On January 20, 2010, 47-year-old journalist Konstantin Popov died in Tomsk. According to the investigation, on January 4 he was taken to a sobering-up center, where he was subjected to violence by its employees. This resulted in severe injuries internal organs leading to death. 26-year-old employee of the sobering-up center Aleksey Mitaev took the blame for the crime, explaining his actions as a result of stress due to a difficult life situation.
Affect in criminal law - strong emotional disturbance, expressed in a short-term but violent mental reaction, during which consciousness and the ability to think narrow, and the ability to control one’s actions is weakened.
There are two types of affect: pathological and physiological.
In criminal law, physiological affect is associated with a sudden strong but short-term emotional state (mental excitement), in which disorganization occurs mental activity. A person does not completely lose understanding of the situation and the actions he performs, but he practically does not control them.
The most important signs of physiological affect are: - suddenness of occurrence (affect occurs suddenly against the will of a person and seems to take possession of him);
Explosive dynamics (in a short period of time the state reaches its highest limit);
Short duration (affect is measured in seconds and minutes; the statement that affect lasts 15-20 minutes or more is an exaggeration: so for a long time a person may be in a different mental state, but not in an affective one);
Intensity and tension of the course (in a state of passion a person has additional physical strength and opportunities);
A disorganizing effect on mental activity (in a state of passion, a narrowing of consciousness is observed to the limits of a psychotraumatic situation, the flexibility of thinking is lost, the quality of thought processes, self-control is sharply lost, focus and understanding of the appropriateness of actions are disrupted);
Increased motor activity, a sharp increase in behavioral acts (a person makes erratic movements, inflicts many injuries on the victim), etc.;
Vegetative changes (characterized by changes in color skin(redness, pallor) and voice modulation, respiratory arrhythmia, drying out of the oral mucosa, intensification of cardiac activity, etc.).
The consequences of affect can be partial amnesia and asthenic syndrome(the suspect (accused) is sometimes unable to remember individual details of the incident, for example, cannot say where he took the crime weapon, where and how he struck the victim, etc.).
Asthenic syndrome is characterized by decline: physical and neuropsychic weakness, increased fatigue and exhaustion, decreased sensitivity threshold, extreme mood instability, sleep disturbance.
A decrease in the adequacy of human behavior may also be observed. The latter is especially acute in attempts to hide a crime (for example, by simulating suicide).
A person who commits a crime in a state of physiological affect (or some other emotional states) is subject to criminal liability.
Pathological affect is a short-term painful mental disorder, accompanied by deep clouding of consciousness, impulsive acts, partial or complete loss of memory (amnesia). It is characterized by a concentration of consciousness on traumatic experiences followed by an affective discharge. A person’s actions are accompanied by incoherent speech and excessive gesticulation. The post-affective state manifests itself in general weakness, drowsiness or deep sleep.
Pathological affect is an exceptional condition and is quite rare in forensic practice. To establish the affect at the time of committing illegal actions by persons suffering mental illness(schizophrenia, epilepsy, manic-depressive psychosis, etc.), comprehensive forensic psychological and psychiatric examinations are carried out.
Persons who have committed crimes in a state of pathological affect are recognized as insane and are not responsible for their actions (inaction).
Affect acquires criminal legal significance if the state of sudden strong emotional disturbance (affect) is caused by violence, bullying, grave insult on the part of the victim or other illegal or immoral actions (inaction) of the victim, as well as a long-term psychotraumatic situation that arose in connection with with systematic illegality or immoral behavior victim.
The presence of a person in a state of passion when committing crimes is a circumstance that significantly reduces responsibility for the committed act.
A person who has committed a socially dangerous act provided for by criminal law in a state of insanity may be imposed compulsory medical measures by the court:
Outpatient compulsory observation and treatment by a psychiatrist;
Forced treatment in psychiatric hospital general type;
Compulsory treatment in a specialized psychiatric hospital;
Compulsory treatment in a specialized psychiatric hospital with intensive supervision.
The material was prepared by the editors of rian.ru based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
We often hear about passion when it comes to any illegal action: “murder in the heat of passion.” However, this concept is not limited to criminal matters. Affect can both destroy and save a person.
1 Reaction to stress
Science perceives affect as a complex phenomenon - a combination of mental, physiological, cognitive and emotional processes. This is a short-term peak state, or, in other words, the body’s reaction during which psychophysiological resources are thrown into the fight against stress that has arisen under the influence of the external environment.
Affect is usually a response to an event that has occurred, but it is already based on a state of internal conflict. Affect is provoked by a critical, most often unexpected, situation from which a person is unable to find an adequate way out.
Experts distinguish between ordinary and cumulative affect. In the first case, affect is caused by the direct impact of a stressor on a person; in the second, it is the result of the accumulation of relatively weak factors, each of which individually is not capable of causing a state of affect.
In addition to excitation of the body, affect can provoke inhibition and even blocking of its functions. In this case, a person is overcome by one emotion, for example, panic horror: in a state of asthenic affect, instead of active actions, a person watches in a daze the events unfolding around him.
2 How to recognize affect
Affect is sometimes not easy to distinguish from other mental states. For example, affect differs from ordinary feelings, emotions and moods in its intensity and short duration, as well as the obligatory presence of a provoking situation.
There are differences between affect and frustration. The latter is always a long-term motivational-emotional state that arises as a result of the inability to satisfy one or another need.
It is more difficult to identify the differences between affect and trance, since they have much in common. For example, in both states there are violations of the conscious volitional control of behavior. One of the main differences is that trance, unlike affect, is caused not by situational factors, but by painful changes in the psyche.
Experts also distinguish between the concepts of affect and insanity. Although the characteristics of an individual’s behavior in both conditions are very similar, in affect they are not random. Even in situations where a person is not able to control his impulses, he becomes their captive of his own free will.
3 Physiological changes during affect
Affect is always accompanied by physiological changes in the human body. The first thing that is observed is a powerful surge of adrenaline. Then comes the time of vegetative reactions - the pulse and breathing quicken, the arterial pressure, spasms occur peripheral vessels, coordination of movements is impaired. People who have experienced a state of passion experience physical exhaustion and exacerbation of chronic diseases.
4 Physiological affect
Affect is usually divided into physiological and pathological. Physiological affect is an intense emotion that completely takes over a person’s consciousness, as a result of which control over one’s own actions is reduced. In this case, deep clouding of consciousness does not occur, and the person usually maintains self-control.
5 Pathological affect
Pathological affect is a rapidly occurring psychophysiological reaction characterized by the suddenness of its occurrence, in which the intensity of the experience is much higher than with physiological affect, and the nature of the emotions is concentrated around such states as rage, anger, fear, despair. With pathological affect, the normal course of the most important things is usually disrupted. mental processes– perception and thinking, a critical assessment of reality disappears and volitional control over actions sharply decreases.
German psychiatrist Richard Krafft-Ebing drew attention to the deep disorder of consciousness during pathological affect with the resulting fragmentation and confusion of memories of what happened. And the domestic psychiatrist Vladimir Serbsky attributed pathological affect to states of insanity and unconsciousness.
According to doctors, the state of pathological affect usually lasts a matter of seconds, during which a sharp mobilization of the body’s resources occurs - at this moment the person is able to demonstrate abnormal strength and reaction.
6 Phases of pathological affect
Despite its severity and short duration, psychiatrists distinguish three phases of pathological affect.
The preparatory phase is marked by an increase in emotional tension, a change in the perception of reality and a violation of the ability to adequately assess the situation. At this moment, consciousness is limited to the traumatic experience - everything else does not exist for it.
The explosion phase is directly aggressive actions, which, as described by Russian psychiatrist Sergei Korsakov, have “the nature of complex arbitrary acts committed with the cruelty of an automatic machine or machine.” In this phase, facial reactions are observed that demonstrate a sharp change in emotions - from anger and rage to despair and bewilderment.
The final phase is usually accompanied by a sudden depletion of physical and mental strength. After it, an irresistible desire to sleep or a state of prostration may arise, characterized by lethargy and complete indifference to what is happening.
7 Affect and criminal law
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation distinguishes between crimes committed with mitigating and aggravating circumstances. Taking this into account, murder committed in a state of passion (Article 107 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and causing grievous or moderate harm to health in a state of passion (Article 113 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) are classified as mitigating circumstances.
According to the Criminal Code, affect acquires criminal legal significance only in the case when “the state of sudden strong emotional excitement (affect) is caused by violence, mockery, grave insult on the part of the victim or other illegal or immoral actions (inaction) of the victim, as well as prolonged psychotraumatic a situation that arose in connection with the systematic illegal or immoral behavior of the victim.”
Lawyers emphasize that the situation provoking the emergence of affect must exist in reality, and not in the imagination of the subject. However, the same situation can be perceived differently by a person who has committed a crime in a state of passion - this depends on the characteristics of his personality, psycho-emotional state and other factors.
The severity and depth of an affective outburst is not always proportional to the strength of the provoking circumstance, which explains the paradoxical nature of some affective reactions. In such cases, only a comprehensive psychological and psychiatric examination can assess the mental functioning of a person in a state of passion.
Insanity, or pathological affect, is a human condition caused by some very strong and, importantly, unexpected shock, external stimulus. A state of affect can manifest itself in people with a normal psyche, although hysterical and neuropathic individuals, as well as those who are dependent on alcohol or drugs, are more likely to be prone to it. narcotic drugs. This is a completely independent mental disorder, with a short period.
An attack can begin suddenly, both for the person himself and for those who are nearby. But, if you are careful, you can notice some signs of an approaching emotional explosion.
A person cannot immediately adapt to some external stimuli, which is expressed in disorganized behavior when the flow of mental processes is disrupted. It could be anger, rage, fear. At the same time, the actions of someone who experiences this stress often have a reflexive, spontaneous nature.
Characteristic signs of pathological affect
- A sudden occurrence, which may be due to insult, rude or violent actions, or a threat to life.
- Dynamic flow. In a very short period of time, the situation goes through several stages, passing through its maximum.
- A short period of time when a person is in a state of passion.
- The intensity of the process.
- Inappropriate, disorganizing effect on the patient’s mental state. At this moment, he cannot correctly assess the situation and his own actions.
- There is an increased physical activity, while the movements are chaotic and incoherent.
- The skin turns red or pale, the timbre of the voice changes, breathing becomes intermittent, and the mouth may feel dry.
Even in cases where the duration of the pathological affect is very short, it necessarily passes through obligatory phases. They all have their own characteristics.
Preparatory phase
- Complete preservation of consciousness.
- The perception of what is happening is impaired, but not greatly.
- Changes occur in the ability to understand ongoing experiences and mental processes.
- The desire to fulfill your intentions grows, all activities and actions are aimed at this. All other personal experiences fade into the background.
Explosion phase
Control over one's own actions and personal self-control is lost.
There is a clouding of consciousness, it loses clarity.
It is at this moment that actions of an aggressive nature are possible. But there may be another course of the affective state: passivity and confusion.
The initial phase is also the final phase
- There comes complete exhaustion of all strength, both mental and physical.
- Relaxation, apathy, passivity, indifference to everything that happens.
- Partial awareness of what happened recently.
- Lack of understanding of one’s own actions and actions.
A person in an affective state does not act according to a pre-thought-out scenario. His behavior is “dictated” by strong experiences and emotions, provoking the performance of rash, impulsive actions. This is what takes into account arbitrage practice when crimes committed in a state of pathological affect are examined.
Summary
After a patient has a pathological affect, he is not immediately able to realize and evaluate what he has done; this takes time. An adequate assessment is often hampered by memory lapses, which do not allow one to reconstruct all the details of what happened. The disease can be treated if the help of a psychiatrist is provided on time. Don't miss the chance. Good luck
Affect translated from Latin means “mental excitement, passion.” What is a state of affect? This is a short-term psychogenic, very impulsive state that can be either positively directed or negative, and even very cruel. As a rule, it occurs suddenly and acutely, and lasts several minutes, but the causes can be different. Such conditions can be pathological, physiological and uncertain. ( Pathological affect) is the most severe condition in which a person can even be declared insane.
Basically, the cause of this state of a person’s psyche is some kind of traumatic event or the behavior of other people. The reaction is not under a person’s control and can have a very aggressive, sometimes dangerous form of manifestation for others. A person in a state of passion cannot control his emotions, speech and movements; there is confusion and, in some cases, even subsequent amnesia.
It is necessary to distinguish ( physiological affect) from pathological.
State of pathological affect
The pathological form of manifestation of affect is an unhealthy, painful state that arises under the influence of psychogenic factors, and can occur, even in a completely mentally healthy person, as an aggravated reaction to a traumatic influence on the psyche. In a state of passion, a state arises almost instantly twilight consciousness. Flows and manifests itself physiological affect in three phases. The first phase begins after receiving “psychotraumatic information” in the form of awareness of what is happening, after which affective tension arises and intensifies, increasing. The second phase is the phase of peak tension, an explosion of emotions. The symptoms of this phase are usually typical. A person experiences disturbances in the perception of sounds (sounds move away or come closer, intensify), illusory perceptions arise, hallucinations and psychosensory disturbances are possible, delirium, increased aggression and unjustified cruelty are common. As a rule, a person in this state cannot correctly assess the situation and perceived threats. Motor skills may also be impaired (wobbly legs, ringing in the ears, loss of consciousness. After the second phase, the third begins.
For the third phase, the absence of any human reaction to what is happening (or what has been done) is typical; the person may be in a very painful prostration, terminal sleep, be as if shell-shocked, and will not make any contact for some time.
State of physiological affect
Physiological affect, unlike pathological, does not entail declaring a person insane. Such a temporary emotional state is not considered painful, is considered normal and represents an explosive reaction to a stimulus. Can be positive or negative. Such an affect, as a rule, arises instantly, proceeds very quickly, and manifests itself in a sharp change in a person’s mental activity and his actions.
When a physiological affect occurs, a person can be aware of his actions and direct them, clouding of consciousness does not occur, there are no twilight effects, and memory does not disappear.
Causes of physiological forms of affective state:
- Threat to the life of a person or his loved ones, conflict.
- Deviant behavior of people around, aimed at insulting the individual, affecting self-esteem and self-esteem.
Such states arise only in certain irritating situations, but the affective reaction very often does not correspond real threat or the degree of irritation, and this depends on several factors:
- by age
- nervous system(resistance to psychogenic stimuli)
- person's self-esteem
- temporary physiological conditions affecting the psyche (fatigue, insomnia, menstruation)
Common features described above affective states, is:
- transience
- sharpness
- intensity of manifestation
- direct connection with a stimulus of a psychogenic nature (i.e., it is a reaction to external irritating factors)
- impulsiveness and expressiveness, fear
- explosive, pronounced character in the second phase, possibly anger, aggression and unjustified cruelty
- state of stupor, “shell shock”, exhaustion, partial memory loss in the last stage
The difference between pathological and physiological affects is that with the former there is a twilight state, stupefaction and amnesia, but with the latter there is no such effect. In addition, pathological affect is characterized by more intense arousal, inadequacy of reaction, inability to account for one’s actions, crazy ideas and amnesia.
According to modern concepts, this is a hyperkinetic form of acute shock reaction, accompanied by psychomotor agitation and aggressive actions towards the offender, at the height of which a disturbance of consciousness occurs, such as twilight stupefaction. Diagnostic signs: three-phase flow (accumulation, explosion, asthenia); unexpected occurrence; inadequacy to the occasion that caused it; sharp psychomotor agitation; twilight disorder consciousness at the height of disorder; automaticity of actions; violations of behavioral motivation; severe asthenia after recovery from this state. It should be noted that affectogenic exceptional states have much in common with physiological affect (causal connection with a psychogenic factor, severity of occurrence, the same three-phase course, similar vasovegetative and motor reactions). The main and cardinal difference is the symptoms of a psychopathological series in the second phase (explosion phase): phenomena of darkened consciousness, accompanied by subsequent amnesia. One of the significant signs in pathological psychogenic conditions is the disproportion of the occasion to the strength of the psychogenic explosive reaction. The discharge occurs according to the “last straw” principle, and although this “drop” is connected with the entire psychogenic situation, the reason itself is often quite insignificant. And if the diagnosis of physiological affect is the competence of psychologists, then the diagnosis of pathological affect is the competence of psychiatrists, since this is a transient psychotic state.
The first phase (preparatory) includes personal processing of psychogenicity, the emergence and increase in the individual’s readiness for affective release. A long-term psychotraumatic situation determines an increase in affective tension, against the background of which a psychogenic cause, through the “last straw” mechanism, can cause the onset of an acute affective reaction. U conditionally mentally healthy people For the occurrence of a pathological reaction, both acute and delayed psychogenies are equally important. As already mentioned, in “conditionally mentally healthy” patients one can almost always find signs of residual organic damage to the central nervous system and the presence of incoming asthenic factors that also form the pathological basis.
With protracted psychogenies associated with a long-term psychotraumatic situation, persistent hostile relationships with the victim, long-term systematic humiliation and bullying, an acute affective reaction arises as a result of the gradual accumulation of affective experiences. Mental condition subexperts, preceding the occasion that caused the affective reaction, is characterized by low mood, neurasthenic symptoms, and the emergence of dominant ideas that are closely related to the psychogenic-traumatic situation. Factors that help facilitate the occurrence of an affective reaction are overwork, forced insomnia, somatic weakness, etc. Under the influence of a psychogenic stimulus that comes directly from the offender and outwardly seems insignificant, a sudden reaction with aggressive actions directed against the victim may occur both for the person himself and for those around him. This mechanism is referred to as a “short circuit reaction”.
This group is dominated by women with asthenic, inhibited character traits. These are timid, shy creatures that long years are in a psychogenically traumatic situation, often in their own family. As a rule, this is the bullying of an alcoholic husband who humiliates a woman, beats her and children; bullying is often sadistic in nature. For example, one test subject’s husband pushed needles under her nails, another was forced to drink his urine. Usually women don’t tell anyone about this, and this situation lasts for years. In this way, the cumulation of affect occurs. It is important to note that such reactions usually occur in women during prolonged depressive states, i.e. It is natural to assume that in the conditions of such a long-term psychotraumatic situation, severe both objectively and subjectively, women have a painfully depressed mood. But these depressions are, as a rule, masked, larved, somatized in nature, i.e. Somatovegetative manifestations come to the fore. In terms of clinical design, they are closest to the “exhaustion depressions” of P. Kielholz, when the asthenic component of depression is pronounced and depression is accompanied somatic masks. Usually in the cases of such subjects there is a somatic map - voluminous, all covered with writing - for many years the woman is examined by various specialists - internists, neurologists, endocrinologists, gynecologists. There is no complete objectification of these somatic complaints, but sometimes an observant doctor indicates that a woman has a low mood. In the broad sense of the word, this is reactive depression, a long-term reactive state. The affect is cumulated, and by the time the offense is committed, a psychotic state arises with the participation of a short circuit mechanism. So, with protracted psychogenies, there is a pathological basis: asthenia, depression, cumulation of affect. Moreover, these individuals endure bullying for years, and the last straw is always some insignificant event. It sometimes looks very strange that a woman suffered beatings and humiliation, but on the day when everything happened, her husband, simply passing by, said expletive, which was the last straw.
An affective explosion occurs; at the height of this state, an affectively darkened consciousness is noted. The actions of the experts are, as it were, ultimately directed, i.e. are aimed at eliminating the offender, the causes of their experiences, which distinguishes these states from, say, pathological intoxication or a pathological drowsiness state, where victims are often accidental. Here the actions are directed, which is the biggest difficulty in the forensic psychiatric assessment of these cases. Sometimes experts say: “but they killed the one who offended them.” However, if we analyze the entire history, this is the case, as E. Kretschmer wrote, when “a rabbit turns into a tiger.” That is, inhibited, timid, shy, insecure individuals commit the most serious offenses. The role of progressive asthenia in the occurrence of such conditions is emphasized in foreign literature, and the fact that the actions are ultimately directed does not at all exclude the diagnosis of a painful condition.
In the second phase of pathological affect, a short-term psychotic state occurs, and the affective reaction takes on a qualitatively different character. Psychotic symptoms, characteristic of pathological affect, are characterized by incompleteness, low severity, and lack of connection between individual psychopathological phenomena. It is determined, as a rule, by short-term disturbances of perception in the form of hypoacusis (sounds move away), hyperacusis (sounds are perceived as very loud), and illusory perceptions. Certain perceptual disorders can be classified as affective functional hallucinations. The clinic of psychosensory disorders, disturbances in the body diagram (the head has become large, the arms are long), states of acute fear and confusion are presented much more holistically. Delusional experiences are unstable in nature, and their content may reflect real conflict situation.
The second group of symptoms includes expressive characteristics and vasovegetative reactions characteristic of affective tension and explosion, changes in motor skills in the form of motor stereotypies, post-affective asthenic phenomena with amnesia of the deed, as well as subjective suddenness of changes in state during the transition from the first to the second phase of the affective reaction, particular cruelty of aggression , its inconsistency in content and strength with respect to its occurrence (with affected psychogenies), as well as its inconsistency with leading motives, value orientations, and personal attitudes.
Motor actions during pathological affect continue even after the victim stops showing signs of resistance or life, without any feedback with the situation. These actions are in the nature of unmotivated automatic motor discharges with signs of motor stereotypies. The disturbance of consciousness and the pathological nature of the affect are also evidenced by the extremely sharp transition of intense motor excitation, characteristic of the second phase, into psychomotor retardation.
The third phase (final) is characterized by the absence of any reactions to what has been done, the impossibility of contact, terminal sleep or painful prostration, which is a form of stunning. At differential diagnosis pathological and physiological affects, it is necessary to take into account that, being qualitatively different conditions, they have a number of common features.
With pathological affect, insanity is determined only by the presence of signs of clouded consciousness at the time of the offense. This condition falls under the concept of a temporary disorder of mental activity of the medical criterion of insanity, since it excludes the possibility of a person being aware at the time of committing illegal actions of the actual nature and social danger of his actions.
The most adequate type of examination when assessing affective torts should be considered a comprehensive forensic psychological and psychiatric examination. The principle of joint consideration of the person, situation, state at the time of the tort is one of the main ones in assessing emotional states. A forensic comprehensive psychological and psychiatric examination allows for the most complete and comprehensive assessment of an affective tort in the process of joint psychological and psychiatric research at all stages of the examination. The competence of a psychiatrist extends to the detection and qualification of abnormal, pathological features the personality of the subject, nosological diagnosis, delimitation of painful and non-painful forms of affective reaction, making a conclusion about the sanity-insanity or limited sanity of the accused. It is within the competence of the psychologist to determine the structure personal characteristics subject to the expert, both those that do not go beyond the norm, and those that add up to a picture of personal disharmony, analysis of the existing psychogenic situation, the motives of behavior of its participants, determining the nature of a non-painful emotional reaction, the degree of its intensity and influence on the behavior of the subject when committing illegal actions.
Pathological drowsy state- quite common mental pathology. But it can be assumed that it comes to the attention of psychiatrists only when subjects in this state commit serious offenses. Drowsy states aroused increased interest not only among clinicians, but also among the general public, and therefore were reflected in fiction. The pathological drowsy state is described in the story by A.P. Chekhov “I want to sleep.” It took place among a girl who was a servant in the house and was subjected to humiliating bullying and beatings from her mistress. She was malnourished, lacked sleep (temporary soil), and was homesick. Thus, all the factors add up and, rocking the baby in the cradle, she suddenly begins to hallucinate. She sees clouds, it seems to her that these clouds are laughing like children, she strangles the child and with a happy laugh lies down on the floor next to the child and falls asleep. The time of writing this story coincides with the friendship of A.P. Chekhov with S.S. Korsakov. And it is quite possible that it was he who told the writer a similar case from practice. Despite the fact that A.P. Chekhov was a doctor, the accuracy of the description of psychopathology indicates that the story was based on some kind of real case. Then A.I. Solzhenitsyn remembered this story when describing painful conditions in prisoners who were subjected to sleep deprivation torture.
A pathological prosleep state is a hyperacute psychotic state that occurs during spontaneous or forced awakening from deep sleep. The main manifestation of this state is a disturbance of consciousness, which phenomenologically fits perfectly into twilight darkness consciousness. But just like other exceptional conditions, pathological sleep states do not arise out of the blue. And in many cases, it is possible to identify organic pathology of the brain of one origin or another. Acute alcohol intoxication immediately before the development of a drowsy state is also a common occurrence. In many cases, the subjects drank alcohol before falling asleep, and upon waking up, being forcibly awakened, they committed serious offenses, and almost always after this the subjects went back to bed and took another nap. Then, upon awakening, in almost 100% of cases they are amnesic for the acute psychotic episode. This oversleeping is typical for pathological sleepy conditions.
Very important point, which is noted in many German guidelines, is an indication of a history of sleep disorders. This could be sleep-talking, sleepwalking, etc. individual characteristics like a slow awakening, very deep dream and disturbances in orientation upon awakening. Great importance is attached to previous dreams - they can be nightmarish with a threat to life, and then the tort itself, the behavior of a person during a pathological waking state is, as it were, a response to their threatening content in the form of the elimination of an object, life-threatening. There may be dreams with a psychogenic overtones that reflect previous psychogeny: quarrels, a showdown, a serious conflict situation, and then upon awakening, actions are performed in the spirit of these dreams. It is important that in pathological sleep states, unlike other exceptional conditions, not fragmentary amnesia is detected, but total amnesia. Previously, various terms were found in the literature to denote drowsy states: “dream intoxication”, “drowsy delirium”. Persons who have committed offenses in a state of pathological drowsiness are declared insane.
Thus, expert review so-called short-term mental disorders does not cause difficulties (Article 21 of the Criminal Code - “temporary mental disorder”).
The choice of medical measures for persons who have suffered short-term mental disorders must be differentiated. The presence of a history of organic failure in patients, abuse of alcoholic beverages, taking into account the individual and social dangerous actions, is the basis for prescribing compulsory medical measures. Compulsory measures against these persons may be carried out in psychiatric hospitals general type. In cases where exceptional conditions occur in persons who have not previously abused alcohol, with a positive social status, and with mildly expressed soil pathology, outpatient compulsory observation and treatment by a psychiatrist can be recommended. If necessary, treat organic soil and psychogenic disorders, often observed in persons who have suffered short-term psychotic states, these patients may be recommended examination and treatment in a psychiatric hospital outside the framework of the use of compulsory medical measures.
