Recognition of the achievements of others represents a frequent quality in life, since we constantly contemplate that other people have carried out activities and left indelible memories. However, envy and resentment are also often a response to express rejection of the virtues of others. This particular condition can be the starting point for a series of complications.
This problem is known as Procrustean Syndrome and if it is not treated in time it can cause unpleasant consequences for people who have this type of sensation. If you want to know more about this, in this Psychology-Online article, we will tell you what the Procrustean syndrome: what it is, characteristics and treatment.
Index
- What is Procrustean syndrome?
- Characteristics of the Procrustean syndrome
- Areas in which the Procrustean syndrome manifests itself
- Procrustean syndrome treatment
What is the Procrustean syndrome.
The origin of this syndrome is the Greek myth of Procrustes. As the story goes, Procrusteans housed travelers in his home, however, while the traveler slept, he tied him to his bed and beat and hammered him. Despite the fact that the people who visited Procrustes were of different heights, he punished them for not matching their body build.
The bottom line of the myth is that Procrusteans forced others to conform to his standards of ideal beauty. In this sense, the Procrustean syndrome refers to a tendency to reject the virtues and/or achievements of other people. In other words, it is the difficulty in recognizing the positive aspects in which other individuals excel. Those who suffer from it feel overwhelmed by the qualities of others, which is why they get upset.
Characteristics of the Procrustean syndrome.
In order to detect a person suffering from Procrustean syndrome in time, you must pay attention to the way they address other people. Furthermore, those who suffer from this pathology have certain behaviors and ways of being delimited. The main characteristics of people with Procrustean syndrome are:
- Fear of being rejected.
- I hate others.
- Inability to recognize the virtues and/or achievements of others.
- Fear of being surpassed./a.
- Envy.
- Low tolerance for frustration.
- feelings of inferiority
- Low self-esteem.
- Anxiety.
It must be taken into account that the displayed characteristics may appear in other clinical pictures. For this reason, the detection of any of these qualities in isolation does not constitute an accurate diagnosis. It's necessary that the assessment is performed by a mental health professional.
Areas in which the Procrustean syndrome manifests itself.
The Procrustean syndrome can manifest itself in different contexts. Next, we will develop some areas in which this problem arises more frequently:
- student environment: It is observed when a student presents a superior academic performance in a course. Faced with this situation, there are people who belittle the effort and/or achievement based on negative comments about it. Furthermore, public denigration and harassment of those who show virtues are common. It should be noted that the Procrustean syndrome can manifest itself in both teachers and students.
- Labor sphere: This condition also arises in workplaces where there is extreme competition between employees. When this happens, it often happens that the person suffering from Procrustean syndrome seeks methods to disqualify the best qualified employees. This makes teamwork difficult, since they are people who have a low tolerance for frustration and little possibility of accept criticism.
- Social ambit: this clinical picture is also manifested in social relationships. As in the student and work environment, people with this diagnosis have the tendency to criticize and denigrate any achievements and virtues in which others excel for fear of being lower. This entails the manifestation of attitudes that seek to compensate this feeling of inferiority.
Treatment of Procrustean syndrome.
Beyond the difficulties caused by the Procrustean syndrome, it is important to mention that there are treatments that improve the social ties of people with this clinical condition. Even so, whoever seeks help must have a marked intention of wanting to modify aspects of the personality, otherwise it will be difficult for the treatments used to produce an effect wanted. With that being said, the best ways to treat Procrustean syndrome are as follows.
- psychological therapy: a space that allows you to improve personal aspects of everyday life. In this sense, the cognitive behavioral therapy works the emotions, thoughts and behaviors that produce this condition. The objective of this method is to provide valid tools so that the person can establish more enjoyable and healthy relationships.
- psychiatric medication: when the Procrustean syndrome seriously interferes with the development of daily activities, one of the most viable options is to resort to taking psychiatric medications. Their intake should always be supervised by a mental health professional.
This article is merely informative, at 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.
If you want to read more articles similar to Procrustean syndrome: what it is, characteristics and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.
Bibliography
- Aguilera-Mancilla, G., Hernández-Sandoval, R.H., Rodríguez-Garza, B.N. (2020). Labor impact of the procrustean syndrome, in family businesses, state of Coahuila. VinculaTégica EFAN Magazine, 16 (1), 227-239.
- Young, P. (2018). Procrustean Syndrome in Medicine. Chilean Medicine Magazine, 146 (7), 942-946.
