aboulomania
Sign in to saveAboulomania () is a mental disorder in which the patient displays pathological indecisiveness. The term was created in 1883 by the neurologist William Alexander Hammond, who defined it as: ‘a form of insanity characterised by an inertness, torpor, or paralysis of the will’. It is typically associated with anxiety, stress, depression, and mental anguish, severely affecting one's ability to function socially. In extreme cases, difficulties arising from the disorder can lead to suicide. Although many people are indecisive at times, it is rarely to the extent of obsession.
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Vinony's link graph records 4 inbound references to aboulomania, and connects out to obsessive-compulsive disorder, Greek and Suicide.
It is catalogued under the topic Mania.
Vinony links it to 5 Wikipedia language editions.
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Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Symptoms
- Risk factors
- Biological factors
- Environmental factors
- Diagnosis and treatment
- Criticisms
- References
Aboulomania () is a mental disorder in which the patient displays pathological indecisiveness. The term was created in 1883 by the neurologist William Alexander Hammond, who defined it as: ‘a form of insanity characterised by an inertness, torpor, or paralysis of the will’. It is typically associated with anxiety, stress, depression, and mental anguish, severely affecting one's ability to function socially. In extreme cases, difficulties arising from the disorder can lead to suicide. Although many people are indecisive at times, it is rarely to the extent of obsession.
The part of the brain that is tied to making rational choices, the prefrontal cortex, can hold several pieces of information at any given time. This may quickly overwhelm somebody when trying to make decisions, regardless of the importance of that decision. They may come up with reasons that their decisions will turn out badly, causing them to over-analyze every situation critically in a classic case of paralysis by analysis. Lack of information, valuation difficulty, and outcome uncertainty can become an obsession for those with aboulomania.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “aboulomania” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.