Dysfunctional Personal Survival Mechanisms: why do they arise?

The human being is a social being. This successful phrase that the philosopher Aristotle revealed several centuries BC. C., continues to have an overwhelming validity.

The human ability to interact with other individuals, share experiences, resolve conflicts, receive support and affection, exchange positions... are skills that have guaranteed that the human species has been able to progress evolutionarily, guaranteeing his survival throughout the thousands of years of his history.

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The goal of the human being: self-survival

The concept of survival explains the large proportion of mental processes that a human being constantly carries out, at the level of thoughts, emotions, attitudes or behaviors.

For example, emotions, those experiences that are sometimes pleasant and in others not so much, are conceived as "alarms" or "messages" that are received by the individual in a specific situation in order to inform him that this must be faced or that he is facing a need that must be covered: anger, informs of the need to defend one's own rights; sadness indicates that we must assume a material or symbolic loss; fear communicates a potential presence of threat or danger; joy reveals the need to get closer to others to share some satisfaction, etc.

Another of the main phenomena that greatly influences how human beings function more or less effectively in their environment is the attachment style. This can be described as the type of bond established between two individuals, delimited by the affection and care exercised between them.

The attachment style that people internalize, despite the fact that it can be modified throughout adult life, is substantially formed in childhood. from how the child's relationship with the main reference figures is established, essentially the parental ones. It should be noted, however, that these are not the only significant influences, as other Family members, as well as close friends or school educators can also play an important role in This process.

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The affective bond: the type of attachment

The type of attachment that a person has determines to a large extent three essential aspects: how how the person perceives himself, how he perceives the environment around him and how he perceives others people. This perception is going to be responsible for laying the foundations on how it is going to relate to these three elements. And said relationship can be classified as safe (healthy and effective) or unsafe (unhealthy and harmful). Thus, recovering the Attachment Theory proposed by John Bowlby and developed by Mary Ainsworth in previous decades, the type of attachment can be defined into four categories: secure, anxious, avoidant, or disorganized, the last three being examples of a type of attachment that is not healthy.

In a synthesized way, in secure attachment, reference figures are unconditionally present, where affection, trust and care are given in all circumstances in which the little one manifests a need. This will cause the minor to learn to develop an active environment exploration behavior, where she will start social approaches towards other individuals in a natural way and where she will perceive herself as a valid and deserving being keen.

On the other hand, when significant figures are partially available (anxious attachment), they are totally absent. (avoidant attachment) or caregiving is abusive and neglectful (disorganized attachment), the infant internalizes highly distinct.

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Types of attachment and their psychological effects

Broadly speaking, the different types of attachment are linked to a functioning characterized by the following aspects.

In anxious attachment, the little one perceives the environment as unstable and potentially dangerous, for which he desperately seeks the affection and security he needs. The internalized message resembles "if I am perfect, others will give me their affection" and "I must please others to feel well."

In it avoidant attachment, the infant learns that he must fend for himself, since he cannot turn to others when he manifests a need, so he will develop a distant and cold functioning socially. The message he receives is "I can't count on or trust anyone" and "I have to be alone to feel safe."

He disorganized attachment It is usually associated with more extreme contexts of abuse, very conflictive and/or aggressive relationships, absence of interpersonal limits, traumatic experiences, etc. In this case, the probability of developing psychopathology is high.

Given the various cases exposed and considering that human beings are programmed to achieve their own survival, as indicated above, people tend to to develop a series of survival mechanisms in childhood to try to compensate or supply the emotional needs not covered, derived from an insecure attachment style. These supposed strategies should be understood a priori as "emergency exits", perhaps functional at first, but considerably harmful in the long term as the individual matures and transitions into adolescence and into adulthood adult.

As stated, an insecure attachment style can cause an unfavorable perception of oneself, the environment, and others. All this substantially correlates with what type of relationship dynamics the person establishes, with the level of self-esteem and self-concept acquired or the ability to cope with adversities vital.

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The main survival mechanisms in insecure attachment

The following are different survival mechanisms that people who internalize an insecure attachment style can develop:

1. An excessively self-demanding and self-critical personal style

This mechanism is activated with the purpose of artificial potential and dysfunctionally the level of self-esteem, since compliance with these requirements is linked to one's own well-being. The downside is that the individual never manages to meet her expectations because he feels that he is never enough.

2. The tendency to procrastinate

The fact of postponing tasks, responsibilities and/or the active approach to objectives makes it possible to avoid potential failure or facing unpleasant, complex or uncomfortable situations. This dynamic considerably feeds back the emotion of fear. and causes the loss of experiencing learning and personal enrichment.

3. Excess worry or rumination

This methodology is the one most associated with a need to control the environment and is frequent in people who perceive it as a dangerous or threatening place. It is based on the premise that anticipating all possible scenarios in the face of potential adversity generates a false sense of security in the person.

As in the self-demanding style, the need for control is infinite since it is not contemplated that in In each circumstance there are multiple variables beyond the control of the individual and, therefore, uncontrollable. The continuous worry leads the person to permanent states of hypervigilance and nervous activation, which can cause the development of anxious symptoms, fears and insecurities.

4. Constant physical and psychological self-observation

Faced with low acceptance or low tolerance for discomfort, as well as recurring recriminatory judgments when experiencing this phenomenon, the person tends to expose themselves to continuous examination to avoid manifesting any physical or emotional alteration, since it equates this phenomenon to a lower personal value and to being labeled as a weak or vulnerable being.

5. Distrust and Dysfunctional Jealousy

In this mechanism, the person tends to doubt the intentionality of the social and environmental context that surrounds them, so that suffering is protected in a preventive way. This methodology prevents establishing intimate and satisfactory bonds with other people.

6. Impulsive reactions of anger and aggressiveness

In this case, the individual camouflages his level of deep, more unconscious or excessively painful suffering under an emotion of intense rage, preventing him from being able to start an adequate coping with his discomfort real.

In conclusion

The type of bond established in early stages between an infant and the most important people in her environment is one of the factors that significantly influences her later personal functioning. It is for this reason that the internalization of a secure attachment will be an essential protective factor in adult life.

However, it should be considered that healthy and satisfactory interpersonal life experiences, as well as psychological work in which the reason for the which the person tends to apply a dysfunctional pattern in their relationships, are also other relevant variables that can make it possible to modify the individual attachment style of origin.