A severe disintegration of personality organization while under extreme stress.
Unrestrained actions in response to an apparently minor but, to a child, frightening, threatening, frustrating, overstimulating, or otherwise upsetting situation. The child may, for example, scream uncontrollably, bang his or her head on the floor, throw things, or cry unconsolably. Children with learning disabilities or mental disorders are especially susceptible to this kind of reaction, but many children will occasionally respond in this way to unexpected or disturbing changes in routine or to pressure to achieve more than present skills allow.
Disorganized or agitated behavior commonly associated with dementia when the individual faces overwhelming or threatening situations that are beyond his or her coping ability.