For Lucero González Franco Haghenbeck. January 31, 2018
Self-destructive behavior (CADI) goes unnoticed, frequently denied, belittled or deformed both by the subject who performs it and by the people around him. The difference between direct and indirect self-destructive behavior is that the direct one is consciously and intentionally self-destructive, while the indirect one is not.
CADI can be considered as a as long as the behaviors are repeated and tend to increase the intensity with which they occur. Do you want to know more about the indirect self-destructive behavior and personality disorders? Keep reading the following Psychology-Online article and we will explain it to you.
Freud (1920) stated that no man is capable of imagining his own death because he cannot integrate his non-existence through his fantasies of immortality. The mental apparatus works under the principle of constancy; defined by Breuer and Freud in their Studies on Hysteria as: "The tendency to keep intracerebral excitation constant" (Breuer, 1985 in Freud, 1920 p 15); this is the search for energy balance. The concept of the death instinct is introduced as a biological drive that pushes it to return to what is inorganic, "... derives a drive from the need to reestablish a previous state" (Freud, 1920/1955 p. 56) or “the organism reacts to any disturbance with the attempt to recover the status quo” (Segal, 1984. in Widlöcher, 1991 p.35).
The compulsion to repeat is the manifestation of the death instinct, is an attempt to return to a previous state to maintain constancy. The death instinct almost always operates silently so it is difficult to observe its manifestations in a pure state, they can only be perceived when they merge with the libido. Segal (1984 in Widlöcher, 1991) proposes that the principle of Nirvana is an idealization of death and the death instinct, akin to that of a fusion with the object, as in the oceanic feeling.
Reckhardt (1984 in Widlöcher, 1991) states that the organism's primary self-preservation equipment includes some withdrawal and displacement functions. Consequently, the first derivations of the death instinct are manifested by indifference and destruction. The death instinct manifests itself in covert suicide and self-destructive behavior. Previously, a person was considered suicidal if he talked about suicide, tried or succeeded, but studies Subsequent factors indicated that there were more interacting factors such as behavior, time, intention and activity.
The concept of unconscious suicidal tendencies because the subject seemed not to realize or deny that his actions were intended to harm himself. Durkheim (1999) refers to suicide as any case of death that results, directly or indirectly, from an act, positive or negative, carried out by the victim herself, knowing she should produce this Outcome. In the previous definition, it is important to highlight that the suicidal person is aware of his act and its consequences.
Litman (1983; in Farberow, 1984) explains that the difference between direct and indirect self-destructive behavior it is the conscious goal of behavior. If self-harm is the primary goal, the term self-destructive behavior is correct and suicide is its extreme form. In indirect self-destructive behavior, self-harm is not the main goal, but an unwanted effect and includes relatively insignificant mistakes, self-punishment and small risks that together increase the possibility of serious injury and the death.
In this way, the reality test begins to fail and narcissistic action schemes are activated. CADI is a way of life, a repetitive character trait, a habit. It occurs slowly, unconsciously and the consequences manifest themselves in the long term. It is a way to avoid pain. It is an attempt to maintain control and prediction; internal versus external locus of control.
Individuals with little capacity for introspection would explain the consequences as products of luck, fate or victims of the environment. The damage occurs little by little each time the behavior is presented as:
- The consumption of tobacco, alcohol and drugs.
- Body alterations (tattoos, piercings, etc.).
- Eating disorders (obesity, anorexia and bulimia).
- High risk sex.
The harm is potential due to the repetition of the behavior and the increased risk. It is presented in:
- Gambling
- Minor criminal acts.
- Accidents
- High risk sports.
Farberow (1984) considers that those who exhibit one or more of the behaviors described Previously, they repeatedly have the following features in common:
- The reasoning tends to be hollow and superficial.
- His self-destructive behavior does not occur under stressful conditions.
- Motivation is directed towards obtaining pleasure and actions are directed towards oneself.
- They can maintain their behavior because of their strong denial.
- They have little ability to visualize themselves in the long term.
- They are intolerant of delays and postponed commitments.
- They are unable to explain their behavior and it always seems to be impulsive and difficult to understand, but it is justified by the very pleasure that the activity produces.
- They maintain unstable relationships since the main concern is the person himself and not the other.
Casillas and Clark (2002) investigated individuals with high dependency and impulsivity and with a tendency to self-destructive behaviors for later correlate it with the type “B” personality which consists of a combination of antisocial, borderline, histrionic and narcissistic. The combination of the three coincides with the personality characteristics indicated by Farberow (1984). On the other hand, DSM IV (1994) points out some behaviors of the type “B” personality that are similar to those proposed by Farberow.
CADI is difficult to observe in a single behaviorBesides this, each person expresses it in a different way and that is why it is so difficult to measure. It is the accumulation of these and its tendency to repetition, which makes it an important risk factor for the individual that can lead to death.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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