Flat Effect | Common In Dementia | Schizoid Personality Disorder |

The term “affect” refers to your ability to express emotions
A flat affect isn’t a condition on its own.
It can be a symptom of a mental health condition, although this isn’t always the case.
Apathy in dementia is a loss of motivation or drive.
At this time, A person may need a lot of encouragement just to do seemingly small things.
Without this support they may well do nothing.
Most people with dementia will develop apathy - particularly during the later stage of the condition.
The timing and nature of apathy may differ depending on the type of dementia.
What causes apathy in a person with dementia?
A very common reason is that it develops gradually as an emotional response to the difficulties of living with dementia.
More specifically, certain parts of your brain, like amygdala,.... may be underactive compared with people who don’t have a flat affect.
Some forms of dementia can cause changes to the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which can sometimes manifest behaviorally as a flat affect.
Antidepressant medications
Certain medications, like antidepressants, can cause a flat affect.
Few of the medicines are mentioned.....
escitalopram (Lexapro)
duloxetine (Cymbalta)
vilazodone (Viibryd)
vortioxetine (Trintellix)