing passive maintenance of imposed posture.

 6. Echolalia

• Definition: Repeating another person’s words or phrases.
• Example: When you say “How are you?” the person responds, “How are you?”
• Differentiation: Not purposeful mimicry; it’s automatic repetition.

7. Echopraxia

• Definition: Imitating another person’s movements.
• Example: If you scratch your head, the patient mimics the movement.
• Differentiation: Unlike playful imitation, it’s involuntary and repetitive.

 8. Catatonic Excitement

• Definition: Extreme, purposeless motor activity; agitation without clear goal.
• Example: Running around, grimacing, shouting, or repetitive gestures.
• Differentiation: Not driven by external stimuli or internal goals (unlike mania).

 9. Stereotypy and Mannerisms

• Stereotypy: Repetitive, non-goal-directed movements (e.g., rocking, finger tapping).
• Mannerisms: Odd, exaggerated movements with apparent purpose (e.g., saluting repeatedly).
• Differentiation: Both differ from tics or compulsions because they lack awareness or intent.

 Summary Table

Shervan K Shahhian

A catatonic episode is a medical emergency because of risks like dehydration, malnutrition, or self-harm.

See a Psychiatrist and or a Neurologist for more information.

A catatonic episode is a period of time in which a person shows abnormalities in movement, behavior, or speech that are characteristic of catatonia — a psychomotor syndrome that can appear in several mental or medical conditions (like schizophrenia, mood disorders, or neurological illness).

During a catatonic episode, a person may alternate between extreme immobility and agitation, or show peculiar postures, resistance to movement, or echoing behaviors.

Common Features of a Catatonic Episode

A person may show one or more of the following:

• Stupor: Little or no movement or response to the environment
• Mutism: Minimal or absent speech
• Negativism: Resistance to instructions or movement without explanation
• Posturing: Holding a rigid or unusual body position for long periods
• Waxy flexibility: Limbs stay in the position they’re placed by someone else
• Echolalia: Repeating others’ words
• Echopraxia: Imitating others’ movements
• Agitation: Sudden bursts of purposeless activity
• Grimacing or stereotypy: Repetitive, non-goal-directed facial expressions or movements

Causes

Catatonic episodes can occur in:

• Schizophrenia (catatonic type)
• Bipolar disorder or major depression with psychotic features
• Medical or neurological conditions (e.g., infections, metabolic disorders)See a Psychiatrist and or a Neurologist for more information.
• Substance use or withdrawal

Treatment

A catatonic episode is a medical emergency because of risks like dehydration, malnutrition, or self-harm.

Treatment may include:

See a Psychiatrist and or a Neurologist for more information.

• Treating the underlying condition (psychiatric or medical)

Shervan K Shahhian

Catatonia is a medical emergency if severe (especially if the person stops eating or drinking).

See a Psychiatrist and or a Neurologist for more information.

Catatonia isn’t just one single state, it’s a syndrome with several forms that can appear in different psychiatric, neurological, or medical conditions.

Here are the main types of catatonia, based on presentation and underlying features:

1. Retarded (Stuporous) Catatonia

This is the most common type and involves decreased movement and responsiveness.
Key features:

• Mutism (not speaking)
• Stupor (immobile, unresponsive but awake)
• Waxy flexibility (limbs stay in positions placed by others)
• Negativism (resistance to movement or instruction)
• Posturing (holding odd positions for long periods)
• Echolalia or echopraxia (repeating words or movements)

Often seen in major depression, schizophrenia, or medical illnesses (e.g., encephalitis, metabolic disorders).

2. Excited (Agitated) Catatonia

Characterized by excessive, purposeless, or frenzied motor activity.
Key features:

• Hyperactivity or agitation
• Verbigeration (repetition of meaningless words/phrases)
• Impulsivity or combativeness
• Stereotyped movements (repetitive gestures)
• Sudden emotional outbursts

This type can rapidly switch between agitation and stupor and may be seen in mania, psychotic states, or toxic/metabolic conditions.

3. Malignant (Lethal) Catatonia

A life-threatening form with autonomic instability.
Key features:

• Fever
• Delirium or confusion
• Elevated blood pressure, pulse, and respiration
• Rigidity
• Rapid progression to stupor or coma

Closely resembles neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) and requires emergency treatment.

4. Periodic or Recurrent Catatonia

• Episodes of catatonia that recur intermittently over months or years.
• Often linked to mood disorders or genetic susceptibility.

5. Atypical or Mixed Catatonia

• Patients show a combination of retarded and excited features or shift between them.
• Sometimes seen in bipolar disorder or schizoaffective states.

Shervan K Shahhian

A manic episode is a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood accompanied by increased energy or activity. In psychiatry, it’s most often associated with Bipolar I Disorder, but it can also occur due to substances, medical conditions, or other mood disorders.

Here’s a clear breakdown:

Core Features of a Manic Episode

• Duration: At least 1 week (or any duration if hospitalization is required).
• Mood: Abnormally elevated, expansive, or irritable.
• Activity/Energy: Abnormally increased, goal-directed activity or energy.

Symptoms:

• Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
• Decreased need for sleep (e.g., feels rested after 3 hours)
• More talkative or pressured speech
• Flight of ideas or racing thoughts
• Easily distracted
• Increase in goal-directed activities (work, social, sexual) or psychomotor agitation
• Excessive involvement in risky activities (spending sprees, sexual indiscretions, reckless investments)

Severity

• Severe enough to cause marked impairment in social/occupational functioning, require hospitalization, or involve psychotic features.
• Not attributable to substances use/abuse or another medical conditions.

Shervan K Shahhian

Psychological science is applied to legal questions because the law is fundamentally about people—how they think, feel, and behave. Psychology offers systematic methods to understand and explain human behavior, which helps the legal system make more accurate, fair, and effective decisions.

Some key reasons include:

• Understanding behavior: Courts and juries often need to evaluate why people act the way they do (e.g., criminal intent, eyewitness testimony, memory reliability). Psychology provides evidence-based insight into these questions.
• Improving legal processes: Research shows, for example, that eyewitness memory is fallible and that certain interrogation techniques can produce false confessions. Applying psychology helps refine procedures to reduce errors.
• Assessing individuals: Psychologists assess competence to stand trial, risk of reoffending, mental state at the time of an offense, and treatment needs—issues directly tied to justice.
• Policy and law development: Psychological findings inform how laws are written and enforced (e.g., understanding adolescent brain development has influenced juvenile justice policies).
• Promoting fairness: Psychology helps identify biases in judges, juries, and legal procedures, supporting a more equitable justice system.

In short, psychology brings scientific knowledge about the mind and behavior into the legal arena, where decisions often hinge on questions about human thought, memory, emotion, and action.

Shervan K Shahhian

Legal psychology is a subfield of psychology that focuses on how psychological principles, methods, and research apply to the law and legal systems. It sits within the broader area of psychology and law and overlaps with forensic psychology, but it is not the same thing.

At its core, legal psychology is about understanding the human behavior, thought processes, and decision-making that play a role in legal contexts. It covers areas such as:

Eyewitness testimony — how accurate people’s memories are, what factors affect reliability, and how testimony can be influenced.

Jury decision-making — how jurors evaluate evidence, deliberate as a group, and what biases or heuristics may affect verdicts.

Police investigations and interrogations — studying false confessions, suspect interviews, and investigative decision-making.

Expert testimony — psychologists providing courts with specialized knowledge (e.g., about memory, risk assessment, or mental states).

Public policy and lawmaking — applying psychological research to improve laws and legal procedures.

Unlike forensic psychology, which is more clinical and often involves direct assessment of individuals (e.g., competency evaluations, risk of reoffending), legal psychology is more experimental and research-oriented, focusing on general psychological phenomena relevant to the legal system.

 In short: Legal psychology is the scientific study of how psychology interacts with the law — especially in areas like memory, decision-making, persuasion, and justice.

Shervan K Shahhian