Damocles syndrome: what is it and what are its symptoms

Throughout history, many fables and stories have served as a source of inspiration to give context to some mental phenomena within psychological jargon.

Damocles syndrome, for example., comes from a story typical of classical Greek culture in which a young and flattering courtier is punished by his mistress, Dionysus II.

In this article we will learn what this story is about, as well as its psychological background and why it has served as inspiration for the syndrome that bears his name.

• Related article: "What is anxiety: how to recognize it and what to do"

What is Damocles syndrome?

This syndrome bears its name thanks to a fable from ancient Greek culture. Let's see what this fable is about.

Damocles was a young courtier, who was most flattering with his master, the tyrant Dionysus II, who was ruler of Syracuse between the years 367-357 BC. c. and again it was again between 346-344 a. c.

On one occasion Dionisio decides to punish his faithful servant, teaching him a lesson because of his exaggerated devotion to him.

The tyrant proposes to Damocles that they change seats during a meal, and in this way he gives him his privileged place at the table along with all the attention, just as if Damocles were the absolute ruler of the place himself.

The courtier enjoyed his moment eating, drinking, and enjoying the personal attention of the local women.

At the end of the meal, Damocles looks up and sees that there is an extremely sharp sword attached to the ceiling, on his head, only by a fine thread of horsehair.

When he realized this situation, he lost all the desire to continue eating, and he no longer wanted to receive the "privilege" of sitting in that place.

From this history is that the aforementioned Damocles syndrome arises, coining the term as a reference to the dangers that can occur when we least imagine it, or when everything seems to be going very well.

Psychological background of the myth

From the field of psychology, this term was adopted as a metaphor to refer to the state of anxiety that some patients present after having overcome a certain disease.

In general, this syndrome tends to occur very frequently in cancer patients who manage to overcome it in an apparently successful way. It is common that after hearing the news they get excited and are invaded by a feeling of indescribable satisfaction.

But after a while irrational worry about a possible relapse begins to set in, they begin to fear that at any moment, when they least expect it, the cancer will return present in their lives, falling on them like the sword that hung over the head of Damocles.

It is in this way that from the first moment these intrusive thoughts enter the subject's life, an ordeal begins for them, in the sense that they already his peace of mind is greatly compromised by fear and anxiety of a relapse.

Symptoms

It is natural that after overcoming a complicated disease, such as cancer, following the thread From the previous example, patients feel a bit of anguish about the continuity of their state of health.

That is why to determine that a person is presenting this syndrome, they must meet the following criteria:

• The fear of relapse must be irrational and very intense.
• The subject presents high levels of anxiety before performing routine exams.
• The anguish begins some time after receiving the medical discharge.
• Presence of intrusive and catastrophic thoughts.

It is important to take into account that the anxious behavior in the subject must be intense and prevalent. for a significant period of time, otherwise it could be due to some specific situation and not Damocles syndrome.

In any case, Damocles syndrome is not an officially recognized clinical category in psychiatric manuals.

What to do about this situation?

Bearing in mind that this syndrome is mainly based on states of intense anxiety and anguish caused by intrusive thoughts of a catastrophic nature, treatment is divided into psychotherapy sessions for the patient and counseling for family members.

In the case of the patient, the process is based on making him understand her real situation, that he is a survivor and that this should be a reason for joy and motivation to have a full life.

It seeks to keep the subject in the here and now, preventing your thoughts from going faster than the reality you are living at that moment. Psychotherapy based on cognitive behavioral methods are efficient during the sessions.

In the case of relatives, the process consists of psycho-educate them so that they do not play a counterproductive role in the life of the subject in question; It often happens that due to ignorance, the family acts in the wrong ways, being able to become extremely protective of the person, causing them to become even more anxious.

And sometimes the opposite happens: since they think that he has fully recovered, they think that it is best to keep him away from the whole environment of hospitals and doctors.

None of these positions is correct, the ideal is to follow to the letter what is indicated by the specialists, attend consultation when scheduled for routine check-ups and not make decisions based on beliefs personal.

Bibliographic references:

• Baker, K. (1987). Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia.