Good day! I am sure you have heard the expression "degraded man" more than once. I often notice how people use it in their speech, sometimes completely out of place. Therefore, I decided to clarify what this concept means and what leads to such a state.
signs
In order not to throw words unreasonably, let's look at the signs of degradation, by which everyone can understand that changes have begun to occur with a person, leading to social death, and gradually approaching physical death.
- A person gradually begins to narrow the circle of communication and interests. He doesn't care what's going on in the world, no one is curious to learn something new. He can "close" in himself, as interpersonal relationships cease to bring pleasure, as a result of which they do not represent any value for him. He allows himself to be rude, aggressive and overly sarcastic with absolutely no regard for how the other feels.
- Since the circle of interests is significantly narrowed, all attention is paid only to one's own person, or rather, to the satisfaction of one's basic needs. I talked about them in an article in an article. . Therefore, changes can be noticed when a person has become self-centered and deceitful, because the ways to achieve what you want no longer matter, the lack of a value system, conscience, morality and empathy encourages you to take any action in order to achieve your goal. A certain annoyance, familiarity, swagger and shamelessness can be traced.
- Cause disgust and in general, negative experiences. It is especially influenced by the fact that they lose the feeling of disgust, therefore, those around the pole of this feeling go off scale. We recently considered the topic of deviant behavior, and so, the manifestations and reactions are exactly the same, in addition, degraded individuals often resort to the main forms of manifestation of degradation - crime, alcoholism, drug addiction, and the like. You can read more in the article
- They become superficial, sometimes even seem carefree, and this is not surprising, because the pressing problems of an ordinary person do not bother them at all.
- Various intellectual disorders make themselves felt, development stops. The brain, in the absence of new information and, in general, the need to work, suspends its activity. This also affects emotional intelligence, such a person becomes unable to recognize his feelings, a disease such as alexithymia may even arise - excessive lethargy, insensitivity and inability to notice, describe the feelings of others. The level of aikyu, respectively, also decreases, sometimes to the very minimum. What does this mean, read here
- The perception of the world becomes negative, he simply loses the ability to notice something pleasant and good, focusing only on failures, and he will definitely devalue even something positive.
- There is a complete transformation of appearance, which also becomes indifferent to such a person. He doesn't care what clothes he goes out in, even without it. He begins to stoop, does not look around, stops washing and taking care of himself.
- Speech is incoherent, cannot support a conversation and express his thoughts clearly. And in general, it becomes very difficult to concentrate on it, as it is completely immersed in itself.
- Alcohol and drugs act both as consequences of degradation and as causes, therefore, in 90% of cases of personality destruction, they are the main sign by which changes can be tracked and predicted.
- Of course, there is no spiritual component, there can be no talk of any motivation, awareness, ambitions and the ability to take responsibility. Such a person is no longer able to love, support and strive for self-knowledge. I have already told in detail about what spiritual development includes in the article.
Theory of Abraham Maslow
Abraham believed that degradation goes through stages such as:
- There is a feeling that he has become completely helpless, unable to influence events, and the responsibility begins to shift to other people, the government, the weather, etc., considering himself just a “pawn” in this world, unable to change anything. Psychology has a name for this behavior - it is the phenomenon of "learned helplessness".
- The process of forming needs for recognition, security, aesthetics and others stops, only physiological, so to speak, primitive ones become the only important ones.
- The splitting of the world into "good" and "evil", or "white" and "black". Therefore, they try to exclude contacts with “bad” people, eventually closing in on themselves.
- He confuses reality with his invented world, after which he may well take the blame for some misconduct and crimes, without tracking the fact that he did not actually commit them.
- Obsession with one's ideas, categorically rejecting proposals to revise them as they are wrong and destructive.
Causes
1. An event that led to trauma and loss of the meaning of life. Most often, this is the loss of a close and valuable person. Experiences can be so strong that the psyche is not able to cope on its own, and if there is no timely support, then it is likely that such an individual will begin to fade away, losing interest in life.
2. Living an acute feeling of loneliness and uselessness. This condition is influenced by factors such as retirement, sometimes the "empty nest syndrome", when children grow up and leave their father's house, and parents have to look for new interests and hobbies to fill the free time. Not everyone is simply able to find new goals and vocations, especially if they devoted themselves to children all their lives, ignoring their own desires.
After all, we get used to the fact that society needs us, we need to work, fulfill our obligations, and when we retire, we realize that now every day depends only on our own will and efforts.
3. The state of depression often ends in degradation. And all because they often try to cope with depression with the help of alcoholism or drugs, which, as I have already said, are the cause of the destruction of the personality. The problem is precisely that there is not enough strength to break out of this vicious circle of pain and despondency, to ask for help and support, then such a difficult path of taking one's own life is chosen.
By the way, you can read about depression and ways to defeat it.
4. A very acute feeling of guilt for some serious offense, which the psyche is also unable to cope with. Then, if there is no punishment or it is not enough to atone for this guilt, one has to resort to such a sophisticated and terrible self-punishment - to kill the personality in oneself.
There are frequent examples when, through negligence, parents lost their children, got into an accident that ended in death, and, unable to cope with the grief of loss and guilt, punished themselves, considering them unworthy of living and experiencing joy.
What to do?
- Whatever happens, try not to lose touch with the world. Force yourself to communicate, get out somewhere, monitor your appearance. If you feel that you are not coping with something - ask for help, do not isolate yourself.
- Read, visit museums, exhibitions, theater, take an active part in the life of your city. This will give a large flow of information, processing which the brain will not have a chance to relax. By the way, reading helps prevent such types of disorders as Alzheimer's disease, dementia, alexithymia ... You can read about the benefits of books in the article
- I have said many times that you should never rest on your laurels. The world is developing too fast, and it is worth keeping up with its changes in order to achieve success. So self-development should be one of the first places in your value system.
- Eliminate bad habits and, if you have not yet begun to fight with any addiction, then it is time to reconsider their degree of influence on your body.
- Do not devalue the laws and norms of behavior adopted in society, this is what allows you to avoid the primitiveness of a human being.
- Do not go on about apathy, giving up at every failure. Increase the level of energy, which will stimulate movement, and, accordingly, development. Force yourself to go in for sports, not allowing laziness to control you, then over time you will feel that strength is coming and there is an interest in the surrounding reality. There are other ways to keep yourself in good shape, about them.
- And the most inspiring for accomplishments and joy, of course, is love. It doesn't matter if they are parents, children, spouses, friends or animals - this feeling will help you move on, no matter what.
Conclusion
And that's all, dear readers! Take care of yourself, and do not let your soul and brain get lazy or relax. And subscribe to the blog, there is a lot of information that will help on the path of self-development. See you soon.
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Man needs development, movement forward. The importance of this is emphasized by psychologists. A personality that has stalled in its development will inevitably degrade. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. Man is not born to self-destruction. There is always some reason for the beginning of the disintegration of personality.
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What is degradation
Translated from Latin, the prefix de means "down" and gradacja means "step". This word entered the Russian language in the era of Peter I. Civil servants and the military in those years were afraid of "degradation", as this meant deprivation of rank and dismissal from service. At the beginning of the 20th century, it began to acquire its modern meaning.
The term means the process of transition to a simpler state of the body than before. It is used when talking about the decline, destruction and loss of some qualities. With progress, the body becomes more complex, with degradation, it becomes simpler. You can often hear about degradation from others in the form of accusations against someone.
It's not just humans that can be degraded. This happens both in culture and in society.
The meaning of the word degradation in various fields:
Personality degradation
Depression and apathy the first signs of incipient degradation. Anyone can be exposed to them, regardless of their class or lifestyle. A person's loss of his mental balance and efficiency destroys his capabilities. Sometimes a person is not able to realize the onset of regression.
Often a person degrades when there is no need to be responsible for anything. Apathy seizes her and she relaxes, begins to give preference to inaction in situations that require a decision to be made or a task to be completed. The weak-willed is guided in life only by primary needs.
Destructive passivity can take over a person at retirement. Responsibility, daily routine and work duties are no more Lonely people more often than others fall into depression, which entails a rapid withering.
Constant failures, unrequited love, loss of faith in one's own strengths, feelings of guilt or the loss of a loved one can also cause the destruction of a person. Surrounding people and events fade into the background. Human activity is drastically reduced. This state is comparable to the body's expectation of physical death, a slow suicide.
The most severe form of degradation is insanity, dementia. With this disease, the functioning of the brain is disrupted. A person ceases to recognize loved ones and adequately perceive the world around him. The body is no longer able to renew its cells and begins to age rapidly. This process can only be slowed down, not stopped. The onset of the disease is rather slow, and others may attribute its signs to a bad mood or a spoiled character. Over time, this results in serious mental disorders.
The definition of this concept is not in Wikipedia. Its counterpart is the word "degenerate", meaning a psychopathic person who despises social norms. In everyday speech, the word sounds rude and obscene. And people often replace it with a softer one - “degradant”.
Often it is used in relation to drug addicts and alcoholics, since the signs of degradation are quite pronounced in them: narrow intellectual thinking, meager emotional needs and a strong predominance of physical needs over spiritual ones. The life of people affected by these diseases is simple and limited. Their interests are focused on finding the next dose. They are no longer capable of objective self-assessment. can harm others without feeling pity or remorse.
Each sign taken separately does not indicate the beginning degradation of a person. But together with the loss of interest in family, friends and society, they indicate the beginning of the process of disintegration of the personality. Lack of will and carelessness appear, memory deteriorates and the ability to concentrate on something is lost.
It is possible to stop the process of personal decay. It is necessary to develop adequate self-criticism in oneself, expand the range of vital interests, communicate with people and set several goals. This will help to direct energy into different areas of life and get satisfaction, even if any one goal turns out to be unattainable. Constant self-improvement, development and an active life position can help a person avoid degradation. study the link.
The degradation of personality is a process caused by the reverse development of the psyche. Gradually, a person loses his former judgments, hobbies, motivation, his social activity, mental balance and efficiency decrease. The personality loses its individuality and character traits inherent in it. There is impoverishment not only in the social, but also in the creative sphere. In advanced cases, the quality of judgments, talents and activity decreases.
What is personality degradation
Personality degradation is a serious mental condition. A person subject to this disorder loses all his abilities. This refers to the professional, creative and social components. The individual experiences a loss of balance in the first stages, then the performance suffers, and the last stage is the loss of activity.
If a person has become more irritable, it is difficult for him to concentrate on one thing and remember new information, and the meaning of former judgments loses all meaning, this indicates an upcoming degradation. As a result of the ongoing changes, the development of opposite traits is observed: carelessness, lack of will, dependence.
Insanity is a severe case of degradation. It clearly demonstrates the complexity of the disorder. Marasmus is a pathological state of the intellect called dementia. A person ceases to maintain contact with others and leads a carefree life.
In the modern world, signs of personality degradation are observed not only in the older generation, but also in people of mature age. The disorder occurs with the same frequency in representatives of all social strata. This is the main danger of the state.
Senile insanity is a progressive disease. It causes an irreversible mental disorder - atrophy of the brain and changes in the structure of blood vessels.
Theory of Abraham Maslow
The American psychologist and creator of humanistic psychology identified the main qualities of a degraded personality:
- The patient has learned helplessness. He believes that in this life nothing depends on him, he is only a pawn in the game of external forces.
- The patient lacks goals and aspirations. Only basic needs remain: food, sleep, physical comfort, survival.
- Sometimes the patient feels ashamed of himself.
- Society is divided into two categories: close people are good, strangers are bad.
- Own opinion is considered the only true one and is not subject to discussion. Dialogues seem to the patient a waste of energy.
- The patient's speech is poor in adjectives, which are responsible for the sphere of emotions and fantasy.
Symptoms of the disease
The first signs of a disorder are grumpiness, inattention, selfishness. Suspecting degradation in yourself or others, you need to check heredity. If a close relative or parent has been affected by the disorder, the risk of developing the disease is increased.
Alcoholic degradation is widespread. Dependence completely destroys the personality. Symptoms appear immediately:
- Touchiness.
- Emotional instability.
- Tearfulness.
- Outbursts of anger.
- Anger that gives way to guilt.
- Lack of a real assessment of life's difficulties.
The development of the disease is built in a certain sequence:
- Appearance suffers. The desire to take care of oneself and perform basic procedures disappears: cut nails and hair, maintain hygiene, change clothes.
- Addictions appear: drug addiction, gambling, alcoholism.
- Interest in life is gradually fading away.
- Moral principles lose their significance for the individual.
- Low instincts take precedence over common sense.
- All social contacts and place in society are lost. There is no desire to find yourself.
- The understanding of the difference between decent and indecent is lost.
Society has an important role in the formation and development of the individual. The people with whom an individual surrounds himself in life significantly slow down or accelerate his progress towards goals.
Causes
There are many reasons that can provoke the development of the disease. For each person, this factor is individual. It is believed that a person begins to degrade when spiritual guidelines and the desire to develop are lost. Without receiving new information, the brain atrophies and starts the mode of self-destruction. The loss of faith in oneself and one's strength provokes a decrease in interest in the surrounding reality and events in the world.
One of the most serious causes contributing to the development of the disorder is the loss of a loved one or a tragic life situation. The loss of loved ones and a series of failures can significantly shake the psyche of any individual. Without proper support and help, many can not cope. Often victims resort to drinking alcohol. Alcohol is not always only the cause of the disorder, but can act as its consequence. The condition is aggravated with manic-depressive psychosis - in this case, the help of a specialist is required.
Lonely people are more susceptible to the onset of the disease, including previously strong and independent people.
The regression of personal development is especially characteristic of the older generation. In the absence of various events in retirement, a person's condition worsens. If self-realization at work has been the only important goal for many years, rest in old age is associated with the loss of life values. To maintain intelligence, you must lead an active lifestyle, have hobbies and hobbies. This is important at any age.
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Degradation of the personality is a reverse development, regression, loss of stability, weakening of activity, decline in working capacity and mental balance. Simply put, a personality loses its inherent features simultaneously with the impoverishment of all skills and qualities: judgments, feelings, talents, activity.
It is possible to single out such symptoms of personality degradation as increased irritability, narrowing of interests, dysfunction of memory and attention, and a decrease in adaptive capabilities. Also, the violation in question can be expressed in the development of carelessness, complacency, weakness of character.
The most severe type of personality degradation is considered to be manifested in carelessness, loss of contact with the environment, complete indifference to the environment. A common cause of the described disorder is alcoholism, accompanied by severe somatic disorders and neurological dysfunctions caused by the abuse of alcohol-containing liquids. Alcoholics lose social connections, professional functioning and work activities also suffer.
Causes of personality degradation
It is believed that the human subject completely degrades if it ceases to develop spiritually, since the brain atrophies due to “uselessness”. There are many reasons for the degradation of the individual, causing the loss of an individual's faith in himself, which gives rise to a loss of interest in being. Such people cease to develop intellectually, to follow the events. They forget past hobbies. Also, the decline of interest in one's own existence can be affected by the death of a loved one, the collapse of hopes, or as a result of a series of failures. Lonely people are more prone to personal decay.
The listed factors, for the most part, in themselves do not threaten the degradation of the individual. The described violation leads to the desire of people to seek oblivion in alcohol. Such a pernicious "hobby" sooner or later degenerates into hard drinking.
Alcoholism and personal degradation are two inseparable concepts. At the same time, alcoholism can simultaneously be the cause of the destruction of the human personality and be the result of degradation.
Spiritual degradation of the individual is an urgent problem of modern society. Often, a personal decline is formed in people of the age category due to resignation, retirement. Many psychologists are convinced that retirement is bad for people. The absence of the need to load the brain with responsibility, duties gradually leads to a weakening of personal properties.
Along with this, there are many elderly people who have retained their mental alertness and clarity of thought. If an individual in his advanced years tries to remain a multifaceted personality, constantly invents new entertaining activities for himself, if retirement age is not a sentence, but only frees up time and opportunities for new achievements, then such a person is not threatened with personality degeneration. In addition, the violation in question may be the result of mental ailments or organic pathologies of the brain (trauma).
The problem of personality degradation often affects lonely people or those who have experienced the loss of a loved one. People who have lost a relative fall into a depressive state, which contributes to the rapid personal withering. A huge part of human beings, in an attempt to repay their lives for their misfortune, gradually kill themselves with such actions. Such attempts can be called delayed.
Guilt is a common cause of regression in personal development. Individuals who feel useless, superfluous, often lose their best qualities. In addition, if the subject ceased to believe in his own potential due to several successive failures, then the likelihood of personality degradation is also high.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the weakening of personal properties, namely drug addiction, lack of will, cruelty, senile insanity, banal laziness and procrastination (the tendency to push back unpleasant things or important tasks). However, first of all, the spiritual degradation of the individual occurs due to the lack of compassion, intelligence, love and sincerity. It is these listed components that make a person out of a human subject.
Senile insanity, which is considered a severe form of personal degradation, is a progressive illness, which is an irreversible mental disorder. The reason for its onset is the atrophy of the processes that occur in the brain, arising from the pathology of the capillaries. The hereditary factor can aggravate the situation.
The disease develops gradually. Oddities in behavior become visible immediately. At first, the individual becomes distracted, a little forgetful, obese, greedy and self-centered. As the disease progresses, the symptoms become brighter. It gets worse, there are false memories of incidents that did not happen. It is possible to single out such basic symptoms of personality degradation in insanity as complete indifference to what is happening and carelessness.
Signs of personality degradation
In order to be able to respond in time and help a loved one, it is necessary to notice any behavioral deviations in a timely manner.
The social degradation of the individual is found both in the external appearance of the human subject and in changes in his internal state. The degrading subject pays less attention to spoken words, his own appearance, neatness and tidiness. His speech becomes more simplified, and the circle of communication becomes limited. Patients avoid people who bring unnecessary trouble to their existence. The defining motto of the descending personality is the phrase “I want”. Gradually, detachment from relatives, family and other concerns is developed.
A person who has chosen the path of degradation does not want to think or care about others. He seems to fade and plunge into himself, moving away from loved ones. Long before the complete destruction of the personality, the first harbingers of the approaching degradation appear. The circle of hobbies narrows, mainly in the general cultural sense: they do not attend concerts and theatrical performances, stop reading, watching TV shows. They become characterized by windiness, flat humor, frivolity, carelessness at the same time as capriciousness, inconstancy, discontent and grumbling. The descending individual turns into a familiar, annoying subject, whose judgments are characterized by superficiality and lightness, and whose behavior is characterized by swagger, cynicism, a decrease in disgust, etc. Such traits as egocentrism, selfishness and deceit are progressing.
As symptoms escalate, intellectual impairment becomes more pronounced. The character of such a person is transformed. The descending individual becomes quick-tempered and irritable. A negative worldview, a prejudiced attitude towards everything that happens, and an internal one become dominant features. In addition, the individual has a decrease in memory, narrowing of interests, impoverishment of judgments. The ability to concentrate sharply deteriorates.
Signs of personality degradation are lack of will, carelessness and excessive complacency. The destruction of the personality can be seen with an unarmed cursory glance by a slovenly appearance, stoop in appearance, an indifferent look, and inadequate behavior.
The famous psychologist A. Maslow argued that the social degradation of the personality is characterized by the following stages of progression:
The formation of the “pawn” psychology is the phenomenon of “learned helplessness” (a person feels completely dependent on circumstances or other forces);
The emergence of a lack of basic goods, when the original needs become dominant (food, survival, sexual satisfaction);
Formation of a "pure" surrounding society (society is divided into good individuals and bad, "their own" and "outsiders"), the social world for them becomes like black and white;
The emergence of increased self-criticism - the so-called cult of "self-criticism" (the subject pleads guilty even in those acts that he did not commit);
Impoverishment of vocabulary (the subject uses elementary turns in his own speech, it is difficult for him to describe anything, the selection of adjectives causes particular difficulty, since they express human feelings and);
Protection of "sacred bases" (the individual resolutely does not want to think about the fundamental premises of the worldview, he has no doubts about his own "sublime foundations", such a person is unable to look at them skeptically, that is, a person considers his own opinion to be the only correct one);
The emergence of various dependencies.
Below are twelve life aspects that level the threat of personality degradation:
Reading, because it is the book that contains the age-old wisdom of people, which trains the “gray matter” and does not allow the brain to dry out;
Caring for appearance even in the most difficult periods of life;
Fighting bad habits (excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, exorbitant incontinence in food, smoking marijuana - activities unworthy of a well-mannered developed personality;
Faith in the best (saddened pessimists are prime candidates for degeneration);
The feeling of love (you need to love your parents and the rest of your relatives, pets, partner, life), a loving person will never fall;
Stop worrying about trifles, you don’t need to suffer just because the world is unfair, and people are unhappy, if the problem is solvable, then it does not exist, and if there is no solution, then excitement and anxiety will still not help get rid of it;
Self-development (learning new things, watching educational videos, attending various trainings, reading, getting a second education - all this will not allow a person to sink);
Belief in the inevitable retribution for the bad deeds committed (most criminals commit offenses because of the belief in their own exclusivity and, accordingly, impunity, both before the posthumous court and before the current legislation);
Following the norms of morality (lies, theft, breeding gossip, committing meanness and nasty things - destroys the personality);
Obscene language should not be abused, because swearing, obscene words destroy the soul;
Following the rules of decency (public scratching of the genitals, picking one's nose in public, champing, licking fingers or plates are considered signs of personal degradation);
As long as the human subject is alive, one should not give up, because only after death nothing can be changed, so one must fight under any, even the most irresistible circumstances.
Degradation of personality in alcoholism
Many people have suffered from this serious disease. However, the terrible statistics do not stop anyone. Everyone believes that alcoholism will not happen to him and intoxicating drinks will not be dragged into his own snares. At first, a person only tries alcohol, choosing the one that he likes, then he begins to abuse intoxicating drinks, which gives rise to a harmful addiction. At the same time, the drunkard is not able to comprehend that exorbitant libations with alcoholic beverages are called this terrible word - alcoholism.
A mental progressive disorder called alcoholism belongs to the category of chronic ailments related to a variety of substance abuse. It manifests itself as a gradual increase in alcohol dependence, a decrease in self-control regarding the use of alcohol-containing liquids, the progressive development of somatic dysfunctions, increased, often superficial thinking, a decrease in the critical perception of one's own actions, and inaccuracy of movements. The last stages of the disease are characterized by the loss of social contacts, gross ataxia, and the destruction of the personality.
The problem of personality degradation and chronic alcoholism are inextricably linked. In a person who abuses intoxicating drinks, intellectual activity is disturbed, memory decreases, self-criticism disappears. Alcoholics blame the surrounding society or circumstances for all troubles. People suffering from alcoholism become rude, overly self-confident, unresponsive, soulless, incorrect, cynical. Their sleep is disturbed and is characterized by frequent awakenings. As the doses consumed increase and become more frequent, the circle of hobbies narrows in alcoholics. All their thoughts are only about alcohol, nothing else can interest them. Alcoholics do not perceive the meaning of many everyday situations, the surrounding society does not touch them. People who abuse strong drinks stop reading books, attending theaters or other public cultural events. This is how the degradation of the personality debuts.
Responsibility and duty to relatives, children, partner, team, friends, society in alcoholics either weakens or disappears altogether. They lose disgust, a sense of shame and guilt, as a result of which they become untidy, familiar, annoying, do not understand the ridiculousness or wrongness of their actions. An alcoholic often turns into a mercantile, optional subject in professional activities. He is unable to learn new things, to concentrate, to separate the important from the secondary.
The movements of the drunkard are accelerated due to the relaxation of braking impulses, inaccuracies and defects in work appear. The consequence of this is the loss of qualifications, dismissal or demotion, loss of social ties. Alcoholics are unaware of their own fall, making unrealistic false promises, seeking to impress and embellish reality. The humor of drunkards is riddled with flat jokes on important topics. Alcoholics pester others with their own sentimentality and obsessive frankness. Surrounded by drinking companions, they exalt each other, convince of mutual disinterestedness and devotion. People who avoid their company, they condemn, discuss with hostility.
In the workplace, alcoholics do their best to evade official duties without losing material benefits. Behind the endless demagogy, drunkards try to hide their formal approach to work, their laziness.
The first symptoms of personality regression become noticeable approximately six to eight years after the onset of the systematic abuse of alcohol-containing liquids.
Some drunkards become excitable, others carefree and complacent, frivolous, capricious, grouchy, others apathetic, depressed and inert, fourth ones intimately disinhibited. Often one state can be replaced by another. Some drinkers in life are timid and insecure subjects who consider themselves the worst of all. In such patients. However, the state of intoxication transforms them, turning them into boastful and picky individuals. They tend to quarrel and get offended for no reason. Such people in a sober state are rather quiet subjects, and in intoxication they turn into brawlers and fighters. Most often, such behavior manifests itself in family relationships, when there is no need to restrain oneself and control oneself.
Alcoholic degradation has a destructive effect on the individual, it destroys families. It brings suffering to the relatives of the drinker, inconvenience to neighbors, problems in the working environment. The reverse development of the personality caused by alcohol disfigures the life of the drinking individual and society. Alcoholism is a severe disease that leads to loss of personality and social death of the individual. Therefore, it is so important to treat the degradation of the personality, generated by exorbitant libations, in a timely manner. Excessive craving for alcohol-containing drinks must be treated, since every person has the right to a healthy and fulfilling existence.
Personal degeneration, the consequences of personality degradation can be eliminated under the condition of an absolute refusal to consume alcohol-containing liquids.
The treatment of personality degradation provoked by alcoholism is the responsibility of psychotherapists, and the elimination of dependence on alcoholic beverages is the responsibility of narcologists. The most important conditions for an adequate therapeutic effect are the awareness of the alcoholic of the destructive effect of alcohol or other intoxicating liquids and the patient's desire to refuse to consume alcohol-containing drinks in the future. Compliance with the above conditions will make it possible to facilitate the task of physicians as much as possible, which will have a beneficial effect on the therapy itself, and will also contribute to the speedy disposal of manifestations of degradation.
Therapeutic measures focused on eliminating the consequences of the destruction of the individual's personality not only include a complete abstinence from alcohol, but also require psychological help, as well as the support of loved ones. Relatives and the immediate environment of an alcoholic should pay more attention to him. Individuals who have decided to permanently free themselves from destructive cravings need the help of their closest ones. And they certainly do not need their condemnation. It is often difficult for recent alcoholics to stop thinking about drinking. Therefore, the task of the family is to distract them from the destructive attraction. You can come up with a hobby that can not only interest a sick relative, but also distract him, take his free time and thoughts. Otherwise, there is a high risk of failure. Without the support of relatives and friends, it is almost impossible for an individual suffering from alcoholism to get rid of this terrible disease.
Speaker of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"
Degradation is the process of deterioration of the characteristics of an object or phenomenon over time, a gradual decrease in quality, decline, destruction of matter due to external influences according to the laws of nature and time.
There is ecological, telecommunication, biogender, chemical degradation, degradation of personality, society, culture.
The phenomenon of personality degradation is studied in psychology. This is an urgent problem, closely related to the degradation of society as a whole.
As a psychological phenomenon, personality degradation includes the following processes:
- narrowing of intellectual abilities,
- deterioration of mental activity, the ability to think critically,
- decrease in the quality of mental processes and functions (problems with attention, perception, memory, speech),
- decrease in social and physical activity,
- disability,
- loss of acquired abilities and skills,
- lack of manifestation of positive properties and personality traits,
- the appearance of negative personality traits and qualities,
- impoverishment of the sphere of feelings and emotions, deterioration of the ability to understand others, to communicate.
Thus, the degradation of personality is the process of destruction of its structure, qualities and properties.
The people say about the degraded that he "sank", "lost his human appearance", "disappeared", "took a step back in development." Such definitions succinctly characterize the process of personality degradation.
Forms and causes of personality destruction
Degradation of personality is a process opposite to its growth and development, opposite to progress.
It is noticeable to the environment of a person more than to himself. Degradation is visible in the behavior and appearance of the individual. A person ceases to take care of himself, his speech becomes scarce, the circle of communication and interests narrows, emotional restraint is manifested in combination with indifference to the feelings and opinions of loved ones.
Degradation can be expressed in the form:
- frivolity, carelessness, irresponsibility;
- infantilism, lack of will, cowardice, chronic laziness;
- indifference to society, loss of ties with the outside world;
- neglect of social requirements, rules of conduct, morality and ethics;
- addictions (alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc.);
- illegal behavior (misdemeanors and crimes);
- dementia, insanity, mental illness.
It becomes clear what degradation is, and why it is not uncommon in our time, when understanding the causes of its occurrence. The reasons are closely related to the forms of degradation:
- When life seems meaningless to a person, he neglects it. Apathy, boredom, laziness, lack of initiative appear.
- A person who does not know how to set and achieve goals, has no aspirations and desires, is passive and pessimistic. If there is a choice to act or not to act, he chooses the second: why do something if you can also relax?
- Work on oneself is everyday work, degradation of the personality is a consequence of a stop in development, refusal of self-realization.
Loneliness, depression, grief, psychological trauma, guilt and similar suffering can become the causes of personality degradation:
- In depression, a person does not accept life and himself in it, engages in psychological "suicide".
- When a person is alone and no one needs, his strongest need is not satisfied - the need for love and belonging. A person does not understand why, for what, for whom to try to be better and develop.
- Guilt pushes a person to realize his insignificance, gives rise to self-hatred and many other negative experiences that “corrode” the psyche.
- Feelings of powerlessness, self-doubt, low self-esteem can also be the causes of personality regression.
- Alcoholism, drug addiction and all other types of diviant behavior are, as well as forms and causes of degradation.
The degradation of the personality of an elderly person is often due to the peculiarities of age, age-related changes in the structure of the brain; retirement, deprivation of the opportunity to work and be an active member of society.
Reversibility of degradation and its prevention
To prevent the process of destruction of the personality, it is necessary to engage in self-education, self-development, self-affirmation. This is sometimes difficult, but interesting everyday work.
No matter how hard it is to overcome shortcomings, it is easier than reversing the process of "fading" of the personality. Those people who managed to do this deserve great respect. You should not be shy about asking for help and support from loved ones and contacting professional psychologists.
When a person copes with grief and suffering, does not forget about humanity in inhuman conditions and in other similar difficult situations, he fights for the right to be himself, for his "I", for the integrity and harmony of the personality and for the right to be a happy person. He chooses the path of development, not decline, life in every sense of the word, and not social death.
The degradation of the individual must be, at a minimum, stopped. It is necessary to recognize it as a problem in time and stop it by eliminating the causes of occurrence, correcting behavior, changing the worldview.
You need to be able to accept life as it is in cases where it is impossible to change it, in all other cases, a person is the creator of his own history and happiness.
Get rid of degradation
To regain a sense of the value of life, increase self-confidence, learn to set and achieve goals, regain the desire to develop, grow above oneself, can help:
- Cultural development
Talking about the benefits of cultural development is endless. Culture and art are the source of wisdom. There are many works that tell about the formation and development of personality.
The main characters of books and films often have to face and successfully overcome significant life difficulties, perform feats, change for the better as a result of working on themselves. There are many such outstanding people. A role model can be a relative or ancestor.
- Love and altruism
When a person helps others, takes care of them as of himself, does good deeds, makes selfless friends, he gets pleasure and joy from this, self-esteem grows, confidence in his abilities, in his value and importance for people is added.
Love is a healing, life-affirming feeling. It gives a sense of the fullness of life, fills it with meaning. True, priceless and selfless love gives happiness.
- Active life position and work
You need to love life, live actively, work, work for the good of society, strive to make the world a better place, benefit others, loved ones, help yourself become a Human.
All of the above at the same time and the prevention of personality degradation can stop its progression.
Each person is given the opportunity to become a holistic and harmonious personality. Take advantage of it or miss this one chance - the choice of each person.