Codependency: the formation of a personality prone to psychological dependence

Not everyone knows about the existence of such a disease as dependent personality disorder. In our lives we have to meet different characters, aggressive and timid, active and passive, dominant and passive. In most cases, these are individual personality traits, but sometimes such character traits become painful and develop into the stage of mental illness. Dependent personality disorder is one such case where it is difficult to draw the line between personality traits and illness.

What is dependent personality disorder?

Dependent personality disorder is a mental illness associated with a personality disorder that manifests itself as:

• constant and voluntary dependence of the patient on another person or group of persons,
• inability to act independently,
• feelings of inferiority and incompetence
• helplessness when it comes to making decisions
• constant need for approval, support, protection.

All of the listed feelings and conditions can be observed in any person, but in a normal state they are temporary and depend on the situation that has arisen. If they are permanent and the person seeks to maintain them in the future, this is evidence of a painful personality disorder.

Features of a dependent personality

The following psychological characteristics are characteristic of addictive personalities:

High suggestibility

A person easily accepts impulses, aspirations, desires, attitudes, forms and styles of behavior from the outside, and is susceptible to the mental influence of another person. At the same time, he does not critically comprehend reality and does not try in any way to resist influence. He easily takes his word for it, without analyzing or comprehending the information. The dependent personality turns out to be conformist, uncritical, and “soft.” Non-criticism also manifests itself in relation to one’s own illness - the patient believes that he has no problems and no illness.

Inability to fully make a forecast and make plans for your future

Dependent individuals usually do not take into account their actions from the past and experience for action in the present. Often they are unable to answer the question about their own desires - they don’t know. Their methods of achieving a goal are the same, and once the goal is achieved, their actions are often inconsistent: they can say one thing and do something completely different. Dependent individuals extremely rarely take responsibility for their actions in a situation and try to shift it onto other people. Such people usually focus on only one forecast for the development of events, which is significant for them, while completely ignoring all others.

Egocentrism

Dependent individuals are entirely focused only on themselves, on their own interests, desires, and feelings. They do not care about other people, but at the same time others must “circle” around them.

Daydreaming

Addictive individuals have a pronounced tendency to fantasize, to live in their own imaginary world with imaginary people around them; they easily and simply renounce reality. It is for this reason that an addictive personality quickly and easily gets used to, for example, the image of a decent person, while in fact being a liar. Such people believe their own lies and often it is not easy for them to understand where reality is and where it is a figment of their imagination.

Impatience and maximalism

A dependent person wants to quickly resolve their own problems, while putting in a minimal amount of effort. Maximalism implies extremes in judgments, emotions, and demands. For such people, the world is often divided only into black and white - without halftones or compromises.

Alexithymia

This is the inability to express one's own feelings in words. For addictive individuals, it is difficult to identify and describe in words their feelings and the feelings of other people, and it is not easy to distinguish between emotions and bodily sensations. They are focused mainly on external events, to the detriment of internal experiences, and are prone to concrete thinking and lack of emotional reactions.

Rigidity

This means “inflexibility” of mental activity, attitudes, and behavioral styles. It is quite difficult for addictive individuals to change their attitude towards something or someone and their actions.

Main symptoms and behavioral reactions

The presence of dependent personality disorder can be judged by a number of symptoms that are expressed in a person’s behavior in everyday life.

All signs can be divided into two groups, expressed in attitude towards oneself and relationships with other people.

In relation to his own personality, the patient experiences:

• low self-esteem
• helplessness
• incompetence
• inability to make decisions independently
• fear of being rejected
• pessimistic attitude towards the present and future
• refusal to assume adult responsibilities

In relation to other people, including the dominant partner:

• feeling of subordination
• constant need for care, protection and support
• waiting for all problems to be resolved
• desire to meet the expectations of others
• willingness to take on secondary roles
• emotional dependence, i.e. feelings and moods do not arise on their own, but in response to the behavior of other people
• fulfilling the wishes of others to the detriment of one's own interests
• conscious limitation of relationships with outsiders, so-called social contacts

According to the American Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), the main features are as follows:

1. regular difficulties when making the simplest daily decisions and the inability to make them without recommendations, advice and confirmation from others
2. the need for the constant presence of a person who will take responsibility for making decisions in all life issues
3. impossibility or significant difficulties when trying to express disagreement with partners, associated not with fear of punishment, but with the possibility of losing support and good attitude
4. inability to perform independent work due to constant doubts about one’s own abilities and uncertainty in decisions made
5. willingness to follow all instructions, even if these are unpleasant or humiliating things, just so as not to lose support
6. when thinking that the person or people who care about him will no longer exist, a feeling of discomfort, fear and helplessness appears
7. the emergence of a strong, to the point of inadequacy, feeling of fear at the prospect of independent existence without outside care
8. a persistent desire, upon the loss of an existing relationship, to enter into a new relationship in search of help and care.

Externally, the disease manifests itself in general “nervous weakness”, rapid fatigue, acute impressionability, the habit of introspection and constant worry. The patient is characterized by anxiety, fear of possible difficulties and expectation of trouble.

These manifestations become obvious in extreme situations in which a person does not make any decisions, does not act, and does not even look for a patron, but passively waits for someone who can take care of him.

• In family relationships, such a patient, regardless of age, remains in the position of a child who is completely subordinate to family members and does not strive for independence, receiving care and guardianship in exchange.
• At work, he is completely dependent on the manager, needs constant care, guidance, approving or critical comments. Tries to please others, is humble about insults and insults, just to remain in the team.
• Women in the family voluntarily remain in a dependent position; for many years they endure cruelty, drunkenness, and neglect from their spouses for fear of ruining the relationship and losing the person who dominates them and on whom they depend.
• Men with similar psychological disorders may exhibit hypercompensatory behavior patterns, i.e. develop opposite qualities. In this case, feeling the need for support and care, they hide it for fear of disapproval by society and outwardly strive for dominance, which leads to a deep conflict between internal feelings and external behavior.
• When dealing with doctors, they show a willingness to obey and follow all recommendations and instructions, but do not show their own initiative.

In medicine, there is a concept - a pattern (i.e., a stable repetition of the same behavior) of anxiety addiction. This is one of the main symptoms of dependent personality disorder, which is expressed in the fact that the patient constantly doubts his partner, his reciprocity, and availability. To get rid of these doubts, patients strive to show even greater helpfulness and humility in order to avoid any possibility of a break in the relationship.

Psychological portrait of a dependent personality

 From ancient times to the present, we meet a certain type of people who are intensely passionate about some activity. This could be sports, games of various types, passion for social networks, excessive or systematic use of alcohol or drugs, which subsequently change the picture of a person’s life. All of the above we can call addictive behavior or addiction.

In Ozhegov’s dictionary, the word addiction is defined as a strong inclination towards something, a passionate attraction. This is a way of life that accompanies compulsive behavior that is not subject to volitional control [1, p. 12].

In psychology, the term “Addiction” is used as a synonym for the word dependence or addiction [2, p. 102].

Abroad, people with attractions, addictions, and addictions are referred to as “addicts.” An addict is a dependent person who is unable to control his attraction to a particular behavior.

Dr. D. R. Meers defined addiction as a consequence of a perversion of normality [3, p. 25].

Researcher L. M. Doddsu argued that addiction is a compulsively driven activity that is characterized by intensity, unrelenting persistence, and a relative loss of ego autonomy [4].

Based on this, the term “addiction” can be characterized as a systematic attraction that does not correspond to the norm.

In our opinion, addiction, to some extent, is a change in normality, a change in one’s usual way of life, but it is also an irresistible desire to use.

Initially, the term “addictive behavior” was introduced by M. Landry and V. Miller, who understood addictive behavior as the period of abuse of substances that change a person’s mental state before dependence on them is formed [5, p. 295].

Most foreign academic researchers consider addiction a form of dependence, and addictive behavior as dependent behavior.

The understanding of addiction by V. Miller and M. Landry is close to the understanding of addiction by the domestic researcher S. A. Kulakov, who explains addictive behavior as a kind of behavioral disorder in the absence of physical and individual psychological dependence [6, p. 40].

Most domestic researchers such as S. A. Kulakov, N. P. Fetiskin, E. V. Zmanovskaya, V. S. Donskikh, E. P. Ilyin, Ts. P. Korolenko, A. E. Lichko, Yu. Popov, et al. believe that addictive behavior must be applied to chemical substances, as a state of not just use, but an addiction to use, but not yet in the stage of systemic dependence, and also as deviant behavior. The same understanding as one of the forms of deviance, striving to artificially increase one’s emotional state, a special change in one’s mental state through the use of chemicals, or as focusing on a certain activity, as a method and way of escaping reality. We can see this definition in the works of K.V. Sudakov, B.D. Karvasarsky, P.I. Sidorov.

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor A. O. Bukhanovsky sees the essence of addiction in the ability of any activity to cause the development of intense positive emotions, which leads to the need to deliberately change one’s emotional state. Acquiring a systemic and permanent character, addictive behavior leads the addict to a refusal of the existing reality, the behavior becomes deviant [7, p. 60].

Researchers T. A. Donskikh, N. V. Dmitrieva, T. P. Korolenko, L. G. Leonova, N. L. Bochkareva, who study the problems of addiction, attach this behavior to one of the forms of destruction, which consists in constant desire escape from reality by changing one’s mental state through the use of psychoactive substances, medications, or obsession with a certain activity.

In the psychological dictionary, addictive behavior is defined as a form of destructive behavior, which is expressed in the desire to escape from reality by changing one’s mental state [8, p. 470].

For example, professor of psychology at the University of Washington G. Marlatt, along with Russian psychotherapist and narcologist V. D. Mendelevich, believe that addictive behavior is a “bad habit” [9, p. 223].

Domestic researchers define addiction as a disease, and dependence as a form of disordered behavior. Most researchers understand addiction as a way of adapting to current difficult situations, working conditions, as well as communication, artificially increasing one’s emotional state, and relieving stress.

The transition from addiction to dependence is determined by several factors, namely social, biological and psychological.

Addiction, at its very beginning, was a medical term, and it was defined as uncontrolled behavior, which flowed into an increase in tolerance and was expressed by various symptoms.

Initially, the origin of addiction was defined as the emergence of tension, and, accordingly, the desire to repress this tension through the use of drugs or alcohol.

Addiction can develop in the form of destructive forms of activity - sexaholism, shopaholism, gambling addiction, and also in self-centered behavior. But with systematic involvement in addictive behavior, in parallel with psychological dependence, a physical form of addiction occurs, muscle pain, spasms, depression and weakness - a condition that is most difficult to overcome.

Two types of dependencies, psychological and situational, are distinguished by Doctor of Psychological Sciences E. V. Zmanovskaya. Situational is of the nature of impermanence, that is, a temporary phenomenon that does not cause changes in a person’s personality. Psychological is a personal formation that begins to manifest itself in the behavior of an individual and is characterized by certain stable characteristics [10, p. 288].

Regardless of whether the dependence is permanent or temporary, it is still a problem. There is no such thing as a temporary addiction that does not develop into a psychological one; sooner or later this will happen. Our opinion is that if dependent behavior is seen in a person’s behavior, although not permanent, this is a serious reason to think about it and turn to specialists.

In all forms of chemical dependence there is a psychological attachment to the object or subject of dependence. Most domestic researchers consider the manifestations of any type of addiction, whether chemical or non-chemical, to be absolutely the same.

Thus, it follows that the formation of addictive behavior is associated with a person’s lifestyle, which helps not to notice problems in real life. Our theoretical analysis of individual studies by domestic and foreign scientists allows us to note the ambiguous interpretation of the concepts of “addiction” and “dependence”. As has been shown, some authors consider addiction as similar in meaning to the term dependence. Other authors identify addiction as the primary stage in the formation of dependence, while still others classify addiction as one of the forms of deviant behavior, but without the formation of dependence. Some researchers differentiate between addiction and dependence and define them as independent concepts that have their own semantic content.

In my opinion, addiction is the first step from the knowledge of “pleasant sensations” to the formation of symptoms of dependence. The constant use of chemicals and the implementation of destructive behavior patterns turns into negative behavior of the individual, as a result of which addiction is formed. Consequently, addiction is the basis for the development of dependence or dependent behavior of an individual.

Addiction is a condition that is rooted in an irresistible desire, a person’s physiological and emotional need for a certain set of actions. Which determines full involvement. Provides quick emotional comfort, relieves negative feelings and tension and is expressed in negative (destructive) behavior. A person under the influence of addiction loses the main quality - free will.

Most researchers, speaking about addiction or dependence, consider them absolutely similar synonyms, denoting the possibility of recovery from harmful effects without negative consequences. But addiction or dependence is not just a “weakness” that can be overcome, it is much stronger, since it is impossible to predict the behavior of an addicted person.

All this causes significant instability in the emotional, intellectual and volitional spheres. And also to unstable behavior. As a result, a person becomes a “hostage to his habit”; he no longer controls his behavior.

For various forms of addiction, various corrections are developed, which are used in the diagnosis of addiction from the beginning of the course of correction to the restoration of a person in society with a different way of thinking.

Literature:

1. Gilinsky, Ya. I. Sociology of deviant behavior as a special sociological theory. // Social research 2001 No. 4.
2. The crisis of our time: social and cultural overview = The crisis of our age/ Pitirim Sorokin. - M.: ISPI RAS, 2020. -102 p.
3. General theoretical problems of sociology // Sociology today: Problems and prospects / R. K. Merton, L. Broom., L. S. Cottrell (eds.). - M.: Progress, 1965. - pp. 25–67.
4. Daniëlle, AI Unhealthy Lifestyles Do Not Mediate the Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Incident Depressive Symptoms: The Health ABC study Original Research Article –The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, In Press, Corrected Proof. — Available online 6 February 2013. — Access mode: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/
5. Kozer, L. A. Functions of social conflict / Transl. from English O. Nazarova; Under general ed. L. G. Ionina. - M.: House of Intellectual Books: Idea-press, 2000. - 295 p.
6. Collection of information and methodological materials of the Republican training seminar “Adolescent deviations, problems of socialization and resocialization among minors” / Compiled by: O. M. Ivanova, V. L. Yuldashev, I. A. Stepanov, L. M. Bilalova, S. D. Galiullina, G. A. Zainetdinova. - Ufa: Ufa State University of Economics and Service, 2013. - P.40.
7. Bukhanovsky, A. O. Dependent behavior: clinical picture, dynamics, systematics, treatment, prevention. Rostov-on-Don, 2002.60 p.
8. Kulakov, S. A. Psychotherapy and psychoprophylaxis of addictive behavior in adolescents. M. - St. Petersburg: Gardarika, 2003. 470 p.
9. Marlatt GA, Baer JS, Donovan DM, Kivlahan, DR Addictive behaviors: etiology and treatment // Annual Review of Psychology. 2008. V. 39.P.223–252
10. Zmanovskaya, E. V. Deviantology: Psychology of deviant behavior. M.: Publishing House, 2003. 288 p.

Diseases with similar symptoms

Dependent personality disorder is a disorder that must be differentiated from other diagnoses with similar symptoms.

The closest diseases are:

• An asthenic type of psychopathy, which is characterized by symptoms of indecision, timidity, inferiority, and increased impressionability. The difference is that there is no attachment and dependence on a specific dominant personality

• Dramatic personality disorder, expressed in vivid, unstable emotions, intense relationships with other people. The difference is that all emotions and relationships are superficial and are more designed for the public’s reaction.
• Schizoid psychopathy, which manifests itself in isolation, unsociability, reduced need for social contacts, and lack of empathy.
• Phobic disorders are the presence of constant, unfounded fears that arise about circumstances, phenomena, situations, objects, living beings. Accompanied by constant anxiety.
• Borderline personality disorder, in which a person is unstable and experiences frequent changes in mood, self-esteem, feelings and relationships with other people.

Despite the coincidence of a number of symptoms, each of these diseases has its own motivating reasons that affect behavior and relationships with other people.

Thus, individuals with dramatic or borderline disorders are characterized by regular breaks with people around them, as well as attempts to manipulate others with the help of feelings. For “addicts” such behavior is impossible, since they experience dependence not only physical and economic, but also emotional, i.e. They value their partner, obey him and are afraid of relationship breakdowns.

Patients diagnosed with schizoid psychopathy not only avoid expanding social contacts, but also avoid them in every possible way, even to the point of complete self-isolation.

Phobic disorders are manifested by increased anxiety and fears, as well as in dependent disorder, but there is no desire for a subordinate and dependent position.

Formation of a dependent personality type in a destructive organization

Each person has a certain psychological defense system that protects him from the destructive influences of both the group and another person. The strength of protection varies depending on the person’s personality and knowledge. Awareness of the effects of certain group phenomena can increase the level of psychological security of the individual.

In most cases, it is not possible to destroy the psychological defense of an individual by acting with simple conviction. In order to penetrate into the inner world of a person, a special situation is organized in a religious cult, within the framework of which the defense mechanisms previously developed by the individual are not effective [1].

American psychiatrists M.T. Singer and R.D. Lifton identified the following parameters of situations with the help of which it is possible to weaken the defense mechanisms of a new person who has joined the life of a destructive community:

1. Total control over time (including the time of reflection) physically and emotionally intense activities are practiced, while little time is given for its comprehension and, in general, for solitude.

2. Keeping newcomers in a state of ignorance and inability to realize what is being done to them.

3. The creation of a system tightly controlled by directive leaders makes those who deviate from the views of the group feel uncomfortable, pushing them to think that they are, for example, innately inferior.

4. Creating a feeling of helplessness in the newcomer and relieving this unpleasant experience by providing him with models of new behavior - convenient for the group.

5. Suppression of previous social behavior and, through the manipulation of rewards and punishments, the achievement of a new state of consciousness. Next, use the new state of consciousness to create the desired perception of previous life experience (its revaluation).

6. The use of techniques that inhibit the thinking process (meditation, trances) [8].

Control over time can form the so-called “learned helplessness”, characterized by a complete loss of personal autonomy. A person begins to live according to a rigid schedule that does not take into account his interests or his psycho-emotional state. Nothing depends on him anymore, and he is forced to consult with mentors from the cult even on the most insignificant issues. This phenomenon has an effect that can be perceived by a person as positive - a person loses his existential fear of freedom, and the need for structuring life time disappears. The future seems stable and predetermined [10]. Total control over time and activity also serves as a new perceptual filter, selecting from the external social environment only those norms and values ​​that are most significant for the group that has adopted them. Slowly, step by step, the cult strives to completely isolate a person from society. Through pressure, a person is forced to abandon those contacts and relationships that could interfere with his stay in the cult. Next, there is a repression of those vital interests that are neutral in relation to the new religious status of the individual, because in them he can demonstrate his autonomy. The goal of destructive cults is to form a dependent personality type [9]. A person has to make decisions, because of which he may experience strong dissonance and a large degree of internal tension. Overcoming this dissonance and relieving tension, which can lead to psychotic breakdowns, is carried out by immediately replacing the former spheres of activity and interests of the individual with new ones, directly related to the cult. This is how the people closest to a person (personally significant persons) are replaced with new “spiritual sisters and brothers.” A person is assigned a new social status and a new social environment is formed, in fact - a social niche completely isolated from the life of the majority. Within its framework, the world is perceived differently, and all phenomena of life are assigned a new “cult” meaning.

The main methods of psychological influence on new cult members are suggestion and infection. As mentioned above, suggestion is a process of special influence on the human psyche, in which a complete understanding of the material effectively perceived by the subject is not required. This is due to the fact that during suggestion there is a decrease in the level of consciousness and criticality, both during the perception and during the reproduction of the suggested material. Information acquired through suggestion is characterized by an obsessive nature, which is revealed in the fact that the content introduced by suggestion is very difficult to correct [6]. Personal factors that increase suggestibility include: self-doubt, low self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, humility, weakness of logical thinking, increased impressionability. Suggestibility increases in extreme situations, during physical and mental overload, when the field of consciousness is narrowed, as a result of which imprinting at the subconscious level is facilitated [6]. Signals, elements of programs and cycles of behavioral reactions introduced through suggestion are similar to a set of operations that are in a state of constant readiness. For some time they may remain on the periphery of consciousness, but as soon as a person perceives the desired stimulus (familiar intonation, a special gesture, etc.), whole blocks of information appear in memory, previously prepared by suggestion formulas. In the future, if a person tries to leave the cult or commit any other actions undesirable from the point of view of the group, having heard the voice of the leader and the formulas fixed by suggestion, he can again take the path of automatic execution of commands [6]. The practice of indoctrination is characteristic of all destructive cults.

Infection is characterized by the identity of the emotional mental states experienced by people. Contagion is an involuntary, spontaneous tonization of emotional states, which often occurs when performing expressive actions. Infection can be caused by shouts, exclamations, crying, laughter, rhythmic movements, and applause. Loud choral singing has a powerful infectious effect. Repeating mantras for many hours, which is practiced in some destructive cults, also has a self-hypnosis character, which causes a violation of the sense of reality.

In destructive cults, massive sensory deprivation is practiced as a way of influencing a person. It is known what effect deprivation of any analytical system has on a person. “Disconnection” of perception channels can lead to disorientation, overload of compensatory analytical systems, hallucinations, and trance-like states. Sensory deprivation activates one of the types of psychological defense - regression, which is expressed in the phenomena of depersonalization and the formation of growing dependence on a significant person. Regression is characterized by negative changes in the intellectual sphere, the manifestation of primitive logic based on the idea of ​​​​humanity, divided into two groups: “initiated” and “unclean”. On this basis, a dualistic way of thinking “either-or” is formed and consolidated. At the same time, there is an active development of immunity against other, new ways of seeing the world, due to the concealment of significant information. The regression process is accompanied by such phenomena as loss of a sense of humor and spontaneity [6].

Isolation from external sources of information and the monotony of the information provided causes persistent inhibition. Musical accompaniment with a special rhythm, or constant repetition of certain words, during religious rituals or in everyday life, creates in a person a feeling of indifference, loss of interest in the environment and one’s own life. Emotions are suppressed, desires are dulled. As the sound intensifies and the rhythm increases, the inhibition radiates, covering all areas of the cerebral cortex, which causes deep disorientation, both spatial and temporal. Consciousness is in a twilight state. Visual and auditory hallucinations of cult content may occur (illusions of flight, liberation of the spirit, release of energy entities, etc.). In the cult, these processes are assigned a special meaning; they are interpreted as personal progress, religious growth, the emergence of supernatural abilities, a special vision of the world (“third eye”), etc.

Continuous concentration of attention and consciousness on one action reduces the degree of influence of traces of past mental activity, memory abilities are sharply limited. At this moment, the brain reacts only to those stimuli to which the person has previously been tuned. It is possible to commit irrational actions and any inspired forms of behavior [5].

A destructive cult sets as its goals the absolute isolation of the individual from society, the creation of a special niche for him, giving him not only a new status, but also a total change in personality. This can be achieved by opening the way to the most intimate and dear spheres for a person and actively transforming them. In this process, the rite of initiation (dedication) plays a huge role. The ritual of a person’s transition to a new state is characterized by mandatory instructions on how to behave correctly in a new status [7]. In a destructive cult, all efforts are directed towards a real or conditional blockade of significant motives that previously occupied a certain place in the structure of the personality. The new motive is perceived as a universal way to resolve current life problems, eliminating the need for logical analysis and active independent actions. With the help of powerful psychological influence, a change in the hierarchy in the previous value system is achieved. This happens sequentially and in stages. First, a person is introduced to something previously unacceptable against the background of specially reduced emotional sensitivity. Thus, a negative attitude turns into a positive one. When there are no emotional assessments or personal relationships, this process is most effective. The person is then encouraged to re-enact this previously unacceptable course of action. At the final stage, the fixed image is realized in real actions, first experimental, then habitual [6].

A similar pattern can be clearly seen in the example of collective suicides committed in cults. First, during ritual actions, under certain musical accompaniment, songs, prayers, etc. are performed, programming for suicidal actions. Then, at the peak of excitement, at the moment of emotional catharsis, a person can imagine and even see (hallucinate) his own death. Further, symbolic actions of rehearsal, reenactment of suicide situations, and, finally, the commission of the action itself are possible. The events that took place in Jonestown, in the People's Temple group [11], unfolded in a similar way.

With the help of such a psychological defense mechanism as rationalization, past life experience is rethought. A person unwittingly brings, adjusts his past to the current image of himself. A person attributes a cult meaning to past events. He can only remember those episodes of the past in which he sees the origins of today's life and forget (repress) those that contradict his current perception of himself. Life before the cult seems distant and unreal. There is a re-evaluation of the entire biography and the transference into the past of new interpretation schemes according to the formula: “I knew this already then, but not quite clearly.” New motives are brought into past experience because they are necessary for a new understanding of what happened a long time ago. Additional events are fabricated and inserted into the biography, playing a supporting role in harmonizing old memories with their new interpretations [11].

Thus, in a destructive cult, a person is faced with an environment that completely transforms the personality. He has no opportunity to change the situation. He cannot leave the group, since it has already acquired great significance for him, he feels great affection for the members of the community and feels indebted to them for the much that he believes they have done for him. The only way remains is to change yourself, adapt to the group and the situation.

Outstanding Russian psychiatrist S.S. Korsakov emphasized that “...belonging to some religious organizations, especially those imbued with intolerance, fanaticism and fanaticism, as well as those in which a religious cult is combined with strong mental excitement, reaching the point of ecstasy, contributes to the development of mental illnesses” [5, p.44 ]. The process of joining cults corresponds to the psychotechnology of formation, which was one of the explanations for what is commonly called “brainwashing” in the United States. DDD syndrome (deception, dependency, dread - deception, dependence, fear) accordingly consists of hiding the real goals of the cult, camouflaging the subsequent brutal exploitation with the initial “bombing of love”, suppressing one’s own personality with complete submission to the cult and fear as the main tool of manipulation, based on a constantly maintained feeling of guilt.

Dependent personality disorder is an initial mental disorder, followed by the development of more severe mental disorders, including psychosis with aggressive behavior or suicidal actions. Acute psychotic states can be of the nature of affective-delusional states, paranoids, induced psychoses, as well as stress reactions followed by prolonged post-stress syndrome. In addition, as a result of staying in a cult, sharp exacerbations of already existing latent forms of the disease (most often schizophrenia) can occur.

When raising a forensic psychiatric question about the consequences of being a victim of a cult, all these conditions must be assessed as consequences of the harm caused to mental health. For example, a conflicting psychotraumatic situation in the family of a recruit due to the latter breaking off relations with loved ones and joining a cult can be a source of development of neurotic reactions, i.e. exposure under the influence of mental trauma of previously hidden mental defects of the psyche, exacerbation of the mentioned forms of hidden psychopathology. In addition, there are cases when a person who has broken with the cult and is in a state of readaptation after suffering mental disorders is subjected to attempts by cult activists to return him to their fold, thereby preventing a quick and rapid recovery. This may also be considered a health hazard [5].

Due to the harm caused to a person’s mental health, there is an extreme violation of identity, dissociating states of “floating” (returning through a trigger mechanism back to the cult lifestyle), “floating” is described as a special change in consciousness, intermediate between wakefulness and sleep. Those in this state are also called “Space Cadei” due to the loss of clarity of the sense of everyday reality, similar to drug intoxication. These states in ex-cultists arise as a sudden overwhelming feeling of guilt for leaving the cult with an involuntary influx of a series of memories that interrupt the present in order to return to the past cult state. “Floating” can also take the form of inappropriate emotional reactions, accompanied by visual and auditory hallucinations, psychomotor agitation and attempts at suicide, which leads to the need for hospitalization. Panic and anxiety attacks, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders. Specialists and doctors who observed former Scientologists diagnosed their condition as “post-traumatic stress disorder.” Former members report a high rate of mental illness caused by so-called "chronic fatigue syndrome" - a lack of desire and energy. However, no scientific research has yet been conducted on these reports [3]. Psychosomatic symptoms occur: headaches, back pain, asthma, skin disorders, sleep disorders: nightmares, digestive disorders, sexual problems, problems with decision making, delayed psychological development, loss of psychological strength, guilt, fear, loss of trust, fear of intimacy (intimacy) and commitment.

There are facts indicating that many adherents made desperate attempts to regain freedom, but the fears and persecution from the cult implanted in their subconscious drove people to mental disorders and even suicide [11]. There are known facts of murder by the leaders of some destructive religious organizations of their adherents who tried to break with the cult. In some destructive religious organizations, after leaving the cult, even with a favorable environment in the family and the help of specialists, a person feels like a stranger in society [4].

Thus, the consequences of a person’s long stay in a destructive cult are a mental disorder with a reduced emotional background, a distorted perception of the world, deformation of the self-image and the creation of a new dependent personality type. When a person enters a cult, a new image is formed with its inherent features and view of the world; the person spends a long time in this image, and, therefore, becomes entrenched in it. When it comes out, the reverse process occurs - the splitting of the old and the creation of a new image of the Self, which is also accompanied by mental and personality disorders, such as those mentioned above. In general, the consequences of the damage caused to a person who has fallen into a cult and stayed there for a long time are destructive to his personality.

Literature

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Causes

Medicine has not yet precisely established the causes of dependent personality disorder. It is generally accepted that the disease is formed under the influence of personality characteristics when external factors are imposed.

Among the most likely reasons are:

• temperamental characteristics, such as indecisiveness, high emotional sensitivity, increased susceptibility to stress
• excessive care from adults in childhood
• deprivation of the opportunity to satisfy one's needs at a young age
• suppressive authoritarian parenting style
• the prevalence of social stereotypes about the subordinate position of women in the family and society.

All of these reasons are superimposed on personal life circumstances, for example, the emergence of a relationship with an overwhelming dominant, and lead to the emergence of dependent personality disorder.

Classification in medical science

Different schools of psychologists have their own approaches to the classification of mental disorders of various types.

Thus, in old Russian and Soviet psychiatry, the disease “dependent personality disorder” is not mentioned.

The German founders of classical psychiatry did not diagnose it either.

This disorder was identified as a separate type of disease in the United States and included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which was published from 1994 to 2000.

Scientists explain this discrepancy by the fact that the symptoms of a dependent disorder can manifest themselves throughout life only as character traits and do not reach painful manifestations. This is most likely in the following cases:

• when a person prone to addiction is in a stable relationship with a socially adequate person who understands and supports his partner;
• in the presence of a patriarchal family, when a man takes on the role of protector, and a woman traditionally occupies a subordinate position
• under totalitarian regimes with a strictly established order of life.

Since Russia and Germany existed for a very long time on similar principles, there were no factors for the transition of a dependent position into a painful state, i.e. there was no danger or fear of couples breaking up and partners leaving.

Psychological dependence and chemical dependence: men and women

In men, further development occurs more often like this: first, the man tries to separate from his parents and become independent. But he begins to feel latent dissatisfaction and anxiety: after all, the “rescuers”, “controllers”, those who are worried and whose attention is constantly focused on him, are no longer there.

And then sometimes alcohol, drugs, a game or some other virtual reality comes into his life, captivating him completely. So he can again descend into a state of deep childhood - when they again save him, “pull him out” and take care of him.

By this age, some mothers are even ready to give up on their child, surprised that he does not want to grow up. But more often than not, he can no longer do it without professional help. After all, love is strongly associated with psychological dependence on his mother, and a sense of security is associated with the constant presence of a person controlling and caring for him.

Some sons are sometimes unable to part with their mother, and often it is the codependent relationship with her that prevents the sons from building their own family. Some find the strength to leave their parents' home and find a permanent companion, but they choose a woman as a partner who would be a substitute for their mother. Namely, she would behave the way her mother always behaved.

Most often, by the time they grow up, such men have a full set of addiction and codependency . The need to use psychoactive substances, to escape reality and the need to build a relationship with a woman similar to his relationship with his mother.

At the same time, games, drugs or alcohol help him relieve internal anxiety inherited from his mother, or rather, temporarily suppress it, make it invisible to himself, and stop concentrating on it.

All this, of course, happens unconsciously. At a conscious level, as a rule, this is indicated by the phrase “I need to relax” or “I’m bored with life” or “life has no meaning.”

But with all attempts to offer a person meanings, solutions for relaxation or obtaining new emotions, the addict protests: after all, if he switches to self-sufficiency, he will lose his sense of integrity, which for now is only achievable for him through merging with another, with someone who will be there for him tightly bound by fears and anxiety, who will be completely focused on him.

Women are more likely to fall into the trap of psychological dependence. She often needs not just a man, but someone who cannot do without her, who will constantly confirm to her that she is needed. And, as a rule, these are men who are prone to addiction. After all, they “will be lost without her,” “they won’t cope without her,” etc.

The scheme here is the same: a woman tries to at least temporarily eliminate the anxiety implanted by her mother, and most often actualizes it through the “rescue” of a man. And thereby creates for himself a feeling of integrity, which was previously experienced in a relationship with an anxious mother.

Dependence and codependency complement each other in this system: a man’s dependence makes him helpless, not sufficiently independent and in need of “supervision” from a woman.

And a woman prone to psychological dependence cannot imagine a relationship with an independent and independent man - because then she will not feel so needed, there will be nothing to constantly worry about and worry about. And this is exactly how she is used to perceiving and showing love.

It happens, of course, the other way around, when a woman becomes dependent, and a man takes on the role of a rescuer. But in our country, the classic scheme is more often relevant, in which a woman “saves” an addicted man.

Possible consequences and complications

Dependent personality disorder may not manifest itself throughout life if external factors do not contribute to it. Under “favorable” circumstances, the following consequences are possible:

• Living for many years with a cruel person with constant insults and beatings does not lead to the desire to change the situation. As a result, most dependent participants in such relationships end up in the hospital with trauma as victims of domestic violence.
• In normal relationships, a break with a partner leads to severe depression.
• It is possible to develop somatophoric disorders, in which psychological problems become the source of somatic (bodily, physical as opposed to mental) symptoms. A person may experience difficulty breathing, pain, and weakness in the absence of obvious reasons.
• Against the background of addictive disorders, a craving for unhealthy habits arises, i.e. a person tries to hide from problems with the help of food, smoking, medications, and alcoholism.
• Dependent disorders create the basis for the emergence of various phobias, which at first glance are not related to the person’s condition.

The main goal of treatment is not to cure the underlying disease, which is practically impossible, but to prevent its further development and transition to more severe stages.

At-risk groups

There are certain categories of the population that are most vulnerable to mental illness, including dependent personality disorder.

First of all, age is taken into account. Scientists call the most vulnerable age periods, such as:

• Oral development period (from birth to 1.5 years), in conditions of complete dependence of the child on others. Children with chronic somatic diseases who do not have the strength to develop an active attitude towards the surrounding reality suffer more often.

• Junior school age, when the child finds himself in conditions of strict discipline and constant tension. The first signs are increased fatigue, loss of self-confidence, decreased academic performance, the appearance of shyness and feelings of inferiority.
• The next stage is the puberty period, during which a break in the psyche occurs, a change in authority and a change in relationships with others.

Among those diagnosed with addictive disorders, the majority are women. In men, this disease is rarely detected.

Among the total number of mental illnesses, 2.5 percent are dependent mental disorder.

Diagnostic methods

Diagnosis of the disease is carried out during a conversation with the patient, special tests and anamnesis of his life.

The diagnosis is made if several basic criteria are met:

• a conscious or subconscious desire to delegate the making of any decisions to others;
• subordinate position and constant concessions in personal relationships;
• lack of demands on others or inability to express them;
• fear of loneliness due to lack of ability to live independently;
• exaggerated fear of losing a partner;
• inability to make independent decisions even in ordinary everyday matters without outside instructions or advice.

If at least 4 of the listed signs are present, then we can talk about a developed dependent personality disorder.