Degradation process. Social degradation

Good day, dear readers. Today we will talk about what the problem of personality degradation is. You will learn the essence of this concept. Find out what are the reasons for the development of degradation. You will become aware of the characteristic manifestations. You will learn how to deal with this condition and what to do to prevent its development.

Definition

Personality degradation is a certain state of the psyche of a person who does not have the opportunity to realize himself creatively, professionally and socially. In the initial stages, the individual loses balance, after which his performance begins to suffer, and activity decreases significantly.

If a person becomes increasingly irritable, she has serious difficulties in concentrating on one object or task, and cannot remember information - degradation begins to develop. Along with it, such traits as weak-willedness, carelessness are formed, and certain dependencies develop.

Marasmus is a particularly complex case of degeneration, a condition of the intellect also called dementia. The problem is that today this condition develops not only in old people, but also in mature people, regardless of their occupation or material wealth.

Three types of this condition can be considered.

Social degradation is typical for people who drink alcohol or take drugs. They completely lose social contacts, but continue to communicate with their own kind.
Physical degradation. A person loses the desire to improve his body, there is no understanding that physical health also affects the psyche. A person with poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, and bad habits ruins his body and health and degrades. A person who cares about his well-being and devotes time to sports does not have this condition.
Spiritual degradation of a person begins to develop when a person lacks compassion, sincerity, intelligence and love for himself and his neighbors.

Possible reasons

Factors that can provoke degradation:

age - older people are more susceptible;
hereditary predisposition;
experienced shock, severe grief;
low self-esteem;
psychical deviations;
loneliness;
drug use, alcoholism;
stupidity, own weakness;
cruelty.

Characteristic symptoms

The first signs indicating degradation are inattention, grumpiness and selfishness.

Psychologist Maslow identified the main qualities that characterize a degraded personality:

presence of helplessness;
a person believes that nothing in life depends on his actions, he is only a pawn;
no goals, no aspirations;
basic needs for sleep, food, survival and physical comfort are maintained;
in rare cases, a person feels shame for his actions;
he divides all people into those close to him and considers them good, and into strangers who are definitely bad;
I am sure that only his opinion is correct;
in colloquial speech there are few adjectives responsible for the emotional sphere and fantasy;
does not enter into dialogues, as he considers it a useless exercise.

Alcohol degradation is quite common and destroys a person’s personality. Its characteristic symptoms include:

emotional instability;
strong touchiness;
angry outbursts followed by feelings of guilt;
tearfulness;
inability to realistically assess emerging difficulties.

Any degradation can develop sequentially:

the appearance deteriorates significantly, the person stops taking care of himself and does not maintain hygiene;
certain dependencies arise;
interest in life is gradually lost;
principles of morality are erased;
common sense is lost and base instincts take its place;
social contacts disappear;
the awareness of what is decent and what is not disappears.

Degradation in alcoholism

At first, a person only tries an alcoholic drink, choosing the one that he likes best. Then he starts drinking for some reason, then for no reason or invents funny reasons. Over time, addiction develops, a chronic illness.

Degradation of this type is characterized by the following manifestations, which appear gradually:

self-control gradually decreases;
somatic dysfunctions progress;
irritability and aggressiveness increases;
thinking becomes superficial;
there is no understanding of actions;
movements become imprecise;
there is a loss of social contacts, ataxia and personality destruction.

Separately, it is worth considering the behavioral characteristics of a person with alcohol degradation.

An alcoholic is not capable of intellectual activity or self-criticism, and his memory deteriorates significantly.
For all his troubles, he blames his surroundings or circumstances, but not himself.
A person with alcohol addiction becomes too self-confident, rude, soulless, cynical, and lacks responsiveness. He is characterized by restless sleep.
All the individual’s thoughts are focused only on alcohol, nothing else interests him.
Responsibility to society, to loved ones, to children gradually weakens, and over time completely disappears. Feelings of guilt and shame disappear.
Such a person cannot learn new types of activities; over time, such a person is fired from work.
The person does not understand how low she is falling.

Alcohol destroys the individual and destroys the family. A person who drinks alcohol causes inconvenience to relatives, neighbors, and makes loved ones suffer.

Fighting methods

A person with degradation must realize his problem and try to change something in his life, change his attitude towards himself, change his priorities, attitudes, and worldview.

Therapy should be aimed at eliminating the consequences caused by personality degradation. Psychological assistance is mandatory, and the support of relatives is also important.

In addition to working on yourself, psychotherapy can be represented by:

group therapy;
cognitive behavioral therapy.

If this condition is a consequence of mental disorders affecting the brain, in particular the development of senile insanity, then the patient may be prescribed special drugs that maintain degradation at a certain level; atrophy is an irreversible process.

How to prevent development

It is within the power of man to prevent this disease. The main thing is to put in some effort.

You need to read a lot. Literature helps you gain wisdom, and reading allows you to train your brain and keep it in good shape.
It is important to eradicate bad habits and not give in to temptations.
Love yourself and your loved ones. Show concern for them.
Take care of your appearance and appearance.
Don't take everything that happens in the world to heart.
Do not use profanity.
No matter how difficult it is, don’t give up, you can overcome everything and achieve success.
Look into the future with a positive attitude and find something good in any situation.
Engage in self-development, find a hobby you like.
Remember the moral standards and adhere to them.
Don't forget about the rules of decency.
Remember that bad deeds are always punishable.

Now you know what personality degradation is. You need to understand that such a person cannot exist normally; with her behavior she harms other people. Remember what you need to do to prevent or delay the development of degradation, do not be lazy to engage in self-development, read books, treat the problems of others with compassion, and provide support to people.

Personality degradation is a process caused by the reverse development of the psyche. Gradually, a person loses his former judgments, hobbies, motivation, his social activity, mental balance and performance decrease. A person loses his individuality and characteristic character traits. There is impoverishment not only in the social, but also in the creative sphere. In advanced cases, the quality of judgment, talents and activity decreases.

What is personality degradation

Personality degradation is a serious mental condition. A person susceptible to this disorder loses all his capabilities. This refers to the professional, creative and social components. The individual experiences a loss of balance in the first stages, then performance suffers and the final stage is loss of activity.

If a person has become more irritable, it is difficult for him to concentrate on one thing and remember new information, and the meaning of past judgments loses all meaning, this indicates impending degradation. As a result of the ongoing changes, the development of opposite traits is observed: carelessness, lack of will, dependence.

Insanity is a severe case of degradation. It clearly demonstrates the complexity of the disorder. Marasmus is a pathological condition of the intellect called dementia. The person stops maintaining contact with others and leads a carefree life.

In the modern world, signs of personality degradation are observed not only in the older generation, but also in people of mature age. The disorder occurs with equal frequency in representatives of all social classes. This is the main danger of the condition.

Senile insanity is a progressive disease. It is caused by an irreversible mental disorder - brain atrophy and changes in the structure of blood vessels.

Abraham Maslow's theory

The American psychologist and creator of humanistic psychology identified the main qualities of a degraded personality:

The patient experiences “learned helplessness.” He believes that nothing depends on him in this life, he is only a pawn in the game of external forces.
The patient has no goals and aspirations. Only basic needs remain: food, sleep, physical comfort, survival.
Sometimes the patient feels ashamed of himself.
Society is divided into two categories: close people are good, strangers are bad.
Your own opinion is considered the only correct one and is not subject to discussion. Dialogues seem to the patient to be a useless waste of energy.
The patient's speech is poor in adjectives that are responsible for the sphere of emotions and fantasy.

Symptoms of the disease

The first signs of disorder are grumpiness, inattention, and selfishness. If you suspect degradation in yourself or others, you need to check your heredity. If a close relative or parent has been exposed to the disorder, the risk of developing the disorder increases.

Alcohol degradation is widespread. Addiction completely destroys personality. Symptoms appear immediately:

Touchiness.
Emotional instability.
Tearfulness.
Outbursts of anger.
Anger that gives way to guilt.
Lack of real assessment of life's difficulties.

The development of the disease follows a certain sequence:

Appearance suffers. The desire to take care of yourself and perform basic procedures disappears: cutting nails and hair, maintaining hygiene, changing clothes.
Addictions appear: drug addiction, gambling addiction, alcoholism.
Interest in life gradually fades away.
Moral principles lose their meaning for the individual.
Base instincts take precedence over common sense.
All social contacts and place in society are lost. There is no desire to find yourself.
The understanding of the difference between decent and indecent is lost.

Society has important role for the formation and development of the individual. The people with whom an individual surrounds himself in life significantly slow down or accelerate his progress towards his goals.

Causes

There are many reasons that can provoke the development of the disease. This factor is different for each person. It is believed that a person begins to degrade when spiritual guidelines and the desire to develop are lost. Without receiving new information, the brain atrophies and starts self-destruction mode. Loss of faith in yourself and your strengths provokes a decrease in interest in the surrounding reality and events in the world.

One of the most serious reasons contributing to the development of the disorder is the loss of a loved one or a tragic life situation. The loss of loved ones and a series of failures can significantly shake the psyche of any individual. Without proper support and help, many may not cope. Often victims resort to drinking alcohol. Alcohol is not always the only cause of the disorder, but can act as its consequence. The condition is aggravated by manic-depressive psychosis - in this case, the help of a specialist is required.

Lonely people are more susceptible to developing the disease, including those who were previously strong and independent.

Regression of personal development is especially characteristic of the older generation. In the absence of various events during retirement, a person’s condition worsens. If self-realization at work was the only important goal for many years, rest in old age is associated with the loss of life values. To maintain intelligence, you need to lead an active lifestyle, have interests and hobbies. This is important at any age.

Lately do you feel like you've become really stupid? We invite you to familiarize yourself with the main signs of degradation and determine whether your fears are justified.

This is how a person is designed - he must constantly develop and strive for new heights: personal, spiritual, intellectual and social. As soon as we stop developing, our brain turns on a program... no, not self-destruction, but degradation. Of course, it’s nice to lie on the couch all day long, looking at the ceiling, but degradation is too high a price to pay for idleness!
Note that from time to time we still need some kind of unloading. Lounging on the beach for a month, sleeping for a week and not reading any smart literature is useful if you have experienced a lot of stress or are tired to the point of exhaustion. But such rest should be alternated with vigorous activity.

Signs of personality degradation

American psychologist Maslow identified several qualities inherent in people with personality degradation:
- Treating yourself like a cog. When a person believes that nothing depends on him, that he is just a pawn who cannot change anything: neither in his life, nor in the life of society.
- Minimum wishes. All actions come down to satisfying purely physiological needs - to eat, sleep, relieve sexual hunger. Such people go to work only for money, and meet people of the opposite sex only for sex.
- Black and white world. The environment for such people is divided into “us” and “strangers”. These people try in every possible way to protect themselves from “strangers”; they have a very narrow circle of friends.
- Categorical. A degrading personality considers his opinion to be the only correct one and considers disputes and discussions an unnecessary waste of time.

Poverty of vocabulary. A person uses only elementary speech patterns, it is difficult for him to find words to describe something, it is especially difficult to find adjectives - it is this part of speech that expresses our emotions and feelings. In general, such people try not to speak; they do not want to spend extra effort on verbal functions.
- Dependencies. Alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction are very clear signs of degradation. It is difficult to say whether they are the cause or consequence of degradation, but the fact remains: if a person has an addiction, there is a great risk that he will degrade.

How not to degrade?

The advice, on the one hand, is very simple, but on the other, difficult to implement. Especially if you're not used to putting in effort. However, it's worth pushing yourself!
- Read! This is universal advice to everyone who does not want to sink intellectually. Read not only fiction, but also books from an area in which you have never been interested. This prevents our brain from becoming “hardened”.
- Take care of yourself! Yes, taking care of your appearance is not a whim, but one of the elements of self-respect. Make sure you look aesthetically pleasing.
- Reason. Try not to take statements for granted. Argue, debate, defend your point of view - and be able to change it if your opponent’s arguments are convincing.
- Be moral. The norms of society were invented for a reason; they contain a deep meaning. Therefore, the postulates that you cannot lie, steal, fornicate, and so on help you integrate into society. And do not become corrupted spiritually.
- Think high. What is the meaning of your life? What is your purpose? What are you striving for and what is valuable to you? Think about such things from time to time; it is even more useful to look for answers to your questions in spiritual practices.
- Be creative. Creativity is the most effective way for self-development and self-realization. It doesn’t matter in what area you manifest it, it will not let you degrade. Look for new ways to solve standard problems, be creative at home and at work.
- Meet me. Expand your social circle, try to meet and make friends with people who are doing something unfamiliar to you.

Degradation is the process of deterioration of the characteristics of any object or phenomenon over time, a gradual decrease in quality, decline, destruction of matter due to external influences according to the laws of nature and time.

There is environmental, telecommunication, biogender, chemical degradation, degradation of the individual, society, and culture.

The phenomenon of personality degradation is studied in psychology. This is a pressing problem, closely related to the degradation of society as a whole.

As a psychological phenomenon, personality degradation includes the following processes:

narrowing of intellectual abilities,
deterioration of mental activity, ability to think critically,
decreased quality of mental processes and functions (problems with attention, perception, memory, speech),
decrease in social and physical activity,
loss of ability to work,
loss of acquired abilities and skills,
lack of manifestation of positive personality traits and qualities,
the emergence of negative personality traits and qualities,
impoverishment of the sphere of feelings and emotions, deterioration in the ability to understand others and communicate.

Thus, personality degradation is the process of destruction of its structure, qualities and properties.

People say about a degraded person that he “sank down,” “lost his human appearance,” “disappeared,” and “took a step back in development.” Such definitions succinctly characterize the process of personality degradation.

Forms and causes of personality destruction

Personality degradation is the opposite process of its growth and development, the opposite of progress.

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 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.

Reversibility of degradation and its prevention

To prevent the process of personality destruction, you need to engage in self-education, self-development, and self-affirmation. This is sometimes difficult, but interesting everyday work.

No matter how difficult it is to overcome shortcomings, it is easier than reversing the process of “fading” of the personality. Those people who managed to do this deserve great respect. You should not be shy to ask for help and support from loved ones and turn to professional psychologists.

When a person copes with grief and suffering, does not forget about humanity in inhumane conditions and in other similar difficult situations, he fights for the right to be himself, for his “I”, for the integrity and harmony of the individual and for the right to be a happy person. He chooses the path of development, not decline, life in every sense of the word, and not social death.

Personal degradation must, at a minimum, be stopped. You need to recognize it as a problem in time and stop it by eliminating the causes, adjusting behavior, and changing your worldview.

You need to be able to accept life as it is in cases where it is impossible to change it; in all other cases, a person is the creator of his own history and happiness.

Getting rid of degradation

The following can help you regain your sense of the value of life, increase your self-confidence, learn to set and achieve goals, regain your desire to develop, and grow above yourself:

Cultural development

We can talk endlessly about the benefits of cultural development. Culture and art are a source of wisdom. There are many works that tell about the formation and development of personality.

The main characters of books and films often have to face and successfully overcome significant life difficulties, perform feats, and change for the better as a result of working on themselves. There are many such outstanding people. A relative or ancestor can be a role model.

Love and altruism

When a person helps others, cares about them as about himself, does good deeds, makes selfless friends, he gets pleasure and joy from this, self-esteem grows, confidence in his abilities, in his value and importance for people increases.

Love is a healing, life-affirming feeling. It gives a feeling of fullness of life, fills it with meaning. True, non-judgmental and selfless love gives happiness.

Active life position and work

You need to love life, live actively, work, work for the benefit of society, strive to make the world a better place, benefit those around you, loved ones, help yourself become a Human.
All of the above at the same time and the prevention of personality degradation can stop its progression.

Each person is given the opportunity to become a holistic and harmonious person. To take advantage of it or miss this only chance is the choice of every person.

The process of evolution is known to everyone: these are changes that occur in living organisms and lead them to more advanced forms of existence. Degradation is the reverse process of evolution - regression, in which important properties and qualities of something or someone are lost. This can be attributed not only to biological processes, but also to the moral side of life.

The modern world has not escaped an ever-present problem - the degradation of the human personality. It manifests itself in a person’s loss of the ability to make responsible decisions, logically organize their thoughts, and determine cause-and-effect relationships. The ability to memorize new information and the ability to concentrate when necessary are lost. All this can lead to irreversible consequences in the human psyche.

A person undergoes destructive changes, and this is manifested by certain symptoms.

Signs of degradation

The signs of a degrading person can be divided according to the form of manifestation into external and internal.

External manifestations of degradation serve as an alarm bell and are immediately noticeable, unlike internal ones.

External signs:

Internal signs:

decreased interest in learning in any form;
memory impairment;
short-sightedness of judgment and actions;
excessive good nature or anger, aggressiveness;
excessive and unjustified irritability;
rejection of the world, perceiving it exclusively from the negative side;
lack of motivation to change the current situation for the better;
lack of will in controversial situations;
increased anxiety;
dullness of feelings;
misplaced cynicism;
lack of performance, lack of interest in activities;
hypertrophied egoism.

Causes of personality destruction

It is important to understand what served as the catalyst for the collapse of personality. If you eliminate the root cause and understand the provoking factors, it will be easier to deal with the consequences of this process, and the chances of returning a person to a full life will increase.

The impetus for social degradation of the individual can be weakening of public relations which occurs in cases such as:

Age-related degradation

In some cases, with age, the blood supply to the brain deteriorates, which entails its partial dysfunction. This is due to the fact that capillaries and blood vessels lose their elasticity.

The disease progresses gradually: short-term memory gradually deteriorates, a person ceases to navigate both time and space, irritability and excessive anxiety appear. Age-related degradation occurs: dementia develops - senile dementia, in which a person is no longer able to monitor his speech, actions, and emotions. He cannot take proper care of himself.

Alcohol as a provoking factor

Alcohol addiction is becoming the scourge of society, which provokes rapid disintegration of the individual in working age and deprives society of its full-fledged member. Not enough attention is paid to what scientists and doctors have been saying for a long time: even a small amount of alcohol is deadly to brain cells.

The whole danger of degradation in alcoholism lies in the fact that a person cannot fully give himself a full account of what is happening to him, to understand that he is losing his own “I”.

With frequent or constant consumption of alcoholic beverages, after about 5-6 years, alcohol dependence or alcoholism occurs, which leads a person to mental and social degradation.

Personality degradation in alcoholism occurs in three stages.

First stage

First formed dependence on a psychological level. A person is looking for ways to relieve stress, an opportunity to “relax.” But the insidiousness of alcohol is not taken into account: the volume of alcohol consumed is not controlled, and over time, a person is not so responsible about the quality of alcohol-containing drinks consumed.

Priorities change, a person loses interest in self-education and development. If you switch a person’s attention in time to factors that stimulate a positive goal, you can stop alcohol degradation, prevent its further development and, after rehabilitation, return the person to a full life.

Alcohol addiction

Physically, a person becomes dependent on alcohol, which has become a “natural” need of the alcoholic’s body, as valid as the need for food and sleep.

Without drinking alcohol, a person becomes aggressive and uncontrollable. He loses professional skills, copes much worse with both the physical and mental tasks assigned to him, loses the ability to highlight key information, concentrate attention, and quickly respond to what is happening. As a result, the risk of work-related and domestic injuries increases.

A person's range of interests is narrowing to ways to get alcohol. The sense of shame is lost, the ability to feel guilty for unseemly acts committed, one’s behavior, deceit and hypocrisy appear. Because of this, disharmony arises in family relationships.

An alcoholic is vulnerable; it seems to him that others are unfair to him. In some forms of alcohol addiction, a person suffers from low self-esteem.

Complete degradation

Alcohol degradation reaches its highest point: complete disability, social alienation, self-absorption sets in. A person does not come out of a state of intoxication for a long period of time, called a binge. His brain loses many of its functions, which affects the ability to think rationally, remember information, and objectively perceive reality. Speech is simplified to template phrases. A person suffers from mental and neurotic diseases, but is often unable to recognize his pathological dependence. Many internal organs undergo irreversible changes.

Without the help of doctors - a therapist, a narcologist and a psychotherapist - treatment of alcohol degradation personality will be ineffective.

Prevention of social destruction of personality

How to help a loved one, and sometimes yourself, stop personality degradation:

Alcoholic personality degradation requires a special approach. You should be patient and be mentally prepared for the fact that a person will not be able to adequately respond to your measures for his social and physical rehabilitation.

First of all, an alcoholic should be completely fenced off from the slightest possibility of drinking alcohol, and this will only be possible if he is placed in a specialized institution. Do not forget that the degradation of an alcoholic is a disease that requires not folk remedies and practices, but serious treatment.

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