What is Disorganized Behavior?
Disorganized behavior is the state of staying in a messy or chaotic state. It may show in various disguises, from tangible clutter in an individual’s surroundings to disorganized thoughts and time-management. Different aspects such as mental health disorders, someone’s surroundings and personal experiences may lead to disorganized behavior.
Ways to Define Disorganization
Experts define disorganized behavior in two major ways.
The More Colloquial Definition
The first description explains disorganized behavior as experiencing challenges in keeping order in one’s life or having less motivation to properly execute day-to-day actions.
It may be a person who usually keeps a disordered house, is frequently late to appointments, and regularly misplaces items. Or it can be an individual who finds it difficult to keep their home clean and safe for themselves and perform daily self-care activities due to poor mental health.
More Specific and Clinical Definition
The second definition is worded by the American Psychological Association. It says disorganized behavior is behavior that is inconsistent or self-contradictory and is usually linked with schizophrenia.
Examples of Disorganized Behavior
Instances of this behavior may involve aspects such as:
- Unforeseeable and usually groundless anxiety
- Strange behaviors possibly ranging from guileless absurdity to violence and aggression
- Unusual emotional patterns like chuckling after a blow
- Disordered speech such as difficulty staying on subject, changing topic quickly
- Jumbled, incomprehensible talk in extreme cases
- Uncontrolled or abnormal movements which can or can’t be repetitive
- Not answering when talked to or asked a question
Signs of A Disorganized Person
Disorganized individuals show a range of characteristics that can be easily detected. Here are the most common signs of a disorganized person:
Absence of Concentration and Clarity
A disorganized person suffers from a lack of focus and clarity. They can be easily disturbed by their atmosphere, feelings or thoughts, making it hard to maintain focus. It may cause reduced efficiency and a lack of decision-making capability.
Lack of Capacity to Compare
Disorganized individuals are often unable to prioritize jobs efficiently. They can be agitated by the number of tasks they have at hand, which makes them delay them and manage time improperly.
Struggle with Planning and Performing Tasks
Another common sign of a disorganized folk is difficulty with planning and execution. They can find it challenging to split tasks down into smaller chunks causing anxiety and distress.
Littered and Chaotic Spaces
It is the classic symptom of disorganization. A disorganized bloke will most probably have dishevelled and topsy-turvy environments both mentally and physically. They find it hard to organize things in their homes or workplaces causing heightened worry and tension.
Procrastinating
Disorganized people tend to procrastinate. They will not finish their responsibility until the deadline, causing them anxiety to complete whatever they have to at the eleventh hour. It leads to more worry and poor quality of work.
Psychology of Disorganized Behavior: Main Causes
You can see that there are multiple symptoms of disorganization, which means the causes can be different too. Some individuals are just a little disordered in their daily lives, a benign personality factor. But for some, being disorganized is a symptom of an underlying mental health disorder.
Here are a few causes of disorganized behavior:
ADHD or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Folks with ADHD can find it difficult to keep track of tasks, complete projects, or keep their home ordered because of deficits in persistence due to their illness.
Schizophrenia
Clinical psychologists often find disorganized behaviour a result of schizophrenia. It is a grave mental health condition that impacts someone’s thoughts, emotions and behaviours.
When the patient experiences its symptoms, the people around him might perceive that they are having delusions. It may make day-to-day tasks and relationships super tough when untreated.
A schizophrenic person with disorganized behaviour may have ideas, talk or behave in a way that is irrational or unintelligible to others. It can happen with other signs of the condition like hallucinations, delusions or/and catatonic behaviours.
Bipolar Disorder, Depression or PTSD
People feeling sadness, or depression due to bipolar, mild to extreme depressive episodes, or post-traumatic stress disorder sometimes have a hard time cleaning or adequately maintaining basic hygiene due to symptoms such as tiredness, grief or lack of motivation.
Conclusion
If you or your loved one is having disorganized behaviours, it can be the harmless disorganization which is a personality trait or sign of a serious illness. It’s better to contact a psychiatrist or licensed therapist to understand this behaviour and get treatment if needed.
