What is a flat affect?

Flat affect is a condition that causes people to not express emotions in the same way other people might. For example, when a person without flat affect is happy, they may smile brightly or in some other way show that they're pleased. A person with flat affect shows no facial expressions.
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What causes someone to have a flat affect?

Those who suffer a traumatic brain injury caused by a blunt trauma, fall, blast injury or other violent situation may experience post-trauma flat affect. In addition to blunt trauma, brain injuries caused by strokes, especially right hemisphere strokes, can cause a person to experience flat affect.
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What does it mean flat affect?

A flat affect can be a negative symptom of schizophrenia, meaning that your emotional expressions don't show. You may speak in a dull, flat voice and your face may not change. You also may have trouble understanding emotions in other people.
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What is the difference between a blunted and flat affect?

People who have a flat affect show virtually no outward evidence of any emotion. Blunted affect. People who have a blunted affect show very little outward emotion.
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What mental illness causes flat affect?

A flat affect is considered a “negative” symptom of schizophrenia, which means there's an absence of a certain emotion or behavior. Research suggests that people living with schizophrenia have a decreased ability to express their emotions, as well as a decreased ability to pick up on the emotional reactions of others.
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I’m Experiencing Flat Affect | Schizophrenia



Is flat affect serious?

Flat affect is a symptom of other conditions. It's not a condition or disorder on its own. People who show symptoms of flat affect should be examined by a psychologist or psychiatrist. These doctors diagnose and treat mental health conditions.
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What does flat affect feel like?

A flat affect is the loss or lack of emotional responses to a situation or event that would typically elicit emotion. People with flat affect may appear to be completely unemotional or apathetic. Other associated symptoms include speaking in a monotone voice and a reduction in facial expressions.
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What is being emotionless called?

Nonmedical terms describing similar conditions include emotionless and impassive. People with the condition are called alexithymics or alexithymiacs.
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What is it called when a person shows no emotion?

apathetic. / (ˌæpəˈθɛtɪk) / adjective. having or showing little or no emotion; indifferent.
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What is alogia?

Some people are naturally quiet and don't say much. But if you have a serious mental illness, brain injury, or dementia, talking might be hard. This lack of conversation is called alogia, or “poverty of speech.” Alogia can affect your quality of life.
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How do you get an emotionless face?

To look entirely emotionless, start by relaxing your eyes and mouth since your face can express a multitude of emotions. After you relax your face, you'll still want to make eye contact, but pretend your looking at a chair or something else neutral.
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Why do I sound emotionless?

Feeling emotionless can often be a symptom of mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic disorder so it's not something to dismiss or downplay.
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What is a blunt affect?

Blunted affect, also referred to as emotional blunting, is a prominent symptom of schizophrenia. Patients with blunted affect have difficulty in expressing their emotions [1], characterized by diminished facial expression, expressive gestures and vocal expressions in reaction to emotion provoking stimuli [1–3].
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What are the five types of affect?

What are the five types of affect? The five types of affect are broad affect, restricted affect, blunted affect, flat affect, and liable affect.
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What is the opposite of flat affect?

Flat affect describes when a person displays absolutely no emotion. Blunted affect is a step above flat, with some mild expression present on occasion. Any emotional display is severely restrained. Restricted affect involves slightly restrained expression.
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What do you call a person who hides their pain behind a smile?

This condition in psychological terms is rarely known, it is called an eccedentsiast. Eccedentsiast means those who hide behind a smile to convince others that they are happy. Also known as smiling depression which is a type of depression that is often not detected.
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How do you tell if you're a sociopath or just numb?

The identifying traits of a sociopath are:
  1. Superficial charm and good intelligence.
  2. Having a lot of confidence and being the life and soul of any party.
  3. Being bold and self-assured.
  4. Rarely feeling guilt or shame.
  5. Showing no remorse.
  6. Constant lying.
  7. An inflated sense of their own superiority.
  8. A tendency to exaggerate,
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What are signs of emotional detachment?

Symptoms of emotional detachment
  • difficulty creating or maintaining personal relationships.
  • a lack of attention, or appearing preoccupied when around others.
  • difficulty being loving or affectionate with a family member.
  • avoiding people, activities, or places because they're associated with past trauma.
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What does it mean when you wanna cry but can t?

It's not an uncommon experience and it's called anhedonia. Simply put, anhedonia is when you lose interest in the social activities and physical sensations that you once enjoyed. It's a symptom of many mental health conditions, including depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
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What do you call a person who doesn't get angry easily?

Definitions of imperturbable. adjective. not easily perturbed or excited or upset; marked by extreme calm and composure.
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What do you call a person who can't love?

People who are aromantic, also known as “aro,” don't develop romantic attractions for other people. But that doesn't mean they don't have feelings.
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Can depression change your face?

Long-term depression has disastrous effects on skin, because the chemicals associated with the condition can prevent your body from repairing inflammation in cells. "These hormones affect sleep, which will show on our faces in the form of baggy, puffy eyes and a dull or lifeless complexion," says Dr.
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Do schizophrenics lack empathy?

Abstract. Although it has been proposed that schizophrenia is characterized by impaired empathy, several recent studies found intact neural responses on tasks measuring the affective subdomain of empathy.
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What is flat affect in autism?

Many individuals on the autism spectrum have a “flat affect” or reduced facial display. “Flat affect” is a term used to describe a lack of emotional reactivity or expressivity. With a flat affect, expressive gestures are minimal, and there is little animation in facial expression or vocal inflection.
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What is a broad affect?

1. Full or broad affect: This describes someone whose emotional reaction changes in typical or expected ways. They appear happy when they feel happy and appear sad when they are sad. On the affective spectrum, full affect is a happy balance in the middle.
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