Fanaticism - what is it, how to get rid of fanaticism?

Fanaticism is a terrible disaster both for society as a whole and for the individual. A fanatic invariably appears before us as a mentally ill person who is incapable of taking responsibility for his actions. And these actions can be disastrous for our entire planet or its individual parts, as soon as a fanatic is allowed to power.

What is fanaticism

Fanaticism

– this is blind adherence to any beliefs with the obligatory imposition of these beliefs on others; radical adherence to any ideas, usually accompanied by intolerance towards all other ideas and their bearers. Fanaticism is also a serious mental illness, expressed as a lack of critical perception of one's beliefs.

Most often, fanaticism is talked about in a religious context; fanatics are slightly less common in the political, social and national spheres. This has its own explanation. The term comes from the Latin word "fanum", which means "temple" or "sacred place" in general. In ancient times, religion had the highest authority, and any strong power rested solely on religious fear. In some parts of the world this is still common; Thus, in African countries, presidents and dictators are seriously considered gods or have a direct connection with deities and spirits; their portraits are hung in Catholic churches as icons.

You can often hear about fanatics in other areas: in sports, music, in art in general; It is quite possible to call adherents of youth subcultures fanatics. However, people begin to talk seriously about fanaticism in this context only when such sentiments develop into a threat. Thus, football fans start fights with each other, beat up random passers-by, break glass in buildings, break seats in the stadium, etc. Representatives of youth movements also organize armed clashes with each other, and in order to buy a ticket to the concert of their beloved groups, a person commits theft or sells off family property.

Thus, the term "fanaticism" usually has a clear negative connotation. However, sometimes they talk about fanatical behavior without a negative context: for example, a teacher or doctor can be fanatically devoted to his work and sacrifice other interests and benefits of life for it (for example, he does not have a family or children, since this will interfere with his work) .

Sports fanaticism

A sports fanatic is a person who is generally accepted by society. An army of football fans comes to other cities and countries to support their favorite team. Matches end peacefully or with fights started by fans. In modern society, such behavior is considered a fan movement, a subculture, or part of a sports game. You can distinguish a fan from an ordinary fan by the following characteristics:

  1. Abuse of beer and other alcoholic drinks.
  2. Taking doping (soft drugs, pills, energy drinks).
  3. Permissiveness in words and actions during competitions and after their completion.

Psychology of fanaticism: signs and causes

Fanatic behavior has characteristics that distinguish a fanatic from an ordinary fan

:

  • Fanaticism involves a violation of existing social norms, while the behavior of a fan does not violate such norms.
  • Fanatics tend to idealize the object of their worship, while an admirer adheres to a certain framework of veneration and is able to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of his object of adoration.
  • American philosopher George Santayana noted that fanaticism manifests itself in increased effort while “the goal is forgotten.” Fanatics are often unable to enjoy their activities; they are preoccupied with the idea of ​​serving their idol, even to the point of self-sacrifice. For a fan, any hobby is just a means to achieve a certain goal, and it necessarily brings him pleasure.

The activities and hobbies of fans are usually harmless, while fanatics are often carried away by socially dangerous ideas that lead to destruction. Meanwhile, the behavior of fans often seems quite strange to others; their activities do not coincide with the interests of “normal” people, which is why fans have a reputation for being eccentric. But the object of worship of fanatics is often perceived as “normal” in the eyes of others, and only the degree of passion is considered “abnormal.” For example, a fan may be engrossed in watching anime, something he does around the clock until he grows old—an obvious eccentricity, in the eyes of “normal” people. And another person may believe in God to the point of frenzy - this is a “normal” type of behavior, despite the fact that this person goes to kill everyone who does not believe in God.

What causes fanaticism? It is believed that its origins lie in total control and dictatorship. This is not necessarily a state regime: for example, upbringing in a family can be dictatorial.

Also, fanatical behavior is characteristic of some personality types

:

  • Unconfident;
  • Feeling the need to submit to someone;
  • Having difficulties in self-realization;
  • Not trusting others and oneself;
  • Uneducated, believing in myths, prejudices, experiencing irrational fear;
  • “Empty”, that is, not having their own ideals, ideas, tastes, etc.

Schizophrenics, patients with schizotypal disorders, as well as schizoid, hysterical and “stuck” personality types also become fanatics.

It is noted that fanaticism is formed in childhood as a result of authoritarian, dictatorial upbringing, excessive demands on the part of the parents of other adults. The child feels downtrodden, unwanted, weak and helpless, and this is a direct path to the development of fanaticism.

Fanatical behavior can develop in adulthood if a person has been the object of someone’s manipulation since childhood. This is often typical for large groups of people. Mass fanaticism arises, which is much more dangerous than individual fanaticism. Crowds of wild fans of some “chimera,” led by a charismatic leader, organize mass pogroms and murders, plunder and destroy cities, and start monstrous fires. Mass suicides committed by a frenzied crowd of believers are also known in history.

Why is fanaticism dangerous?

Fanaticism is a destructive commitment to something. It deprives personal freedom, development and self-realization. But that's half the problem. The second part of the danger lies in the inability of the fanatic to accept another point of view, to generally recognize the very fact of the coexistence of alternative ideas. The result of non-acceptance of other ideas is hostility, war, violence, discrimination.

The fanatic's aggression is a defensive response. The fact is that he perceives any alternative opinion as a threat and attacks from others.

Anything can become a reason for conflict between a fanatic and another person: a skirt instead of trousers, long hair, jewelry, going to clubs. For any little thing that seems oppositional, a fan is ready to be torn to pieces. However, positive emotions are just as pronounced. Thus, a crowd of fanatics is capable of literally tearing their leader (idol) into pieces.

Forms of fanaticism

Fanatical behavior can manifest itself in different types and forms, although there is no formal classification of this phenomenon yet.

It is well known that fanaticism can exist most often in the following areas

:

  • Religion;
  • Policy;
  • National, racial theories, sexism;
  • Sports (football fans are especially active, who are sometimes classified as a separate subculture).

Fanaticism, in principle, can manifest itself in anything. There are fanatics in science, music, consumer culture, etc.

There are also different degrees of danger of this phenomenon

:

  • Average
    . Adherents of an idea in this case strictly adhere to it and deny alternative opinions, therefore they close themselves off from the outside world and continue to communicate mainly only with their own kind.
  • Heavy
    . In this case, adherents of the idea are actively trying to convince those who hold other opinions of it, to win over as many people as possible to their side. At the same time, they do not hesitate in their means: they use physical and psychological violence, threats, torture, and punishment.

There is also a distinction between socially acceptable and unacceptable fanaticism. The first includes, for example, youth subcultures and football fans; These movements are perceived with caution, but society is more or less loyal to them. The second group includes religious sects and terrorism.

Religious fanaticism

Religious fanatics elevate their religion to a cult, denying the existence of other faiths. They and their like-minded people are driven by the desire to rule over people of other faiths. The group values ​​of fanatics are elevated to a cult of worship - they blindly believe in the religious leader, obey him unquestioningly and are ready to give their lives if necessary.

Muslim and Orthodox fanaticism are equally dangerous with extremist aspirations. New members of the sect are “brainwashed” in 2-3 weeks, and after 4-5 years of living according to the rules of the religious community, the changes become irreversible. Any cult shares the same characteristics:

  1. They have a leader who calls himself the messiah.
  2. They are ruled by a totalitarian system and philosophy.
  3. Cult members unquestioningly obey the rules of the community.
  4. Fanatics unquestioningly give property and money for the benefit of the community.

Who is a fanatic

The behavior of a fanatic sharply distinguishes him from a group of other people. This is not only maximum passion for one’s own business, idea or idol. Thus, a fanatical person often shows aggression towards almost everything around him. After all, in any case, most people do not adhere to his beliefs, and the very structure of the world around him dissuades the fan from his idea. Such a person shows increased isolation, striving to communicate only with those who share his opinion.

Having become a fanatic, a person loses interest in previous activities, even if they brought him maximum pleasure. Often the ability to receive pleasure is completely lost - a person becomes the “faithful dog” of his idol. The obsession of fans gives rise to a special culture, which includes characteristic rituals and slang.

Since a person who has fallen into fanaticism ceases to be interested in the world around him, the very concept of truth disappears for him. From now on, he is ready to defend only his opinion, regardless of whether it corresponds to reality or not. We can say that such a person plunged headlong into his inner world and lost all connection with the external world. And these are clear signs of mental illness.

Some types of fans are ready to pursue their idol, watch his every move, and show jealousy. They can kill anyone for taking a photo with their idol, including the idol himself. This behavior of obsessive fans of some actor or singer, in principle, characterizes any fanaticism. It turns out that frantic believers in God do not love their God and are ready to destroy him at the first opportunity if he does not fulfill any obligations towards them.

Signs of fanaticism

A characteristic feature of fanaticism is that a person does not divide the content of his faith into good and bad elements, acceptable and unacceptable. He considers everything that relates to his idea to be correct and all outside opinions to be incorrect.

Other signs of fanaticism include:

  • close and painful experience, violent reactions to everything related to faith;
  • the presence of attributes of faith, the pursuit of an idol;
  • defending one's own rightness, not the truth;
  • aggression towards others;
  • loss of interest in previous hobbies;
  • slang, rituals characteristic of the subject of fanaticism;
  • pride;
  • conviction of one's own righteousness and a sense of one's own superiority;
  • isolation or communication with “associates”.

Fanatics are not psychologically stable, antisocial and aggressive. They are dangerous to themselves and others, as they do not obey any norms and rules. A fanatic causes fear in those around him by his very appearance and behavior. They are often described with the phrase “he’s like he’s out of his mind, crazy.” The appearance is usually appropriate: loud speech, harsh and expressive expressions, screams and threats, an abnormal shine in the eyes, active gestures. A fanatic does not see or hear the real world, he lives in his own reality.

How to get rid of unhealthy fanaticism

In general, it must be said that any fanaticism is an unhealthy phenomenon. Therefore, society and every individual are faced with the task of getting rid of fanaticism. Practice shows that it is easier to get rid of the carrier of this phenomenon than to get rid of his unhealthy beliefs; but this, to put it mildly, is not a completely legal method.

The best way to get rid of fanaticism is, of course, education. But this task is not at all easy. Enlightenment is practically inaccessible to a person whose mind is completely turned off and who lacks critical thinking. So first you need to teach a person to reason.

And many people are simply too lazy to reason. The structure of the surrounding world is so complex that an unprepared person gets lost and does not know what conclusions to draw and what to hold on to. But any ideology (be it religious, political or something else) provides a person with a highly simplified, distorted and extremely understandable picture of the world, a kind of ready-made information with all the conclusions, which saves a person from the need to think for himself. The fact that this ready-made information may not correspond to reality does not concern the adherent of fanaticism: in principle, he does not want to live in reality, he is more pleased with the small aquarium provided by ideology. This is the essence of fanaticism. Knowing this, you can try to get rid of fanaticism through some kind of psychoanalysis.

If you are the person who has fallen into fanaticism, then it is good that you are aware of it. This means it will be easier for you to curb yourself.

Here are some tips to help you get rid of bigotry

:

  • If you are an adherent of any religion, political or social ideology (racial, sexist), then you must understand that this is precisely an ideology, that is, a greatly simplified model of the world, equipped with false conclusions. Start studying the problem you are interested in comprehensively, using modern scientific sources, and explore other points of view. Even if supporters of alternative versions are mistaken, then they are certainly no more mistaken than you are: after all, there is no greater mistake than believing in an ideology.
  • If you encounter a person who has fallen into fanaticism, you can try to enlighten him. If this does not work out, it means that this person does not need the truth - he wants to live in his inner world. You should leave him alone. If at the same time he commits illegal acts, then this should be prevented - call the police, an ambulance, and personally neutralize the madman.

How do you become fanatics?

The psychology of fanaticism identifies 3 reasons that push a person to change.

  1. Envy of other people's successes.
  2. Low self-esteem.
  3. A famous person who has achieved everything and shines.

The psychology of religious fanaticism is based on the hopelessness of a person when he finds himself in a difficult life situation and sees no way out of it. At such moments, he goes into religion and, unbeknownst to himself, falls under the influence of the adherents of the sect. They instill in him knowledge of the “right path”, sympathize, express their readiness to support and talk about problems that they themselves have recently encountered. Fanatics flee from reality into religion not out of love for God, but from their own suffering and the indifference of others.

National fanaticism

National fanaticism is no less terrible, destructive and ruthless. This zealous worship of the exclusive superiority of this or that nation or race has dotted world history with many examples of bloody confrontations. One of the most striking manifestations of national fanaticism was Alfred Ploetz's idea of ​​dividing all people into superior and inferior races, which subsequently marked the beginning of the Second World War.

Another example is the Ku Klux Klan, an organization that consisted of a huge number of people who hated and deeply despised blacks.


The brutality of the KKK members led to an unimaginable number of victims who died from the sophisticated cruelty of the fanatics. Echoes of the activities of this organization are periodically heard today.

Fanaticism... What is this?

However, not every manifestation of excessive interest in something can characterize a person as a fanatic. And vice versa.

Fanaticism is an excessive passion for any idea or personality, expressed in devoting a significant part of one’s life and its spiritual content to the object of worship, as well as in uncompromisingly defending one’s own view and imposing it on other people, often in an aggressive form. This phenomenon can be related to anything - morality, a famous person, a political trend, etc. However, religious fanaticism acts as its most dangerous form.

Common Forms of Persuasion

1. Religious belief is the most pronounced form of interest in the religious sphere of activity, with the creation of a cult of worship from it and the creation of a group of people with the same thinking.

Relatively recently, this concept was found exclusively in history textbooks. It dates back to the times of the USSR. But now people's lives have changed, and we hear about religious fanaticism almost every day.

We recommend: What does it mean: personal identification?

To a person who has absolutely nothing to do with religion, it may seem that any religious person is a bearer of radical religious beliefs. But for believers, comparing them with fanatics is offensive, to say the least.

Almost always, religious belief is based on the fact that a holy sacrifice is offered in the name of God. The basis of this belief is faith. This is where you need to be careful. There is no need to confuse faith and fanaticism. Here are the differences between these two phenomena:

  • A believer has a calm, non-aggressive behavior, but a fanatic is always full of emotions, he is unable to restrain himself.
  • Believers never wish harm to others. A fanatic can be aggressive in his actions, and very often.
  • Usually, to prove his point, a fanatic tries to shout down his opponent. A believer tries to calmly and peacefully convey his thoughts to others.

In general, the difference is clear. One is calm, the other is aggressive. Fanaticism is closely related to religion. But we must not forget that religion first of all implies genuine faith.

2. Ideological persuasion is also often called political fanaticism. If you look closely, you will notice that we meet with him every day. Ideological fanaticism is associated with the struggle of people for their political beliefs, with the achievement of certain political goals and the expression of views on the regime and power with the help of which the country is governed.

Films about fanatics

Fanaticism in love, religion, sports and any social sphere is a sign of emotional instability, impressionability, lack of leadership qualities, and suggestibility. Dozens of films have been made about fanatics - they talk about the consequences of blind faith and following idols, religious servility.

  1. “The Fan”
    with Robert De Niro is a drama about the complex relationship between a professional athlete and his fan.
  2. “The Master”
    tells the story of a sailor who got a job in a photo studio after the war. After a while, the former military man falls under the influence of a religious leader and begins to preach his precepts.
  3. "Die, John Tucker!"
    The plot of the film tells about a high school macho man, against whom his three ex-girlfriends want to take revenge. They are not stopped by the fact that the bait in the insidious plan is a girl who has just arrived in the city.

Psychological nature of fanaticism

Fanaticism that develops on a large scale usually has social or political causes. Extreme expressions of faith always benefit someone other than the rabid adherents. But what makes a particular person such? Why does one become a fanatic, and the other, in spite of everything, continues to follow his life path, not reacting to other people’s opinions and religious dogmas?

As a rule, the reasons for becoming a real fanatic are rooted in childhood. Most often, fanatics are people who, from an early age, are accustomed to living in fear and misunderstanding. Mistakes in upbringing made by their parents, at a conscious age, turn into a desire to join some group and become part of it in order to feel safety and confidence. However, a person cannot find peace just because there are people with similar views. He will continue to worry, worry, look for a threat in any manifestation of dissent, fight with windmills, convincing everyone and everything that his truth is the first. This is how fanaticism manifests itself. What does it mean? Anyone who thinks otherwise poses a threat to his hard-won peace. Therefore, interacting with a fanatic is not so easy.

Reasons for fanaticism

Fanaticism is a phenomenon that does not arise out of nowhere. Like any other deviation, it has reasons that are rooted, as a rule, very deeply. Fanatical people are most often aggressive, embittered, do not understand and do not accept the point of view of others. Sometimes they become part of a community, faithfully follow its tenets and try to transfer their view of faith to their immediate circle of friends. And there is another category of fanatics - leaders who not only share and follow a philosophy or religion that is attractive to them, but through bright, charismatic actions involve a large number of people in it, not limited to their circle of relatives and friends. And if the former are generally harmless carriers of annoying information, then the latter pose an extremely serious threat to society.

Every day, dozens and hundreds of people are drawn into the life of sects of unknown origin, turn away from their families, spend huge sums of money on maintaining and developing a congenial community, lose themselves in the desire to follow the postulates that have found a living response in their souls thanks to charisma, confidence and leader's oratory skills.

Fanaticism as a psychological phenomenon - types and signs

The brain of a healthy person is able to process up to 10 thousand thoughts per day. For fanatics, life circumstances and actions are subordinated to one dominant thought, which is why they cannot switch to everyday problems and needs. If they succeed, it is automatically and for a short time. Fanatics live in constant stress.

Fanaticism - what is it?

“Fanaticism” is translated from Latin as “frenzy.”

People suffering from this pathology have atrophied doubt - they blindly believe in an idea or a person who excites and impresses them, and deify their ideal.

Fanatics differ from ordinary people in their willingness to sacrifice their own and others’ lives, their denial of criticism, social norms and common sense. Such people are not aware of the destructive consequences of their behavior.

Fanaticism is a mental illness that can affect any area. The international classification indicates 7 types of disease, some of them are normally perceived in society:

  • political;
  • health;
  • ideological;
  • scientific;
  • religious;
  • sports;
  • cultural.

Signs of fanaticism

Fanaticism has two degrees - moderate and extreme. The middle degree is common and manifests itself in the fact that a person is subject to a dominant idea, but does not take it to the point of absurdity and does not impose it on others.

The extreme degree of mental disorder is diagnosed less frequently and is expressed in the rigid imposition of one’s choice on other people, tyranny towards them, including torture and other types of physical violence.

Symptoms of the disease manifest themselves in the following deviations from the norm:

  1. The fanatic takes events concerning his idol to heart. He suffers, becomes depressed, even to the point of committing suicide because of his idol’s marriage and the loss of his favorite football club.
  2. A person accompanies the object of worship on tour, is on duty at the house, and buys accessories and attributes associated with it.
  3. Fanatical people constantly talk about “idee fixes” - they are not interested in other topics.
  4. Interests and hobbies that used to be a joy fade into the background.
  5. A fanatic reacts aggressively to any attacks from others regarding the object or subject of his worship.

Fanaticism towards a person

This type of mental disorder differs from others in that a specific person becomes the object of persecution and worship of the fanatic. Often the victim of fanaticism is a popular singer, musician, actor or other famous person.

the danger of such a state lies in its stability - the closer the idol is, the more dangerous the behavior of his fans.

The modern stage knows hundreds of cases when fans in ecstasy tore the clothes of celebrities, broke into their homes, and chased them on tour.

Fanaticism can manifest itself towards a person of the opposite sex. This form of disorder is often confused with love. A woman’s love for a man implies a sober assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of her partner, while fanatical infatuation idealizes and deifies him, worships him, does not notice his shortcomings, and justifies any words and actions of his deity.

A sports fanatic is a person who is generally accepted by society. An army of football fans comes to other cities and countries to support their favorite team.

Matches end peacefully or with fights started by fans. In modern society, such behavior is considered a fan movement, a subculture, or part of a sports game.

You can distinguish a fan from an ordinary fan by the following characteristics:

  1. Abuse of beer and other alcoholic drinks.
  2. Taking doping (soft drugs, pills, energy drinks).
  3. Permissiveness in words and actions during competitions and after their completion.

Religious fanaticism

Religious fanatics elevate their religion to a cult, denying the existence of other faiths. They and their like-minded people are driven by the desire to rule over people of other faiths. The group values ​​of fanatics are elevated to a cult of worship - they blindly believe in the religious leader, obey him unquestioningly and are ready to give their lives if necessary.

Muslim and Orthodox fanaticism are equally dangerous with extremist aspirations. New members of the sect are “brainwashed” in 2-3 weeks, and after 4-5 years of living according to the rules of the religious community, the changes become irreversible. Any cult shares the same characteristics:

  1. They have a leader who calls himself the messiah.
  2. They are ruled by a totalitarian system and philosophy.
  3. Cult members unquestioningly obey the rules of the community.
  4. Fanatics unquestioningly give property and money for the benefit of the community.

How do you become fanatics?

The psychology of fanaticism identifies 3 reasons that push a person to change.

  1. Envy of other people's successes.
  2. Low self-esteem.
  3. A famous person who has achieved everything and shines.

The psychology of religious fanaticism is based on a person’s hopelessness when he finds himself in a difficult life situation and sees no way out of it. At such moments, he goes into religion and, unbeknownst to himself, falls under the influence of the adherents of the sect.

They instill in him knowledge of the “right path”, sympathize, express their readiness to support and talk about problems that they themselves have recently encountered.

Fanatics flee from reality into religion not out of love for God, but from their own suffering and the indifference of others.

How to get rid of fanaticism?

Fanaticism as a psychological phenomenon appeared in the 17th century, when the Catholic Bishop Bossuet introduced this concept into use. Successful recovery from the disease is possible if:

  1. The fanatic will realize that his claims are false.
  2. Learn to analyze obsessive thoughts and look at the situation from the other side.
  3. Will switch to other events.
  4. Increase self-esteem.
  5. Seek help from a psychologist.

Films about fanatics

Fanaticism in love, religion, sports and any social sphere is a sign of emotional instability, impressionability, lack of leadership qualities, and suggestibility. Dozens of films have been made about fanatics - they talk about the consequences of blind faith and following idols, religious servility.

  1. “The Fan”
    with Robert De Niro is a drama about the complex relationship between a professional athlete and his fan.
  2. “The Master”
    tells the story of a sailor who got a job in a photo studio after the war. After a while, the former military man falls under the influence of a religious leader and begins to preach his precepts.
  3. "Die, John Tucker!"
    The plot of the film tells about a high school macho man, against whom his three ex-girlfriends want to take revenge. They are not stopped by the fact that the bait in the insidious plan is a girl who has just arrived in the city.
Sleep disorder is constant fatigue and drowsiness during the day, inability to think normally and make informed decisions, resulting in depression. An integrated approach, medications plus the correct daily routine and nutrition, will help solve the problem. Celibacy – what is it, why is it harmful and good for health? Even people far from religion sometimes wonder: what is celibacy? This is a mandatory vow of celibacy or oath made to the Lord. The person undertakes to abstain from sexual relations and not start a family.
Social intelligence and its role in professional and personal development Social intelligence is necessary for a person to effectively interact with other people, find a quick and correct solution in problem situations. Such skills and abilities can and definitely need to be improved. Behaviorism - what it is, basic principles and ideas Behaviorism is a direction of scientific psychology that studies the human psyche through external behavioral patterns, excluding consciousness. Behavioral concepts have found their application in political science, pedagogy, sociology and economics.

Source: https://womanadvice.ru/fanatizm-kak-psihologicheskiy-fenomen-vidy-i-priznaki

Fanaticism. Who can be considered a fanatic?

Nowadays, most people use the term “fanatic.” Many people can guess what this word means, but it’s better to clarify. In psychology, this is the meaning of the word fanaticism - it is often an unfounded and poorly understood belief in some object or phenomenon.

Very often, it is these characteristics of fanaticism that lead to erroneous, thoughtless actions. Unfortunately, you can find a large number of examples in history that prove this.

Psychology notes that fanaticism is a serious mental illness. True, in different countries psychologists do not define its boundaries in the same way. For example, in the United States of America you will be considered a bigot if you deviate even slightly from the standard of a mentally healthy person. And this disease will immediately begin to be treated with the methods provided by psychology.

At this point, the types of beliefs that are associated with the following sectors of society are known:

  • Religion.
  • Sports activity.
  • Art.
  • Policy.
  • Health.
  • Scientific activity.

Surprisingly, it is the first three types of the above that are currently the most common.

Each type of fanaticism has its own specific characteristics. But if you try, you can find common features and characteristics of these signs. Psychology identifies the following characteristics:

  • The fanatic endures too hard everything that the one he worships experiences. The most extreme form is suicide. Very often a person comes to this at the moment when his hero either dies or ends his professional career.
  • The fanatic spends most of his savings on pursuing the object of his imitation. He follows him everywhere, goes to every one of his performances, buys everything that is somehow connected with his hero, and so on.
  • A person is fixated on one thing. He talks about the same thing all the time. All the time he tries to show that he is convinced of the ideality of the object of worship.
  • Young people often have a narrower range of interests. They cease to be interested in what previously fascinated them. Everything fades into the background. All attention goes to the object of worship.

But we have to give people credit. For many, fanaticism is a temporary phenomenon, which most “get over” in adolescence. But every rule has exceptions, and sometimes there are still people with extreme forms of the disease.

Speaking about fanaticism, it is worth considering such a concept as fanaticism. Fanaticism is the characteristic beliefs that are present in a fanatical person. A fanatical person always has his own special views on what is happening around him.

Now that we have more or less figured out what fanaticism is and who the fanatics are, let’s talk about the most common forms of fanaticism - ideological and religious fanaticism.

Is fanaticism curable?

Of course, through the Sacraments existing in the Church, any human sin can be healed. There is only one condition - repentance. But the peculiarity of religious fanaticism is precisely that a person does not perceive his jealousy beyond reason as something wrong, distorted. He is sure that the “ultimate truth” belongs to him alone, and he does not agree to take other opinions into account.

This is the main difficulty in correcting a religious fanatic. Until he thinks for himself, begins to look at himself self-critically (or something happens that makes him look at himself differently), any of your arguments will be useless. You still won't be able to convince him. Therefore, it is best to try to somehow influence a person when the first signs of an incipient disease appear.

In cases where the cause of such obsession is a person’s serious mental abnormalities, medical intervention may be necessary. Especially if such a fanatic poses a great danger to society.

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