Self-destructive behavior

Last updated

Alcoholism is a form of self-destructive behavior. Piwarski Para pijakow.jpg
Alcoholism is a form of self-destructive behavior.

Self-destructive behavior is any behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful towards the person who engages in the behavior.

Contents

Self-destructive behaviors have been shown by many people throughout the years. It is on a continuum, with one extreme end of the scale being suicide. [1] Self-destructive actions may be deliberate, born of impulse, or developed as a habit. The term however tends to be applied toward self-destruction that either is fatal, or is potentially habit-forming or addictive and thus potentially fatal. It is also applied to the potential at a communal or global level for the entire human race to destroy itself through the technological choices made by society and their possible consequences. [2]

Individual self-destructive behavior is often associated with mental illnesses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, [3] borderline personality disorder [4] or schizophrenia. [5] [6]

Origin

Self-destructive behavior was first studied in 1895 by Freud and Ferenczi when they first recognized how traumatic experiences affected the development of children. Freud and Ferenczi noticed that children who were raised in an unhealthy environment were more often the ones to act out and take part in self-destructive behavior.

Freud concluded that self-destructive behavior is influenced by one's ego or superego and aggression. Depending on how strongly influenced one is, it will increase the intensity of one's destructive behavior. Guilt is a leading factor for one's superego. For instance, growing up with alcoholic parents can increase one's self-destructive behavior because they feel guilty that they did not provide them with the help they needed. Since they failed to help their parents overcome these obstacles, they feel as if their parents failed because of them. Hence they then use harming themselves as a coping mechanism for their guilt and failure.

Freud additionally states that the aggression in self-destructive behavior is influenced by a personal motive. Just as cultural and environmental factors can play an important role of this, social factors can as well. For example, if a child were bullied all through middle school, one way for them to deal with his pain would be to self-destructive behavior such as self-harm or even yelling.

With investigations Freud and Ferenczi formed a hypothesis that people with self-destructive behavior suffer from "forbidden fantasies, not memories", meaning that since the action isn't supposed to be done, self-destructive people get a stronger drive to take part in these actions.

Self-destructive behavior varies from person to person, therefore superego and aggression is different in every person. [7]

Forms

Self-destructive behavior may be used as a coping mechanism when one is overwhelmed. For example, faced with a pressing scholastic assessment, someone may choose to sabotage their work rather than cope with the stress. This would make submission of (or passing) the assessment impossible, but remove the worry associated with it. [8]

Self-destructive behavior may also manifest itself in an active attempt to drive away other people. For example, they may fear that they will "mess up" a relationship. Rather than deal with this fear, socially self-destructive individuals engage in annoying or alienating behavior such that others shall reject them first. [9]

More obvious forms of self-destruction are eating disorders, alcoholism, drug addictions, self-harm, gambling addictions and suicide attempts. [10]

An important aspect of self-destructive behavior is the inability to handle the stress stemming from an individual's lack of self-confidence –for example in a relationship, as to whether the other person is truly faithful ("How can they love someone like me?"), or at work or school, as to whether the realization of assignments and deadlines is possible ("There is no way I can complete all my work on time"). [11] Self-destructive people usually lack healthier coping mechanisms, such as asserting personal boundaries. Hence incompetence is the only apparent way to disentangle themselves from demands. [12]

Successful individuals may self-destructively sabotage their own achievements; this may stem from a feeling of anxiety, unworthiness, or from an impulsive desire to repeat the "climb to the top". [13]

Self-destructive behavior is often considered to be synonymous with self-harm, but this is not accurate. Self-harm is an extreme form of self-destructive behavior, but it may appear in many other guises. Just as personal experience can affect how extreme one's self-destructive behavior is, self-harm reflects this. [7]

Causes

Childhood trauma via sexual, emotional and physical abuse, as well as disrupted parental care, have been linked with self-destructive behavior. [14] Usually, behavior like this results from the lack of realization of healthy coping mechanisms. [8] Because there is not a lot of focus on specific mental health problems, such as self-destructive behavior, people are not being educated on specific ways that could benefit or even prevent these people from acting out, leading to self-destructive actions.

According to the findings of a clinical research study, while a lack of stable relationships facilitates self-destructive actions, childhood trauma leads to its beginning and everlasting effects. Moreover, individuals who often commit suicide or self-harm are more likely to experience flashbacks to childhood abuse, mistreatment, and rejection while they are under stress. Also, dissociative episodes and self-destructive actions may be triggered by situations involving psychological safety, rage, and emotional needs. [15]

Additionally, people who have experienced some form of trauma, such as abuse or neglect, can develop psychological issues that can lead to bigger problems. Aside from this, a need for attention or a feel good sensation and destructiveness can ultimately cause this behavior. A prime example of this would be addiction to drugs or alcohol. In the beginning stages, people have the tendency to ease their way into these unhealthy behaviors because it gives them a pleasurable sensation. However, as time goes on, it becomes a habit that they can not stop and they begin to lose these great feelings easily. When these feelings stop, self-destructive behavior enhances because they are not able to provide themselves with that feeling that makes mental or physical pain go away. [10]

Treatment

Changing one's self-destructive behavior can be difficult, and may include major stages that one passes through on the way to recovery. The stages founded by Prochaska and DiClemente (1982) included precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. [16] For body-focused repetitive behaviors, such as trichotillomania and nail-biting, habit reversal training and decoupling are effective according to meta-analytic evidence. [17]

Additionally, a recently published study stated that Nuclei accumbens stimulation could be a successful treatment for aggressive and self-destructive behaviors, separate from the triggers. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

In psychoanalytic theory, the id, ego and superego are three distinct, interacting agents in the psychic apparatus, defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche. The three agents are theoretical constructs that Freud employed to describe the basic structure of mental life as it was encountered in psychoanalytic practice. Freud himself used the German terms das Es, Ich, and Über-Ich, which literally translate as "the it", "I", and "over-I". The Latin terms id, ego and superego were chosen by his original translators and have remained in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borderline personality disorder</span> Personality disorder of emotional instability

Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of intense and unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong emotional reactions. Those affected often engage in self-harm and other dangerous behaviors, often due to their difficulty with returning their emotional level to a healthy or normal baseline. They may also struggle with dissociation, a feeling of emptiness, and a fear of abandonment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narcissistic personality disorder</span> Personality disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a life-long pattern of exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a diminished ability to empathize with other people's feelings. Narcissistic personality disorder is one of the sub-types of the broader category known as personality disorders. It is often comorbid with other mental disorders and associated with significant functional impairment and psychosocial disability.

Antisocial personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a limited capacity for empathy and a long-term pattern of disregard or violation of the rights of others. Other notable symptoms include impulsivity and reckless behavior, a lack of remorse after hurting others, deceitfulness, irresponsibility, and aggressive behavior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avoidant personality disorder</span> Personality disorder

Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) or Anxious personality disorder is a Cluster C personality disorder characterized by excessive social anxiety and inhibition, fear of intimacy, severe feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, and an overreliance on avoidance of feared stimuli as a maladaptive coping method. Those affected typically display a pattern of extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation and rejection, a belief that one is socially inept or personally unappealing to others, and avoidance of social interaction despite a strong desire for it. It appears to affect an approximately equal number of men and women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mood swing</span> Extreme or rapid change in mood

A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning, or be disruptive. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as part of a mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, where erratic and disruptive mood swings are a defining feature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dialectical behavior therapy</span> Psychotherapy for emotional dysregulation

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that began with efforts to treat personality disorders and interpersonal conflicts. Evidence suggests that DBT can be useful in treating mood disorders and suicidal ideation as well as for changing behavioral patterns such as self-harm and substance use. DBT evolved into a process in which the therapist and client work with acceptance and change-oriented strategies and ultimately balance and synthesize them—comparable to the philosophical dialectical process of thesis and antithesis, followed by synthesis.

In psychoanalytic theory, a defence mechanism is an unconscious psychological operation that functions to protect a person from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and outer stressors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychological pain</span> Unpleasant feeling of a psychological nature

Psychological pain, mental pain, or emotional pain is an unpleasant feeling of a psychological, non-physical origin. A pioneer in the field of suicidology, Edwin S. Shneidman, described it as "how much you hurt as a human being. It is mental suffering; mental torment." There is no shortage in the many ways psychological pain is referred to, and using a different word usually reflects an emphasis on a particular aspect of mind life. Technical terms include algopsychalia and psychalgia, but it may also be called mental pain, emotional pain, psychic pain, social pain, spiritual or soul pain, or suffering. While these clearly are not equivalent terms, one systematic comparison of theories and models of psychological pain, psychic pain, emotional pain, and suffering concluded that each describe the same profoundly unpleasant feeling. Psychological pain is widely believed to be an inescapable aspect of human existence.

In psychology, introjection is the unconscious adoption of the thoughts or personality traits of others. It occurs as a normal part of development, such as a child taking on parental values and attitudes. It can also be a defense mechanism in situations that arouse anxiety. It has been associated with both normal and pathological development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto F. Kernberg</span> Austrian psychoanalyst and psychologist

Otto Friedmann Kernberg is an Austrian-born American psychoanalyst and professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is most widely known for his psychoanalytic theories on borderline personality organization and narcissistic pathology. In addition, his work has been central in integrating postwar ego psychology with Kleinian and other object relations perspectives. His integrative writings were central to the development of modern object relations, a school within modern psychoanalysis.

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is a stress-related mental disorder generally occurring in response to complex traumas, i.e., commonly prolonged or repetitive exposures to a series of traumatic events, within which individuals perceive little or no chance to escape.

Emotional dysregulation is a range of emotional responses that do not lie within a desirable scope of emotive response, considering the stimuli.

Splitting is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both perceived positive and negative qualities of something into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is a common defense mechanism wherein the individual tends to think in extremes. This kind of dichotomous interpretation is contrasted by an acknowledgement of certain nuances known as "shades of gray".

Self-embedding is the insertion of foreign objects either into soft tissues under the skin or into muscle. Self-embedding is typically considered deliberate self-harm, also known as nonsuicidal self-injury, which is defined as "deliberate, direct destruction of tissues without suicidal intent."

Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individual's culture. These patterns develop early, are inflexible, and are associated with significant distress or disability. The definitions vary by source and remain a matter of controversy. Official criteria for diagnosing personality disorders are listed in the sixth chapter of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

In psychology, manipulation is defined as subterfuge designed to influence or control another, usually in a manner which facilitates one's personal aims. The methods used distort or orient the interlocutor's perception of reality, in particular through seduction, suggestion, persuasion and non-voluntary or consensual submission. Definitions for the term vary in which behavior is specifically included, influenced by both culture and whether referring to the general population or used in clinical contexts. Manipulation is generally considered a dishonest form of social influence as it is used at the expense of others.

Schema therapy was developed by Jeffrey E. Young for use in treatment of personality disorders and chronic DSM Axis I disorders, such as when patients fail to respond or relapse after having been through other therapies. Schema therapy is an integrative psychotherapy combining theory and techniques from previously existing therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoanalytic object relations theory, attachment theory, and Gestalt therapy.

Attention seeking behavior is to act in a way that is likely to elicit attention. Attention seeking behavior is defined in the DSM-5 as "engaging in behavior designed to attract notice and to make oneself the focus of others' attention and admiration". This definition does not ascribe a motivation to the behavior and assumes a human actor, although the term "attention seeking" sometimes also assumes a motive of seeking validation. People are thought to engage in both positive and negative attention seeking behavior independent of the actual benefit or harm to health. In line with much research and a dynamic self-regulatory processing model of narcissism, motivations for attention seeking are considered to be driven by self-consciousness and thus an externalization of personality rather than internal and self-motivated behavior. Attention seeking is often caused by threats to one's self-concept and the need for social acceptance. This type of influence on behavior can result in a potential loss of a person's sense of agency, personality disorder and the behavior associated with these conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freud's psychoanalytic theories</span> Look to unconscious drives to explain human behavior

Sigmund Freud is considered to be the founder of the psychodynamic approach to psychology, which looks to unconscious drives to explain human behavior. Freud believed that the mind is responsible for both conscious and unconscious decisions that it makes on the basis of psychological drives. The id, ego, and super-ego are three aspects of the mind Freud believed to comprise a person's personality. Freud believed people are "simply actors in the drama of [their] own minds, pushed by desire, pulled by coincidence. Underneath the surface, our personalities represent the power struggle going on deep within us".

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Aaron T.; Kovacs, Maria; Weissman, Arlene (1979). "Assessment of suicidal intention: The Scale for Suicide Ideation". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 47 (2): 343–352. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.47.2.343. PMID   469082. S2CID   38965005.
  2. ↑ Green, B. P., The Catholic Church and Technological Progress: Past, Present, and Future, Religions, 2017, 8(6), special issue on Religion and the New Technologies, page 9, accessed 14 September 2023
  3. ↑ Honos-Webb, Lara; Ph.D. (January 13, 2014). "You Will Regret This Later. So Why Are You Doing It?". ADDitude. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  4. ↑ Anthony W. Bateman, Roy Krawitz (2013). Borderline Personality Disorder: An evidence-based guide for generalist mental health professionals. OUP Oxford, ISBN   978-0199644209
  5. ↑ Nyman, A. K.; Jonsson, H. (1986). "Patterns of self-destructive behaviour in schizophrenia". Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 73 (3): 252–262. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.1986.tb02682.x. PMID   3716842. S2CID   39593219.
  6. ↑ Lovaas, O.Ivar; Freitag, Gilbert; Gold, Vivian J.; Kassorla, Irene C. (1965). "Experimental studies in childhood schizophrenia: Analysis of self-destructive behavior". Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2: 67–84. doi:10.1016/0022-0965(65)90016-0.
  7. 1 2 van der Kolk, Bessel (December 1991). "Childhood Origins of Self-Destructive Behavior". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 12: 1665–1671.
  8. 1 2 "Self-Destructive Behavior: The Causes, Traits, And Types". A Conscious Rethink. October 28, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  9. ↑ Gvion, Yari (2015). "Traumatic Experiences and Their Relationship to Self-Destructive Behavior in Adolescents". Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy. 14 (4): 406–422. doi:10.1080/15289168.2015.1090863. S2CID   146193280.
  10. 1 2 "Self-Destructive Behavior: Signs, Causes & Effects - Video & Lesson Transcript". Study.com. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  11. ↑ Fisman, Raymond J.; Kariv, Shachar; Markovits, Daniel (2005). "Pareto Damaging Behaviors". SSRN Working Paper Series. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.381.3492 . doi:10.2139/ssrn.748404. ISSN   1556-5068. S2CID   10761254.
  12. ↑ Scherzer, Andrea L. (March 29, 2018), "Understanding self-destructive behaviour in adolescence", Violent Adolescents, Routledge, pp. 5–20, doi:10.4324/9780429484711-2, ISBN   9780429484711
  13. ↑ Pickrem, Faye (January 1, 2017), "Disembodying Desire: Ontological Fantasy, Libidinal Anxiety and the Erotics of Renunciation in May Sinclair", May Sinclair, Edinburgh University Press, doi:10.3366/edinburgh/9781474415750.003.0007, ISBN   9781474415750
  14. ↑ Van Der Kolk, B. A.; Perry, J. C.; Herman, J. L. (1991). "Childhood origins of self-destructive behavior". American Journal of Psychiatry. 148 (12): 1665–1671. doi:10.1176/ajp.148.12.1665. PMID   1957928.
  15. ↑ Van Der Kolk, B. A.; Perry, J. C.; Herman, J. L. (1991). "Childhood origins of self-destructive behavior". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 148 (12): 1665–1671. doi:10.1176/ajp.148.12.1665. ISSN   0002-953X. PMID   1957928 – via National Library Of Medicine.
  16. ↑ Henshaw, Sophie (July 8, 2018). "How to Change Self-Destructive Behavior: Stages of Change". World of Psychology. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  17. ↑ Lee, Melissa T.; Mpavaenda, Davis N.; Fineberg, Naomi A. (April 24, 2019). "Habit Reversal Therapy in Obsessive Compulsive Related Disorders: A Systematic Review of the Evidence and CONSORT Evaluation of Randomized Controlled Trials". Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 13: 79. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00079 . ISSN   1662-5153. PMC   6491945 . PMID   31105537.
  18. ↑ Harat, Marek; Kiec, Michał; Rudaś, Marcin; Birski, Marcin; Furtak, Jacek (2021). "Treating Aggression and Self-destructive Behaviors by Stimulating the Nucleus Accumbens: A Case Series". Front Neurol. 12. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.706166 . PMC   8542713 . PMID   34707553.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.