Symptoms of a Lack of Internal Control

Loss of internal control happens for a variety of reasons and manifests in several ways. Dementia patients, including those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, lose the capacity to control themselves due to physical degeneration of their brains. Similar issues exist for patients with other degenerative diseases, such as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. For very different reasons, psychotic patients also lose their capacity to control their behaviors and actions. Conditions, such as Tourette syndome and traumatic brain injury lead to partial loses of internal control where specific areas of the brain have difficulty functioning properly. Whatever the cause, an observer may notice several common symptoms.

Speech

• Loss of internal control usually affects people's speaking abilities. Dementia patients often lose their ability to filter thoughts and may say whatever crosses their minds. In many cases, this results in inappropriate or offensive comments such as, "You're fat," or "That shirt is really ugly." Advanced stages of brain degeneration both in dementia and other diseases such as ALS result in slurring speech and eventual silence. Those experiencing psychotic breaks or suffering from psychoses may speak in gibberish or form nonsensical sentences. People with Tourette syndrome have an inability to control their communication and make noises, movements and speak involuntarily, often using inappropriate language.

Bodily Functions

• Degenerative brain diseases often result in patients' abilities to control their own bodies. Alzheimer's patients often reach a point when they can no longer control their urination and bowel movements. ALS patients face the same problem, only it eventually includes their ability to move limbs, speak, walk and eat. However, ALS patients normally retain cognitive capacity, which can be extremely painful for them as they are aware of their loss of control, which brings shame and indignity.

Beliefs

• People without internal control often develop fear and paranoia. For dementia patients, these feelings stem from an awareness that they are not able to fully decipher what goes on around them or within them, leading patients to feel unable to protect themselves. In essence, their world spins out of control. Schizophrenics often face paranoia as part of their disease. Their warped perceptions and unbridled emotions can easily turn dark and scary, leading them to believe in conspiracies, including those against them.

Emotion

• When their brains aren't functioning properly, people often emote strongly and frequently. Schizophrenics and psychotics in general frequently exhibit intense fear and anger. Those with brain damage or degeneration, such as dementia and traumatic brain injury, typically express anger, sadness, hopelessness and fear without any specific cause. The speech of Tourette sufferers is often angry or violent in nature. While medication can help with these symptoms, there is no cure for the root causes, which have to do with the anatomy of the brain itself.