The characteristics of vocabulary used in messages, conversations, and social media posts can make it possible to detect signs of personality disorders even before the problem becomes overt. This conclusion was reached by psychologists based on an analysis of tens of thousands of texts using computational linguistic methods, according to The Conversation.

Psychologists have long known that people experiencing emotional crises tend to use more negatively charged words and first-person pronouns—“I,” “me,” “my”—reflecting a heightened focus on personal переживания. Individuals with strongly pronounced “dark” personality traits are more likely to use hostile language, profanity, and terms expressing anger (“hate,” “furious”).

In one study, researchers analyzed texts written by 530 people who composed essays about close relationships. Those with pronounced personality disturbances more often used urgent, tense language (“I need,” “I must”), verbs in the past tense, and words describing emotions of anger and irritation. At the same time, they used far fewer words related to attachment and closeness, such as “love” or “family.”

A second project analyzed not only written texts but also transcripts of conversations between romantic partners. Even everyday dialogues involving people with psychological disorders contained more expressions of negative emotion.

The researchers also focused specifically on online communication. Texts written by individuals who frequently engaged in self-harm were saturated with negativity and a high number of negations (“I can’t,” “never”), direct profanity, and absolute formulations (“always,” “completely”). In general, they mentioned other people less often and were more focused on themselves, their pain, traumas, and diagnoses.

Such observations can be useful in a wide range of situations—from close personal relationships to online interactions. Linguistic patterns can help reveal aspects of a person’s mental state and recognize psychological distress even earlier than the individual themselves becomes aware of it.