A person’s complexes are a false attitude that poisons his life. Based on it, many conclusions are drawn, which leads to a decrease in the adequacy of the understanding of the world. Complexes are often developed or instilled by parents in childhood. Therefore, it can often seem that it is impossible to get rid of them. Although it is enough to change the incorrect setting to the correct one. So what are complexes?
Complexes are always associated with the psyche
Main manifestations of complexes
Psychological trauma - what is it in psychology
Specific symptoms may vary depending on the situation. In some cases, some emotions are quite reasonable. We can talk about a complex only if the attitude is very far from reality, and the reaction to an existing or imaginary shortcoming is too intense and interferes with a normal life.
Complexes are always a distortion of reality
In some cases, what a person calls a complex is not one at all. Typically, such a person has the following symptoms:
- Feels that she cannot be loved because of her shortcomings.
- Constantly fixates on the minus that she came up with.
- Blames his parents and acquaintances for provoking the development of this disadvantage.
- Feels awkward if you have to do work that will be evaluated by another person. A psychologically mature person always has his own evaluation criteria, which he relies on first of all, although he takes into account other people’s opinions.
- Shows inappropriate perfectionism.
- Accuses himself of treating others badly or feeling that strangers are picking on him and don’t like him for some reason.
- When the need arises to communicate with strangers or people with a high social status, he feels awkward.
- An imaginary deficiency is considered the cause of all troubles, even if this is not at all true. In turn, the real errors that led to failure are not analyzed.
For your information. A person with complexes is constantly constrained in his actions, feelings and thoughts.
Analytical psychology
After receiving a medical degree in psychiatry from the University of Basel, young Jung became an assistant in a clinic for the mentally ill under the direction of Eugene Bleuler, the author of the term “schizophrenia.” Interest in this mental illness led him to the works of Freud. Soon they met in person. Jung's education and depth of views made a tremendous impression on Freud. The latter considered him his successor, and in 1910 Jung was elected the first president of the International Psychoanalytic Association. However, already in 1913 they broke off relations due to differences in views on the unconscious, as I said above - Jung identified the collective unconscious, with which Freud did not agree, and also expanded and supplemented the concept of “complex” to the form in which it has survived to this day. And then Jung went on his own inner path. His autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, begins with the statement: “My life is the story of the self-realization of the unconscious.”
Plus, Jungians (as psychologists who adhere to Dr. Jung’s theory call themselves - analytical psychologists) actively use a range of other psychological methods: art therapy, psychodrama, active imagination, all types of projective techniques (such as analysis of drawings), etc. Jung was especially fond of art therapy - creativity therapy. He believed that through continuous creative activity one could literally prolong one's life. With the help of creativity (art therapy), any spontaneous types of drawing, especially mandalas (a schematic image or design used in Buddhist and Hindu religious practices), deep layers of the psyche are released.
How is this applied today?
Psychoanalysts around the world are divided into Freudians and Jungians. An orthodox Freudian psychoanalyst will place you on the couch, sit at the head of the bed and listen to you with a minimal presence, 2-3 times a week for 50 minutes. All visits, including missed ones, are paid. Time does not change or move, even if you work every other day and are unable to comply with agreements on your work schedule. But when you express a desire to find out why the analyst is so unfair to you and does not want to get into your position, you will be asked a couple of questions about why everything in your life is so inconvenient? And also who is usually inclined in real life to enter into your circumstances and adapt to you?
The Jungians approach things differently. As a rule, this is once a week, and the conditions can be negotiated and be more flexible. For example, sessions missed for valid reasons can be worked out at another time. It is not at all necessary to lie down on the couch; you can sit on armchairs and talk, as you are used to in everyday life. Also, in addition to the dialogue, you may be asked to comment on the image, fantasize out loud, and then draw your fantasy or feeling, imagine someone opposite you and talk to him, moving first to his place, then back to yours, they may be asked to make something something made of clay or sand...
The boundaries and rules of communication between the analyst and the patient still remain quite strict, which determines the quality of the contact and, accordingly, the work.
Today we can safely say that all areas of psychotherapy and practical psychology are rooted in analytical and projective practice. Thus, analytical psychology is something that combines basic knowledge of psychoanalytic practice, the collective centuries-old experience of people working with their inner world and its self-expression and modern achievements in the science of the soul - psychology.
Causes
Depression - what is it in psychology
As the famous psychologist Alfred Adler believed, every person has an inferiority complex that develops in childhood, since he is surrounded only by adults who have influence on him. The child wants to declare his independence and show it.
Peer ridicule often becomes the cause of complexes
In general, this is the norm - everyone has a feeling of inferiority, it is a source for personal development. She, in turn, strives to compensate for it by implementing herself in what she likes, or in activities where she can achieve certain success.
In some cases, overcompensation occurs when a person becomes fixated on his shortcoming and makes inappropriately great efforts to overcome it. This manifests itself in a neurotic desire to achieve a goal at all costs to the detriment of everything else or to rise at the expense of others.
All this comes from childhood. When relatives kindly made fun of some qualities of the child (insignificant in their opinion), he could be offended. After some time, they were accepted as shortcomings, because parents have the right to assessment and enjoy authority. Already in adulthood, a person subconsciously believes that everyone has the same opinion, although the situation has lost its relevance many decades ago.
For your information. Teachers can also form complexes by accusing the child that he will not succeed based on slightly different behavior or not doing his homework.
Mechanisms
Manifestations of power are especially noticeable in politics and the management of organizations, but every family, adult and children's groups, friends and random people, and people alone with themselves and their internal conflicts face them every day.
It happens that a person occupies a high position in society or a corporation, or is the head of a family, but has no power. A five-year-old son does not obey his father, subordinates ignore orders, and society does not intend to comply with laws.
It happens that a person is far from the throne, or holds a modest position at work, or is the youngest in the family, but has enormous power. The family dances around the little tyrant, colleagues stare at him, and society copies everything the idol does.
The reality of power depends on whether the mechanisms (instruments, sources) of power are in the hands of a person (group). These can be individually or in any combination:
- strength - physical strength, weapons, army;
- real or learned helplessness;
- knowledge, information, secrets;
- money, distribution of benefits among others;
- satisfying the needs of another (security, sex, prestige);
- law, contract, right that gives power;
- charm, charisma;
- authority.
Thus, a newborn baby has power over the family due to his helplessness, charm and the right to humane treatment. As he grows up, he may notice the advantages of a dominant position and begin to imitate helplessness, consciously or unconsciously. Adults will have to fight for power in their family.
List of human complexes
Victimization - what is it in psychology
Inadequate attitudes can apply to any life situation. The root of any complex is a lack of faith in one’s ability to achieve results and an obsession with weaknesses.
Many types of complexes are named after some characters:
- Pinocchio. The habit of constantly lying.
- Victim. A person subconsciously strives to be a victim and attracts people who will harm him.
- Cinderella is a passive expectation of a prince on a white horse or a princess, if we are talking about a man.
- And she. The complex is accompanied by a fear of development.
- Excellent student. The desire to be perfect in everything. But that doesn't happen. There will always be a subject in school (for example, geography) that you will not succeed in. From here a complex is born, which will later be transferred to life. The education system is largely to blame for the formation of perfectionism (its second name).
- A bachelor is a fear of women and responsibility in marriage.
Fear of being judged by others
Interesting fact! The presence of complexes indicates the psychological health of the individual. A person with mental disabilities is not able to evaluate himself. It is complexes that stimulate development. The main thing is to react to them correctly.
Physical complexes
This is an inadequate belief when a person is dissatisfied with his appearance in one form or another. In extreme cases, this can lead to dysmorphomania - a disease in which a person is convinced of the presence of a non-existent defect in appearance. As a rule, this is age-related and goes away after 20 years. Often a person harms himself, trying to get rid of an invented flaw.
How to get rid of complexes
Since the main reason why a person’s complexes appear is an obsession with one’s shortcomings, one needs to do the opposite – focus on one’s strengths. Healthy self-development is a great opportunity to gain self-confidence. This is where you need to start by developing your strengths. After some time, you can move on to related areas and achieve success there.
As a result, the personality will already be higher in level. After achieving success in some areas, a person begins to take on complex tasks more confidently. In addition, a thought appears like: “So what if I have such a disadvantage? But I make good money and have a developed sense of humor.”
Success is a consequence of getting rid of complexes
The main secret of getting rid of complexes is shifting the focus of attention from the zone of inability to what a person can do. For example, a guy thinks that he is not able to please the opposite sex. You need to monitor your interests and understand what can be done now. For example, like this:
- Play sports, build a good figure that girls will like.
- Read books, develop erudition.
- Learn jokes so that you can create the right emotional atmosphere when communicating with people.
- Develop professionally to find a job with a better salary.
- Learn new skills useful for life, find interesting hobbies.
- Learn to dress beautifully.
- Make microcommunications with other people. With some you may have a full conversation, with others you may not. It no longer fully depends on the person. The likelihood of finding a good conversationalist is much higher if you say at least something, even stupid.
The list may be individual in each case. It is important to write down actions that can actually be performed. If it seems that there are none, you need to think better. Complexes prevent us from seeing what a person is really capable of.
The main thing is not to focus on just one thought, bringing it to absurd perfection. A typical mistake when dealing with complexes is, for example, spending half a day in the gym, developing your body to the ideal, but at the same time losing professional growth and erudition. It is better to improve many qualities a little at a time than to become fixated on one goal. This advice applies to other areas of life as well. For example, what are your strengths at work? What can be developed?
You also need to deal with shortcomings. It is advisable to create positive motivation. It is wrong to set a goal for self-development to “get rid of complexes.” It's better to call it developing self-confidence.
By the way. Working on yourself in one area will invariably lead to improvement in other areas of your life. If a person earns more, he will automatically be more interesting to the opposite sex. Conversely, success in your personal life increases the likelihood of higher income. This is because essentially the same qualities are needed everywhere.
Thus, psychological complexes are not always a negative phenomenon. Sometimes they have a positive effect on the individual if he reacts correctly to these false attitudes. In some cases, complexes can be harmful.
The desire for power
Some people strive for power more than others, and some avoid having it. It depends on what they associate power with, often unconsciously. With privileges or responsibility, risk or invulnerability, creation or destruction, respect or contempt of the ruled, with omnipotence (kings can do everything) or self-restraint (no king can marry for love).
The desire for power comes down to the main question: to use it for the benefit of another (child, wife, subordinates, people), or to use another for one’s own benefit?
It is most difficult to answer this question to yourself due to the complex interweaving of conscious and unconscious motives, but from the outside the answer is obvious.
