Personality degradation - what is it, signs, causes

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Probably everyone has heard about someone: “This person has gone downhill, or degenerated.” And sometimes I happened to meet people on the street in dirty, shabby clothes, with signs of beatings. It's hard to look at them. Let's try to understand what personality degradation is and how you need to behave so as not to hear such words about yourself.

What is human degradation

Personality degradation is personal disintegration, regression of an individual’s development, a decrease in his activity and performance, and loss of previously acquired skills. A degenerate cannot achieve high results in the professional sphere or realize himself in one form or another of creative activity. Moral norms and principles cease to act as regulators of behavior in society for him. A decrease in concentration and ability to remember makes the degenerate weak-willed and careless. This creates the preconditions for the formation of various kinds of dependencies.

Psychological studies of degradation have shown that this is not only a person’s loss of acquired experience, but also a loss of desire to engage in self-development. With personal disintegration, a person loses the ability to rejoice, is indifferent to himself and his life, and becomes passive. His views and judgments are limited to everyday topics. He is characterized by inadequate reactions to what is happening, mental imbalance, and has problems with social adaptation. Biologically, such a person still lives, but the spiritual component of his personality is already dead.

In modern society, human degradation is a collective concept. This process is caused by the simultaneous pathological action of physiological and psychological mechanisms that disrupt the normal functioning of the individual. Social degradation of personality manifests itself in the form of:

non-acceptance of oneself and one’s individual characteristics;
refusal of law-abiding behavior, ignoring moral norms;
loss of contacts with society;
apathy, laziness;
infantilism, cowardice;
insanity, mental disorders, dementia.

Signs of personality degradation

To be able to react in time and help your loved one, it is necessary to promptly notice any behavioral deviations.

Social degradation of the individual is revealed both in the external appearance of the human subject and in changes in his internal state. A degrading subject pays less attention to spoken words, his own appearance, neatness and neatness. His speech becomes more simplified, and his circle of contacts becomes limited. Patients avoid people who bring unnecessary trouble into their existence. The defining motto of a declining personality becomes the phrase “I want.” Detachment from relatives, family and other concerns gradually develops.

A person who has chosen the path of degradation does not want to think or care about others. He seems to fade and plunge into himself, moving away from his loved ones. Long before the complete destruction of personality, the first harbingers of approaching degradation appear. The range of hobbies narrows, mainly in general cultural terms: they do not attend concerts and theater performances, they stop reading and watching TV shows. They become characterized by frivolity, flat humor, frivolity, carelessness at the same time as capriciousness, inconstancy, dissatisfaction and grumbling. A declining individual turns into a familiar, annoying subject, whose judgments are characterized by superficiality and frivolity, and whose behavior is characterized by swagger, cynicism, a decrease in disgust and a sense of shame. Traits such as egocentrism, selfishness and deceit progress.

As symptoms escalate, intellectual impairment becomes more pronounced. The character of such a person is transformed. A declining individual becomes hot-tempered and irritable. A negative worldview, a prejudiced attitude towards everything that happens, anxiety and internal fear become the dominant features. In addition, the individual experiences a decrease in memory, narrowing of interests, and impoverishment of judgment. The ability to concentrate deteriorates sharply.

Signs of personality degradation are lack of will, carelessness and excessive complacency. The destruction of personality can be noticed with the naked eye by a sloppy appearance, stooped appearance, an indifferent look, and inappropriate behavior.

The famous psychologist A. Maslow argued that social degradation of personality is characterized by the following stages of progression:

- education of the psychology of the “pawn” - the phenomenon of “learned helplessness” (a person feels completely dependent on circumstances or other forces);

- the emergence of a lack of basic goods, when initial needs become dominant (food, survival, sexual satisfaction);

- the formation of a “pure” surrounding society (society is divided into good individuals and bad, “insiders” and “outsiders”), the social world for them becomes like black and white;

- the emergence of increased self-criticism - the so-called cult of “self-criticism” (the subject admits himself guilty even of actions that he did not commit);

- impoverishment of vocabulary (the subject uses elementary phrases in his own speech, it is difficult for him to describe something, the selection of adjectives is especially difficult, since they express human feelings and emotions);

- defense of “sacred bases” (the individual absolutely does not want to think about the fundamental prerequisites of the worldview, he has no doubts about his own “sublime foundations”, such a person is unable to look at them skeptically, that is, the person considers his own opinion to be the only correct one);

- emergence of various dependencies.

Below are twelve life aspects that neutralize the threat of personality degradation:

- reading, because it is the book that contains the age-old wisdom of people, which trains the “gray matter” and does not allow the brain to dry out;

- taking care of your appearance even in the most difficult periods of life;

- combating bad habits (excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, excessive incontinence in food, smoking marijuana - activities unworthy of a well-mannered, developed personality;

— faith in the best (saddened pessimists are the first candidates for degeneration);

- a feeling of love (you need to love your parents and other relatives, pets, partner, life), a loving person will never give up;

- stop worrying about trifles, you don’t need to suffer just because the world is unfair and people are unhappy, if the problem can be solved, then it doesn’t exist, and if there is no solution, then worry and anxiety still won’t help get rid of it;

- self-development (learning new things, watching educational videos, attending various trainings, reading, getting a second education - all this will not allow a person to give up);

— belief in inevitable retribution for bad deeds committed (most criminals commit offenses because of the conviction of their own exclusivity and, accordingly, impunity, both before a posthumous court and before the current legislation);

- following moral standards (lying, stealing, envy, gossiping, committing meanness and nasty things - destroys the personality);

- you should not abuse obscene language, since obscenities and obscene words destroy the soul;

- following the rules of decency (public scratching of the genitals, public picking of the nose, slurping, licking fingers or plates are considered signs of personal degradation);

— while the human subject is alive, you should not give up, because only after death nothing can be changed, so you need to fight under any, even the most insurmountable circumstances.

Symptoms and signs of human degradation

Signals about the beginning of regression in development appear long before the final degradation. The first signs of personal disintegration are:

loss of interest in reading fiction, watching TV shows and films, visiting the theater and concerts;
mental imbalance;
inability to accept someone else's point of view and admit one's mistakes;
familiarity, cheeky behavior;
grumpiness, irritability, short temper, aggressiveness;
neglect of personal hygiene rules;
egoism, egocentrism;
tendency to lie;
a person’s confidence that nothing depends on him in this life;
lack of interest in events in the country or region;
being in public places while intoxicated;
lack of disgust and shame;
the desire to satisfy only biological needs;
decrease in the intellectual potential of the individual;
memory impairment, decrease in active vocabulary;
difficulties in performing one's duties at work, professional insolvency.

If the initial signs of the development of personality degradation were ignored, then the situation rapidly worsens:

the character of a degenerate quickly deteriorates, it becomes very difficult to interact with him;
deviations in the intellectual sphere become irreversible;
situational and personal anxiety increases.

In addition to the general signs of personal destruction, psychologists classify symptoms of degradation into male and female.

Degradation in women

Signs of personality degradation in women are:

capriciousness, vulnerability, tearfulness;
refusal to maintain social contacts, tendency to loneliness;
indifference to one's appearance, sloppiness.

In the lives of women, the destruction of a personal construct happens less often - they are saved by maternal instinct.

Degradation in men

Social degradation of personality in men is associated with such characteristics of their behavior as:

learned helplessness;
excessive complacency;
a tendency towards cynicism;
division of the social environment into 2 polar camps (the degenerate considers those people who accompany him in drinking alcoholic beverages to be “his own”, good, and those who condemn his behavior as bad).

Signs of personality degradation in men become noticeable about a year after the onset of regression in development.

Signs of alcohol degradation

Experts in the field of psychologists believe that such a phenomenon as alcoholic degradation of a person should be considered separately. It is formed as a result of alcohol abuse, so its symptoms do not appear immediately, but 6–7 years after the onset of drinking. The main signs of personality degradation in alcoholism are:

difficulties in mastering new types of activities, a person cannot cope with his professional responsibilities;
incoherent speech dominated by verbs and pronouns;
cunning, resourcefulness, deceit;
stubbornness;
ataxia;
the appearance of withdrawal syndrome, somatic abnormalities;
decreased self-control and self-criticism;
loss of the ability to chart a path to achieve a goal;
irresponsibility towards loved ones;
instability of the emotional-volitional sphere;
touchiness, tearfulness;
rapid changes in mood, outbursts of anger;
self-confidence;
conflict;
rudeness, emotional coldness;
a tendency to criticize others and authorities against the backdrop of a lack of self-criticism;
lack of ability to adequately assess what is happening and establish cause-and-effect relationships;
misunderstanding the emotions of others;
moving away from real life into your inner world, where all thoughts come down to alcohol;
impaired coordination of movements, weakness of fine motor skills;
sleep disorders.

A decrease in the level of development of mental functions and intellectual abilities during alcohol degradation is irreversible. At the same time, the alcoholic is not aware of the pathological nature of degradation. Personality degradation due to alcoholism develops faster in men than in women.

How does personality degradation manifest itself?

The first signs of degradation appear long before the complete collapse of the personality. The range of interests of such people narrows, mainly in the general cultural aspect: they stop watching films, reading books, and attending concerts. They are characterized by frivolity, flat humor, carelessness along with capriciousness, discontent and grumbling. They become annoying and familiar. Their judgments are frivolous and superficial, and their behavior is characterized by swagger, a tendency toward cynicism, and a decreased sense of shame and disgust. Such qualities as selfishness, deceit, and egocentrism develop.

As the disease progresses, intellectual impairment increases. The character changes for the worse: the person becomes irritable and hot-tempered. Its main features are a negative worldview - an attitude towards all events with a negative prejudice, internal fear and anxiety. Memory deteriorates, interests narrow, and judgments and feelings become impoverished. It becomes difficult for a person to concentrate his attention on anything.

Another manifestation of personality degradation is lack of will, excessive complacency and carelessness. Carelessness and complete indifference to the surrounding world are observed in a severe form of degradation - insanity. Personality degradation also affects a person’s appearance. Characteristic changes in appearance are visible, one might say, to the naked eye: sloppiness, stooping, an indifferent look, inappropriate behavior. That’s what they say about such people – degenerate ones.

American psychologist Maslow identified several qualities inherent in people with personality degradation:

treating yourself as a pawn on which nothing depends either in public or in personal life;
the main thing in their life becomes the satisfaction of basic primary needs;
They divide the world into “us” and “strangers” and try to protect themselves from “strangers”;
they believe that their opinion is unshakable and is not subject to criticism and discussion;
their language is poor, they use elementary figures of speech. Their brains don't want to expend effort on verbal functions.

Stages of development of human degradation

In the modern world, it is generally accepted that human degradation goes through the following stages:

Disappointment in loved ones as a result of a conflict situation, giving rise to the desire to abstract from them. The person is so offended that he decides not to take their interests and needs into account and to be independent. Live for your own pleasure. Family and friendly ties lose value for him. He ignores moral principles and norms of behavior in society. If the conflict situation in relationships with loved ones is not resolved, then the person will continue to self-destruct. Traits such as cruelty, aggressiveness, irritability, and temper will become clearly visible in a person’s character. The individual can no longer admit his mistakes and forgive loved ones. Working to correct his character becomes unrealistic for him.
Spiritual disintegration of personality. A person experiences envy of more successful people, and his level of conflict increases. He has problems in interpersonal relationships with colleagues and superiors. He is rude, rude, uses profanity, and can offend someone. This is how the moral foundations of the individual are gradually destroyed. The result of this stage is the person's helplessness. He does not know how to solve his problems, considers himself a victim of circumstances, and blames other people for his failures.
Complete degradation. Dissatisfaction with interpersonal relationships and one’s own life leads to the formation of various addictions in an individual, and he develops a tendency towards debauchery. Friendships crumble because a person does not know how to forgive the mistakes of loved ones, ask for forgiveness and repent of his own rash actions. His character becomes unbalanced, and his performance rapidly declines. The individual loses the ability to adequately assess the situation and understand the emotional states of other people. If a person is not given help, the result of this stage is apathy, indifference to what is happening, and social passivity. Loss of sense of reality.
Marasmus. As a result of the rapid decline in cognitive interest and social activity, a person’s intellectual abilities weaken.

World of Psychology

Disintegration

Great encyclopedia of psychiatry. Zhmurov V.A.

Disintegration (Latin de(s) + integratio - restoration) is the loss or serious disruption of unity, coordination, coherence in the functioning of any system. For example, disintegration of thinking, behavior, personality. It may be transient and then replaced by reintegration, that is, complete or partial restoration of functions interrupted by the disease (Gurevich, 1949).

Dictionary of psychiatric terms. V.M. Bleikher, I.V. Crook

Disintegration (des + lat. integratio - restoration) [Gurevich M.O., 1949] is a disorder of integratively formed mental functions, their temporary decomposition into components, separately occurring mental processes, from which the function is composed through integration.

Disintegration is a consequence of disruption of connections in the brain (asynapsia). These changes may be permanent or reversible (see reintegration). It is observed in schizophrenia (disordered thinking, intrapsychic ataxia), exogenous-organic psychoses (states of amentia, etc.).

Dictionary of conflict specialist. Antsupov A.Ya., Shipilov A.I.

Disintegration (from Latin de – not + integratio – restoration, replenishment) is a significant weakening of the relationships between the elements of the system, creating conditions for its subsequent possible collapse. Conflict almost always represents a conflict between relationships, existing connections, and traditions. Social disintegration, as well as excessive centralization of relationships in society, creates conditions for conflicts between different social groups.

Positive disintegration is a weakening or even collapse of the individual’s primary mental structure during periods of maturation, during neuroses, psychoneuroses, in external and, most importantly, internal conflicts. Positive disintegration is a factor contributing to accelerated mental and creative development. An important point of D. p. is positive inadaptability, i.e. inability to adapt to reality, which is creative in nature, reflecting the independence of development.

The concept of positive disintegration was developed by K. Dombrowski within the framework of his theory of personal development, which is based on the idea of a person as a subject capable of continuous development, moreover, “sentenced” to development. In the process of continuous development, a person goes through a number of phases (biological) and levels (socio-psychological); This process takes place on the “territory” of the internal mental environment, which is defined as “a system of internal tendencies and dynamisms of the individual, one or multi-level, hierarchical or equivalent, harmonious or contradictory.” The concept of the hierarchy of internal values and determination are important in the theory of dynamic behavior. In the process of personal development, the individual overcomes his biopsychic predicament, his psychological type, and reaches the level of personality.

According to the theory of D.P., personality is not a state, it is a process that is never completed, and the fact that an individual takes the path of development of his personality can be said only after he (as a result of D.P.) a number of irreversible mental processes of moral meaning took place.

Causes of degradation

Such a phenomenon as the degradation of a person’s personality can be caused by various reasons. This:

alcoholism and drug addiction;
gambling addiction;
genetic predisposition, low level of spirituality and culture in the parent-child family;
a series of life failures;
deviant behavior;
apathy, a person’s reluctance to make fateful decisions;
low self-esteem. Lack of self-confidence and strength;
lack of willpower in a person;
psychological trauma;
death of a loved one, tragic event in life;
oppressive feeling of guilt, self-hatred;
personal complexes, feelings of inferiority;
lack of life purpose;
procrastination;
refusal of self-expression and creativity;
rare visits to cultural events;
weak motivation for activity;
depression, feeling of one's own uselessness for society;
mental illness, neurotic disorders;
epilepsy;
traumatic brain injury;
acute lack of attention and love;
loss of a favorite job;
age-related changes in the structure of brain tissue;
termination of employment and retirement;
reduction of intellectual load, lack of new information;
lonely lifestyle, forced social isolation.

Forms and causes of personality destruction

It is noticeable to a person’s surroundings more than to himself.
Degradation is visible in the behavior and appearance of the individual. A person stops taking care of himself, his speech becomes scarce, his circle of communication and interests narrows, and emotional incontinence appears in combination with selfishness and indifference to the feelings and opinions of loved ones. Degradation can be expressed in the form of:

frivolity, carelessness, irresponsibility;
infantility, lack of will, cowardice, chronic laziness;
indifference to society, loss of connections with the outside world;
neglect of social requirements, rules of behavior, morality and ethics;
addictions (alcohol, drugs, gaming and others);
unlawful behavior (misdemeanors and crimes);
dementia, insanity, mental illness.

It becomes clear what degradation is, and why it is not uncommon in our time, when understanding the reasons for its occurrence. The reasons are closely related to the forms of degradation:

When life seems meaningless to a person, he neglects it. Apathy, boredom, laziness, and lack of initiative appear.
A person who does not know how to set and achieve goals, has no aspirations and desires, is passive and pessimistic. If there is a choice to act or not act, he chooses the second: why do something if you can relax?
Working on oneself - everyday work, personality degradation - is a consequence of a stop in development, a refusal of self-realization.

Loneliness, depression, grief, psychological trauma, guilt and similar suffering can become causes of personality degradation:

In depression, a person does not accept life and himself in it, and engages in psychological “suicide.”
When a person is lonely and no one needs him, his strongest need is not satisfied - the need for love and belonging. A person does not understand why, for what, for whom, to try to be better and develop.
Guilt pushes a person to realize his insignificance, gives rise to self-hatred and many other negative experiences that “corrode” the psyche.
Feelings of powerlessness, self-doubt, and low self-esteem can also be causes of personality regression.
Alcoholism, drug addiction and all other types of deviant behavior are both forms and causes of degradation.

The personality degradation of an elderly person is often caused by age-related features and age-related changes in the structure of the brain; retirement, deprivation of the opportunity to work and be an active member of society.

Is it possible to avoid degradation

It is worth noting that degradation does not affect all people. This condition can be avoided if you make daily efforts: take care of your appearance, strive to become better, give up bad habits, read books.

Psychologists have proven that a reliable defense against personality degradation for any person is such a simple action as communicating with friends. Discussing with loved ones a book you have read or a movie you have watched supports a person’s ability to cogently express his opinion and accept the point of view of his interlocutor.

Personal disintegration will never happen to a person who has a goal. If a person, even in old age, is engaged in self-development and realizes himself in creativity, they will never say about him that he is being destroyed as a person.

Methods to combat personality destruction

There are different ways to deal with personality decay. At the initial stages, degradation can be stopped if a person, after listening to the reproaches of loved ones, makes efforts to return to a full life. To do this, it is enough to be interested in events in the world and maintain friendly connections.

Personal growth is facilitated by the development of new activities and creativity. You can enrich your social and spiritual experience through new acquaintances, attending communication trainings, and cultural and entertainment events.

In the later stages of degradation, one cannot do without the help of a psychologist.

To choose a way to combat degradation, the psychologist establishes its cause. We can talk about a favorable prognosis if the client manages to find the meaning of life, set an achievable goal, and feel his importance to society.

Effective means for personality degradation are hypnosis, art therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and group psychological training for personal growth.

If personal disintegration is combined with dependent behavior, the psychologist refers the client to a psychiatrist. The doctor collects anamnesis and prescribes drug therapy. In some cases, the patient is recommended to be hospitalized.

Relatives and friends of the degenerate should remember that in order to recover he needs their support. Even in the case of alcohol degradation, the pathological process can be stopped provided that the individual completely abstains from alcoholic beverages.

I recommend to my clients, who feel that life has lost all meaning, to mentally return to their childhood: to remember what they dreamed of, what they wanted to become? Think about whether their parents would like to see them unhappy?

For many of them, memories of childhood become the very resource that makes them move forward, realize their dreams, change their profession and place of residence, and master new activities.