Ataraxia has its origin in philosophy. Different philosophical schools promoted the idea of working on the capacity that nothing affects us. It refers to the ability to remain calm in different potentially painful situations, without getting upset or disturbed.
Sometimes, the inability to feel certain emotions is due to a brain injury, that is, it would no longer be a objective to be achieved, but a permanent disability that can cause damage to our work, social and family. In this Psychology-Online article, we tell you what is ataraxia in psychology with examples of how it can manifest.
Index
- What is ataraxia
- Lack of initiative
- Lack of intense emotions
- Lack of empathy
- Lack of limits
- Lack of frustration
- Apathy
What is ataraxia.
The meaning of ataraxia in psychology refers to the ability to remain calm in adverse situations and control your own emotions. Its main purpose is to learn not to be controlled by these emotions.
This state may not be sought voluntarily, as it is sometimes due to a
Lack of initiative.
Lack of initiative is a fairly common trait of people with ataraxia. They simply go with the flow, without considering changing course. As we said, they have damage in the prefrontal area of their brain, which causes them to have this inability to make decisions.
In addition, because nothing produces any specific emotion, they are not able to make any decisions to change a situation. For example, if they had a very stressful job, they would not be able to perceive this stress and how this stress harms their physical health or in their family and social environment. In this context, they would not make the decision to seek another less stressful job.
In this article, we show you what it is The process of decision making.
Lack of intense emotions.
Another example of ataraxia is the lack of intense emotions. Regardless of what happens around the person suffering from ataraxia, they do not react in an intense way. He does not have strong outbursts of anger, anxiety, sadness or joy, but his emotions are much less intense. Therefore, it seems that they always have a more neutral emotional state.
On many occasions, this causes people around you to see you as insensitive or disinterested in a certain situation such as. For example, before the birth of a baby or after the death of someone. Discover what is emotion in psychology.
Lack of empathy.
Due to their inability to feel emotions, it is quite common for people with ataraxia they don't understand how others feel. Consequently, this makes them feel guilty when they have hurt someone.
They may ask for forgiveness but this will surely be for following social protocol and not because they really feel bad and understand the feelings of the other person. In the same way, they are not a good emotional support, since it is very difficult for them to understand the suffering of others. Know the traits of a person who has little empathy.
Lack of limits.
Without a doubt, the lack of limits is an example of ataraxia. Due to the above, on many occasions they have a lack of understanding about where the limits should be when speaking or behaving. They can become too direct when it comes to speaking or say what they think without a filter. In this article, you will find more information about setting limits in personal relationships.
Lack of frustration.
Although it is necessary to have a certain tolerance for frustration and not fall apart when we do not get what we want, people with ataraxia have a zero frustration level. When your goals are disturbed, it doesn't seem to affect them in any way.
For example, faced with a failure in an exam or before being fired from a job, people with ataraxia would not be really affected.
Apathy.
Another example of ataraxia in psychology is the apathy. Lack of feelings leads to a lack of motivation. By not being able to enjoy any activity or any person, the person suffering from ataraxia ends up not feeling motivated no energy to start any activity. This relates to the reward circuits. If doing an activity does not raise dopamine, and there are no pleasant sensations, simply over time the person lose interest.
On the other hand, not having the ability to feel stress, they do not feel that pressure, sometimes so necessary, to study more for an exam or to increase the pace at work and finish the work on time. For this and other reasons, it is quite common for people with ataraxia to have serious problems in their day-to-day life.
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.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is ataraxia in psychology, we recommend that you enter our category of Emotions.
Bibliography
- Altarejos, F. (2004). Self-regulation and integration: two proposals in the education of affectivity (D. Goleman and Thomas Aquinas). Education Studies, 7, 45-66.
- García Sedeño, M. TO. (2016). Emotions as a component of human rationality.
- González laGier, D. (2020). Emotions without sentimentality. Emotions and court decisions, 04-23.
- Jiménez, M. AND. G. (2017). 1. CONCEPT OF EMOTION. HISTORICAL TOUR. Emotional Well-Being in Education: Let's Start with the Teachers, 81.
- Pinzón Gaitán, M. C., & Escobar Hernández, J. P. (2020). Ataraxia - Find a place of peace through your senses.
