Do you know anyone with a tendency towards self-destruction?
From clinical psychology, individuals with a self-destructive personality share a series of characteristics in their behavior. These are behaviors that go against their interests, are counterproductive to their well-being and cause physical and psychological harm to themselves.
Who suffers from this type of self-destructive personality?
The personality traits of self-destructive people They usually appear in adulthood, and can be the effect of a wide variety of contextual, psychological and biological factors..
These people usually shy away from all the positive and pleasant experiences that life offers them. This leads them to generate chaotic situations and interpersonal relationships in which there is usually suffering. In addition, they tend to be closed and do not accept help from those close to them.
Diagnosis (warning signs and symptoms)
Several diagnostic manuals point out the main characteristics shared by people who tend towards self-destructive behaviors and habits.
If the person presents at least the five diagnostic criteriawe can talk about a person with a tendency towards self-destruction.
Understanding the behavior of these people
It is difficult to understand why self-destructive people do not let other people help them out of their situation. How do you explain that they have very undesirable habits that sooner or later will cause problems?
In general, we all want our lives to improve. We seek to feel comfortable and loved, we feel motivated to seek greater well-being and positive experiences for our lives. However, Self-destructive behavior breaks with this general trend, and this is something that worries mental health professionals..
The genesis: low self-esteem
Self-destructive behaviors are often manifestations of various emotional conflicts and underlying disorders. Mainly, low self-esteem is the most cited cause, in addition to self-resentment.
The community of mental health professionals usually agree that This type of self-harming behavior can be adaptive mechanisms in situations and contexts of great cognitive and emotional demand.. For example, stress, anxiety, work pressure, and other factors could be a necessary (but not sufficient) basis for a person to react in a self-destructive manner.
However, other professionals point out that people with this type of behavior could be prisoners of their comfort zone, due to their low self-esteem, stigmas of unworthiness or poor self-confidence.
Typical habits and behaviors in self-destructive people
Self-destructive behavior can take on different manifestations, some more severe, and others less worrying.
In total, we can list up to 15 frequent behaviors and habits.
1. Negative thoughts
Recurrent negative thoughts can be the foundation of self-destructive behavior. When these people focus on the bad things that could happen, they end up becoming obsessed and it is much more likely that these fatalities will materialize in reality. Examples of these thoughts are: “I’m sure I’m going to fail,” “I won’t come out of this well,” etc.
2. Inability to cope with the problem
This is a passive manifestation, but it is one of the keys to understanding a self-destructive person. Psychologically balanced people are able to take action when they are experiencing a negative situation. Insteadindividuals with this problem do nothing to avoid the painwith which they increasingly feel more useless and immersed in a spiral of inaction.
Eating too much can be a self-destructive behavior with terrible effects in the medium and long term.. It can also be the opposite: eating too little, which is also associated with a poor self-image.
4. Constant problems with other people
They tend to have frequent conflicts with other people. As expected, these conflicts end up turning against them. This can cause them to be rejected, isolated, and suffer humiliation and other problems related to the absence of social relationships.
5. Little confidence in your abilities
These people perceive themselves as not very intelligent and do not believe in their possibilities of achieving important things.. This low perception of one’s abilities can be the prelude to inactivity, and can bury any work or academic project.
6. Self-harm
Inflicting physical harm on oneself is a sign that the person has major problems and is clearly self-destructive behavior. It is one of the most dangerous and its ultimate and irreversible expression is suicide.
7. Self-indulgence: “everything goes wrong for me”
Another characteristic trait is self-pity.. It provides them with a certain unconscious comfort because self-pitying thoughts help them remain motionless, recreating their misfortunes. This prevents them from taking control of their lives and getting out of the negative spiral.
8. Drug addiction
Another classic trait is the abuse of toxic substances, such as alcohol or other drugs. It is a behavior that not only affects the physical and mental health of the affected person, but also breaks the relationship with their family and friends.
9. Isolation (deliberate)
Deliberately (although sometimes not entirely consciously), Self-destructive people withdraw from their friends and colleagues. They achieve this with a series of annoying and antisocial behaviors that irritate those close to them, to the point that they are excluded from social groups.
They usually hide their feelings. This tendency to repress negative and even positive emotions can lead to different manifestations of mental and emotional problems, and also psychosomatic disorders.
11. They refuse to be helped
They are people who do not allow themselves to be helped even by family members.neither by friends, nor by mental health professionals.
12. They sacrifice excessively
Have you heard of Wendy syndrome? It is a set of common symptoms among people who focus too much on meeting the needs of other individuals, neglecting their own well-being. It is a self-destructive behavior because, under the label of altruistic behavior, they are capable of denying their own freedom and losing the path to happiness.
13. Uncontrolled expenses
Slot machines, shopping addiction or gambling can lead to uncontrolled expenses that indicate that a person does not enjoy emotional or psychological balance. It is a fairly common self-destructive behavior.
14. Lack of physical and mental care
They can spend long periods abandoning themselves physically and mentally.: they sleep little, they eat negligently, they do not practice physical activity, they hardly shower… these are very typical signs among people with a tendency towards self-destruction. They also do not pay attention to certain psychological problems that they may be suffering from.
15. Jealous, possessive…
They are not able to properly take care of their romantic relationships. They present behaviors of jealousy, possessiveness, emotional blackmail, and even violence. Obviously, their partners end up leaving them.
Concluding
Self-destructive people express different behaviors that, consciously or unconsciously, destroy their physical and emotional health. Your path to happiness and success is cut short by these types of attitudes.
Luckily, these types of psychological conditions can be treated by mental health professionals.which can promote therapies and actions aimed at improving their quality of life and solving these types of internal conflicts.
