Toward an Understanding of Psychopathological Syndromes Related to Social Environments

Abstract

The study described here is based on the theory of complex systems and its application to cultures undergoing rapid social transformation. Societies are much like systems in equilibrium that experience a flow of energy, inert matter, as well as biological input and information (thinking, organization). In order to survive, society must adjust and generate new means of relating, conveying information, as well as engaging with technology. When an important disturbance occurs, after certain thresholds are reached, equilibrium is no longer possible, and crises intervene. When a comfortable equilibrium exists, this is not possible, and troubles spread from the macro dimension to individual ones. These crises can either be sudden, and therefore obvious to people and observers, or slow enough not to be immediately obvious. In the latter case, however, some signals are nevertheless evident. Some of the psychopathological syndromes, along the troubled pathway of adaptation, are examples of this form of communication. These syndromes perceive and absorb social variants and changes in environments. Understanding how psychopathology moves, reacts, develops, and changes through technological, political, communicative, and economic domains allows for new insights. Ecological and evolutionary psychology shows us how to respect the load index of the social fabric, and to take into account an unavoidable sustainability.