Novosibirsk psychologists note: young city dwellers suffering from loneliness have “caught” a new mental illness called “Pontius Pilate syndrome,” when love for a dog transforms into a persistent hostility to the world around them.
Photo by Oksana MAMLINA
If you believe Bulgakov, then the fifth procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, was wary and very distrustful of the surrounding human environment - he did not share his problems with people, “did not believe, did not fear, did not ask” and whiled away his lonely evenings in the company of his faithful Great Dane. Pilate transformed his entire supply of love, which is “given” to each person by someone from above, into tender affection for the dog. In part, Pontius Pilate can be understood; it is easier to love a pet animal than a living person - he is not full of nonsense, has a devoted character and loves his owner absolutely disinterestedly... And this, as urban psychologists say, lies the seed of future spiritual disharmony, which will Over time it can turn into a serious mental illness.
Guardian or pest?
A reader of the online magazine psytheater.com might say, “These people help homeless animals.” But you need to help in specially designated places, and not in your own apartments, where unsanitary conditions and a disgusting smell begin to arise, disturbing the neighbors.
Representatives of this type of obsessive-compulsive disorder often violate two laws, which calls into question their desire to care, making them pests:
- Animal abuse;
- Restricting the rights and freedoms of other people.
You can bring to justice a person who has an excessive love for animals and collects them in his apartment, but often this illness is difficult to eradicate. The man is released into the wild, and he again begins to collect a “menagerie” in his house.
In fact, such pet lovers often harm their pets rather than protect and care for them. Since the number of pets under care becomes large, a person with a pathological deviation simply does not have the means to feed them and maintain hygiene. Often animals are not allowed outside; therefore, all their defecation activities are carried out in their habitat. Malnutrition often leads to death. There are even cases when animal lovers do not notice the corpses of dead animals and do not remove them, which creates a specific unpleasant odor indoors.
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Cat people
People who prefer cats are very independent by nature. They love a comfortable home and know how to take care of their appearance. Male cat owners are usually charming and artistic. As a rule, these are romantics whose mood changes every hour. A woman who gets a cat wants to be like her pet and imitate its mystery and grace. If a lady is feminine and charming, but also persistent and has business acumen, most likely she will prefer to have a male cat rather than a cat.
If we are talking about a single lady who lives with a cat, such a woman is usually distrustful of the stronger sex and is extremely reluctant to enter into a relationship with them. If a bachelor gets a cat, he is unlikely to ever tie the knot. After all, he already has a “girlfriend”. There are many people who are not very fond of cats. Psychologists believe that if we are talking about a man in this case, this indicates that he has antipathy towards the entire female sex. And if a woman doesn’t like cats, this means that she denies her feminine essence and does not strive to show independence.
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"Animal Disease"
“Animal disease” is classified as a group of obsessive states. This disease is a consequence of a traumatic situation that has not been experienced for a long time. The person was unable to overcome a certain stressful situation for himself, which passed into the unconscious. Guided by his desires to resolve a conflict situation, a person constantly performs the same actions, for example, bringing a dog home.
He is trying to solve a problem that in the real world manifests itself in animal collecting. The patient characterizes his behavior with pity and love for animals, although in fact, somewhere in the depths of the unconscious lies a certain traumatic situation.
It is almost impossible to cure this obsessive condition, since the reasons for its occurrence are purely individual and go far into the past. Often people with this disorder experienced some stressful experiences in childhood, when they could not speak or walk. It becomes almost impossible to pull out a traumatic situation, as well as to change the attitude towards it.
Reasons for the development of unhealthy addiction
Western scientists have conducted research and found that mental disorders associated with pathological love of cats mainly affect single elderly women. Although there are quite young people, including representatives of the stronger half. Psychological disorder often develops after serious mental trauma or loss of relatives. People with the following personal characteristics are at risk:
- lack of stable social contacts;
- low self-esteem;
- prolonged depression;
- constant self-doubt;
- emotional instability.
A large number of cats in the house fills the emptiness in the soul. Pets give the owner the opportunity to feel his importance and even superiority, because living beings are waiting for him and love him. They depend on him and literally jump on their hind legs to attract attention and beg for something tasty.
How to treat a painful love for cats
Only an experienced specialist can make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe comprehensive treatment. Or rather, a consultation of several doctors is needed - a psychiatrist, psychotherapist and psychologist. Often sick people do not admit that they have a mental disorder and refuse treatment. In such situations, you need the help of loved ones who will find reasonable arguments.
In serious situations, people who have an unhealthy passion for animals should undergo treatment at a psychoneurological dispensary. At this time, it is better to send your four-legged friends for foster care with volunteers or shelters, where they will have a real chance to find adequate owners and live in normal conditions. Pseudo sympathy and indifference of others often lead to the fact that all the sick person’s pets die, and he himself loses all social connections and undermines his own health.
They are more popular than pop stars and politicians. Their photos receive millions of likes on the Internet. They are with us all our lives. Animals. Why do we love them so much? It turns out that scientists have even found answers to this difficult question.
Imitation theory
“The results of imitation give us pleasure,” wrote Aristotle in his treatise “Poetics.” According to his theory, in any phenomenon we are attracted primarily by something familiar, recognizable, similar to our own “I”.
It is not for nothing that the strongest emotions are evoked by fauna whose actions are similar to ours. Monkey antics at the mirror; sea otters holding each other in their sleep so as not to be carried away by the current; a lioness desperately protecting her cubs. In countless fairy tales and cartoons, animals speak human language, wear clothes, and overcome the same social problems. In the circus, four-legged animals will be taught, first of all, to copy certain actions of homo sapiens: walking on their hind legs, counting, riding a bicycle. It turns out that in our little brothers we find and love our own reflection.
Sublimation
This hypothesis partly contradicts the previous one. Thanks to animals, a person makes up for what he does not have in real life. But we, single residents of megacities, lack, first of all, connections with nature, sincere love and reliable friends. Pets (that is, living in a house as a member of the family, and not performing any utilitarian function, like draft or meat and dairy cattle) are a phenomenon of modern urban culture. On the contrary, the peasant, as a rule, looks at the inhabitants of the barn in a purely utilitarian way, as a source of resources - a milk cow, a laying hen.
Now think, are there many such examples of love and loyalty in modern highly urbanized society as the Japanese Akita Inu Hachiko, who spent nine years waiting in the same place for the return of his deceased owner? Or can a representative of the current “office plankton” feel his importance otherwise than by giving food and joy to a cat or dog who is completely dependent on him?
Thus, love for animals is a sublimation (manifestation) of our own complexes and unfulfilled ambitions. For example, many eyewitnesses indicated that members of polar expeditions, stern and not at all sentimental men, treated the dogs from their Arctic camp with genuine tenderness, thus receiving the emotional release necessary in the difficult conditions of the North.
Rudiments of animalistic beliefs
“The tribes are divided into totemic clans, each of which is responsible for the propagation of its totem through magical rites. Most totems are animals and plants that are eaten.” James Fraser. "Golden Bough"
Among primitive people, each genus traced its origin to one or another animal (and not in a symbolic, but in a literal sense). You couldn't hunt your own totem; the astral ancestor beast could help in trouble. Echoes of animalism remained in Christianity - for example, the biblical Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove.
So the adoration of pets, which for some develops into blind worship, can be considered a vestige of ancient nature cults that persist in our society along with many other pagan beliefs. “The owner feeds me because I am God,” as the famous joke about cats says.
Actually, animals, like messengers of the deity, can warn about life or death even in the age of exact sciences. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first submariners used to take on board a cage with white mice: if they felt unwell, it meant that the air on the submarine was heavily polluted and would soon become unsuitable for the crew. And even today, sailors get a ship’s cat and feed it the best cuts precisely as an animated talisman designed to ward off misfortune.
Archetype of the collective unconscious
Carl Gustav Jung believed that our psyche is largely determined by the collective unconscious - the generalized result of centuries of cultural and historical experience of humanity as a whole.
From this theory it follows that each individual in his life, at a symbolic level, unconsciously repeats the development of the entire civilization. The most important stage in the development of which was the domestication of animals. Therefore, by getting a four-legged or a feathered animal, we are actually reproducing the most important historical experience from the ancient memory of humanity.
Attractive image
Continuing Jung's ideas, the structural component of the collective unconscious is the archetype. And one of the most powerful visual images that evokes a positive response in any normal person is the image of a child, a baby, when looking at which the maternal or paternal instinct is subconsciously triggered.
Now let's remember the stars of the Internet - cats, raccoons, koalas, bears... What unites them? That's right, body proportions reminiscent of a human child: a large round head with big eyes, short thick legs, small toes... Now do you understand why pictures with puppies get much more likes than photos of white sharks?
Toxoplasmosis?
Master's shadow
And yet: why do we love dogs and cats? Scientists are seriously concerned with this issue. Thus, a joint study by felinologists from the University of Tokyo and the University of South Florida showed that adult cats accurately distinguish the timbre of the owner from the voice of other people, even if the sources of sounds are out of sight.
Experts from Washington University in St. Louis sequestered the genomes of one of the oldest cat breeds, the Abyssinian, comparing its DNA with other mammals, both wild and domestic. As a result, an increased number of genes was identified that are responsible for the nerve cells that regulate the calmness and obedience of cats.
Animal psychologists from the University of California at San Diego conducted an experiment: dog owners, in the presence of their pets, demonstratively caressed plush toys in the shape of dogs - and the four-legged animals experienced real jealousy, trying in every possible way to regain the attention of their owners.
So, perhaps, one of the reasons for the reverent attitude towards animals is their ability to experience the same complex and contradictory feelings that we experience. And sincere affection for dumb brothers is one of the few joys available to everyone.
The post Human love for animals: how to explain it appeared first on Umnaya.
The less pathos in assessing the problem, the simpler it is. Don't make life difficult for yourself, many things are very easy to deal with. After reading the book, you will understand why I say this so confidently. Identifying the problem, admitting to yourself that it exists is already half the solution, and I’ll tell you how to deal with them.
Over the years of practice, I have come across many interesting stories and questions. As Kant said, “There is nothing more interesting in the world than the stars in the sky and all sorts of strange things inside the human brain.” These are the oddities that we will deal with. And away with “inconvenient” questions!
Not for the faint of heart! How to avoid falling into psychological slavery?
In this chapter you will learn:
– about inadequate love, love for a problematic man, and whether it is possible to correct a womanizer;
– about love and addiction, and how you are used;
– about how to get married successfully, how to behave correctly with a foreigner and what the age difference does to people;
– about how to find a compromise with any man and not dissolve in a relationship;
– about how to put manipulators in their place, be it an energy vampire or a HR specialist.
“There is no man who is like an Island in itself; every man is part of the continent, part of the land...” wrote John Donne back in the 16th century. Nothing has changed in several centuries. Except that society has begun to “press” more harshly. The abundance of contacts, flows of information, and the density of our life schedule sometimes make us dream about how we will slam the door in our hearts and, with the words “burn it all with a blue flame,” rush to a desert island. But in reality? Can we afford this? No, we are good boys and girls and always say “yes”. So what should we do with this “luxury of human communication”?
It is important to understand that family, and other relationships, are endless bargaining, constant discussion of boundaries – yours and your partner’s. Look for compromises: first your football, then my porn, and the fallen asleep kids will get cartoons in the morning. Analyze work situations that do not suit you, think about whether you yourself, with your guilty appearance, are provoking the boss to sit on your neck and hang his paws, to accept your sacrifice. However, there is always a choice; decide whether to insist on your own or give in. There are different ways to maintain your inner balance and maintain boundaries.
1. Respond to a request or offer with a refusal, say “no”. A friend asks you to lend her money? Say that you need to think, this way you will gain time, and her request will no longer take you by surprise.
2. Bargain and negotiate. In some ways you made a concession, but in others you will get a head start.
3. Limit visits from friends. No, no, not communication, just meet on neutral territory.
4. There are people whom we tend to demonize - mother-in-law, mother-in-law, older relatives. There is practically no chance of being heard here. Therefore, lie, don’t prove anything to anyone.
5. Where arrogance is beyond good and evil, you also cannot do anything. The ideal way in this case is to exclude the owners of this amazing quality from your life.
Inadequate love, or Why do women love alcoholics, drug addicts, sociopaths, prisoners and other losers?
Many women prefer alcoholics, drug addicts, sociopaths, prisoners and other losers. Out of great and pure love? Not at all, all these violent feelings are based on a woman’s low self-esteem. There is even a term for such relationships - codependency. What's going on in the head of an unhappy lover? “I am not worthy of a rich, handsome, self-sufficient man. Next to him I will feel like nothing. But if I take this poor orphaned guy as my mate, next to him I will feel like a queen.” There is also a certain masochistic component in this situation - next to such a man, a woman will always suffer. “Oh, and I know a lot about this - I know and know how to suffer like no one else. This is familiar to me, which means it won’t get worse. Of course, living in joy is so scary!” But that’s not all: by accepting such a relationship, a woman seeks to work off her childhood psychotraumas - she wants to reach out to her father and finally be accepted: now he will understand that I am good, the most beloved, daddy will understand that only I'll save him!
It would seem that the situation is far from rosy, but something keeps our heroine in this relationship. And it’s not a matter of “love is evil and you’ll love a goat.”
What benefits does a codependent woman receive?
Kinky psi relationships are often appealing to women because:
- first of all, next to him she is always a queen - beautiful, smart, very good. He gets into another mess, she rescues him from the police or pulls him out of a den of some whores. He takes from life everything he considers necessary, she receives adrenaline and the honorary title of savior;
– she is always “here and now”. Her partner is a troublesome man, where and at what moment he will end up is unpredictable. Consequently, a codependent woman is always in constant action;
– she gets recognition. When something happens, he tells her in the voice of a tired, restless traveler: “Baby, you’re the only one I have, only you will save me when I’m in jail, only you will carry parcels for me. All these chicks are mannered, these whores are all emptiness, meat, only you are real to me.” And the baby melted... Finally, she received the cherished words: I am the only one, I am loved, I am a savior. And more and more often it flashes through her head: “It was his previous women who failed, but I can fix him. With me he will finally understand how to live. And even if he doesn’t understand, I will leave such an indelible mark on his life! No one wanted to save as much as I did, I was ready to do anything for him, and he knows it!”
In reality, the forecast is sad. There is nothing to think about any such magical recognition of her charms. The woman is left with nothing, her whole life is ruined. She made herself, her man, and her children unhappy. Codependent women are murderers and suicides rolled into one, but they do their job very slowly. Even if she breaks up with her unlucky partner, then habit will take its toll - she will choose the same loser, and the children will grow up as dependent people and will inevitably have difficulties in building their own lives.
This is a really difficult problem that requires psychotherapeutic intervention, and a couple of sessions is not enough. As a rule, a woman comes to a specialist absolutely exhausted: “I no longer know what I feel for this person”; or: “I already hate him, I’m tired of this life.” Codependency of a woman is the same addiction as drugs. That is, in essence, she is in the same state as her lover, with the only difference being that the boy is doing okay, he takes from life what he wants, and she suffers from her sacrifice.
Obsessive-compulsive neurosis has many manifestations. A person quickly becomes dependent on something. But if addiction does not always become a pathology, since people are cured of it, then any deviation in the psyche is almost impossible to eradicate from a person. Often people with obsessive disorders live among healthy representatives. And most often the latter suffer because of the actions of the sick. In this article we will consider such obsessive behavior as excessive love for animals.
It’s good when a person who arranges a “menagerie” in his home lives in a secluded room. But if we are talking about an apartment, then the neighbors of such “animal lovers” often suffer from the smell and unsanitary conditions that come from the “kennel”. A person with an obsessive compulsion to help animals often acquires cats, dogs, guinea pigs, parrots and other pets.
Moreover, we are not talking about two or three units, but at least 50 animals. On average, a person suffering from animal mania collects about 100 animals in his residential building. Often animals of the same species are collected, for example, only cats or only dogs. However, there are cases when several species of representatives of the animal world gather in one room.
Rodent lovers
Who gets hamsters, guinea pigs, fluffy bunnies and other rodents? In most cases, we are talking about a very busy and lonely person who is tired of being alone. He dreams of finding a loved one. But since he has his hands full, getting a cat or dog is not an option for him. A fan of small and fluffy animals needs tenderness and affection. Trying to somehow compensate for his experiences, he realizes the need for intimacy by caring for the pet. By the way, such people are usually easy to communicate and optimistic.
It is worth mentioning separately about men who keep a rat (there are only a few such people among women). Fans of these animals are usually kind, inquisitive, and tolerant of other people's weaknesses. They are not inclined to rely on public opinion. If their own ideas do not coincide with the demands of society, such men do not care at all.
