Contemporary Brazil is immersed in a psychological panorama marked by dramatic personality disorders, reflecting an increasingly dysfunctional society in emotional, relational and cognitive terms. As argued by Abreu Rodrigues (2021), today’s culture, based on the valorization of appearance, digital popularity and the constant search for immediate rewards, has fueled behaviors that go beyond the field of common neuroses, configuring clinical conditions close to histrionic (HPD), narcissistic (NPD), borderline (BPD), borderline (BPD) and antisocial (ASPD) personality disorders.
The central point of the analysis lies in the connection between culture, biology and instinct. According to the author, current Brazilian social behavior is immersed in a circular dynamic of anxiety and the need for reward. This anxiety — the most prevalent in the world, according to WHO data — is related to the hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, triggering chronic release of cortisol and subsequent overload of structures such as the amygdala and hippocampus, compromising memory and emotional regulation functions. The perpetuation of this affective hyperactivity leads to a tendency towards emotional exaggeration, marked by impulsive, incoherent and often antisocial behaviors (Abreu Rodrigues, 2021).
In the neurochemical sphere, the central roles of serotonin, dopamine, and GABA in modulating emotional states stand out. Serotonin, with its dual role — anxiogenic in the amygdala and anxiolytic in the periaqueductal gray matter — is shown to be an essential modulator in the dynamics of fear and defense. GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system, is shown to be fundamental for the anxiolytic effects promoted by benzodiazepines and other drugs. Dopamine, in turn, stands out as a mediator of the reward and pleasure system, and its release — including in contexts of digital social validation — is associated with the reinforcement of narcissistic and histrionic behaviors (Abreu Rodrigues, 2021).
In neurofunctional terms, the article highlights that structural and functional changes in regions such as the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus are directly associated with dramatic personality disorders. For example, individuals with borderline personality disorder have hyperactive amygdalae and dysregulated hippocampi, which compromises the proper reading of the environment and exacerbates emotional reactions. At the same time, functional inactivity of the prefrontal cortex reduces the capacity for rational regulation, favoring impulsivity, cognitive distortion and maladaptive behavior — evidencing a kind of “sleep of reason” that makes room for exacerbated emotional manifestations (Abreu Rodrigues, 2021).
A highlight of the analysis is the consideration that such behaviors, although not necessarily caused by genetic factors, can leave “epigenetic traces” and influence future generations. This is because continuous exposure to stressful environments, combined with dysfunctional behavioral patterns, can affect not only the mental health of individuals, but also their neurobiological programming, in a feedback process between society, culture and neurophysiology (Abreu Rodrigues, 2021).
Therefore, the article proposes an important reflection: we are faced with a society whose culture promotes distortions of emotional and rational behavior that are close to pathological clinical conditions, affecting not only individual well-being, but also collective health. The therapeutic proposal defended by the author — such as neurotherapy and psychoconstruction — seeks an integrated approach, based on neuroplasticity, habits and the individual neurochemical profile, but also calls for a profound cultural reform, especially in the educational models and social structures that sustain this collective pathology.
Thus, the “circuit of inconsistency” that crosses current Brazilian society is, in essence, a reflection of the failure of the balance between emotion and reason, instinct and culture, pleasure and responsibility. The diagnosis is severe, but consciousness is already a first step to change.
Reference:
Abreu Rodrigues, Fabiano de. Circuit of inconsistency: Brazilian society suffers from disturbances of dramatic personalities. Logos University International, Unilogos, 2021. DOI: 10.38087/2595.8801.100.
