Disturbances of Character
Almost all the principles of traditional psychology are based upon the attempts of various theorists to explain a phenomenon rare for its time and almost totally unheard of in modern times. Character disturbance — not neurosis — is the pressing psychological reality of our day and simply can’t be understood or dealt with using traditional paradigms.
Almost all the principles of traditional psychology are based upon the attempts of various theorists to explain a phenomenon rare for its time and almost totally unheard of in modern times. That’s right. You see, in Sigmund Freud’s day, some individuals actually suffered from such strange maladies as “hysterical” paralysis and “hysterical” blindness. Such conditions were never common and were the outgrowth of the brutally socially repressive Victorian era. If there were a motto describing the “zeitgeist” (i.e. social or cultural milieu) of that time it would be: “Don’t even think about it.”
What Freud discovered was that strange illnesses that appeared physical were actually psychological and could occur when an individual experienced an unreasonable and excessive level of guilt or shame for merely being tempted to act on a basic human instinct. Freud treated some of these individuals (most of whom were women) and coined the term “neurosis” essentially to describe the kind of internal struggle he believed existed between a person’s instinctual urges (i.e., id) and their conscience (i.e., superego), the excessive anxiety or nervous tension that often accompanies this internal war, and the unusual psychological symptoms a person can develop when attempting to mitigate (through the use of ego defense mechanisms) the intensity of the emotional pain associated with these inner emotional conflicts. His theories seemed to explain the unusual cases he encountered. But he also came to believe that he discovered broad principles that could explain the psychological makeup and functioning of everyone. Many of the terms Freud and his followers coined have been in common parlance for years and most of the central tenets of his theories still enjoy a fair degree of acceptance despite the fact that several have been proven completely false or significantly flawed.
Not only are some of the central tenets of traditional psychology of questionable validity, but also times have changed dramatically since the days of Sigmund Freud. If there were a motto or saying best describing the “zeitgeist” of our time, it would be much like the once popular commercial used to urge: “Just do it!” As a result, highly pathological levels of neurosis have all but completely disappeared, especially in industrialized free societies. Instead of modern culture being dominated by individuals overly riddled with guilt and shame (”hung-up” as children of the 60s used to say), western society has produced increasing numbers of individuals who aren’t “hung-up” enough about the things they let themselves do. So, today we are facing a near epidemic of what some refer to as “character disturbance.” Neurosis is still with us, but for the most part at functional levels. That is, most people today experience just enough apprehension and internal turmoil when it comes to simply acting on their primal urges that they don’t in fact “just do it.” Instead, they experience just enough guilt or shame that they moderate their impulses and conform their conduct to socially acceptable standards. Their neurosis is functional. It helps make society work.
Dealing with the epidemic of character disturbance wouldn’t be such a big problem if it weren’t for the fact that most folks (both lay persons and mental health professionals) are not only versed primarily in classical theories of human behavior but also hold general beliefs about human nature that emanate from these theories. They then attempt to understand and deal with character disturbance with concepts originally designed to explain and deal with neurosis.
Understanding and dealing effectively with character disturbance is challenging for other reasons as well. For one thing, it’s not politically correct to frame some emotional and behavioral problems as stemming from issues of “character.” So, character pathology is at times framed as something else (e.g., an “addiction,” ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, a “chemical imbalance” the symptoms of which might be somewhat managed with medication, etc.). Sometimes, personality or character disturbance is simply written off as unchangeable or untreatable. Sometimes, even professionals will turn a blind eye to character issues and view everyone — even the most severely character-disturbed individual — as neurotic, at least to some degree, and then attempt to treat their supposed neurosis. But the reality is this: character disturbance is the pressing psychological reality of our age, and it’s an entirely different phenomenon from neurosis, requiring a different and broader understanding of the workings of the human psyche. Furthermore, it simply can’t be dealt with in the same way one might typically deal with neurosis. It can only be addressed effectively by employing tools and techniques that are radically different from those developed to treat neurosis.
Over 13 years ago, I published In Sheep’s Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK], which is regarded by many as the definitive book on manipulative characters and introduced the subject of the ever-increasing problem of character disturbance. The book remains a bestseller even after all this time because of grass-roots support, highly positive reviews, and unprecedented word-of-mouth recommendation. I’m presently finishing a new book on character disturbance and also fashioning blog posts that highlight the very distinct differences between neurotic and character-disturbed personalities. In the coming weeks, several posts will address these key differences and help you understand what makes the disturbed character tick.
Other articles by Dr George Simon, PhD
This article was last reviewed by Dr Greg Mulhauser, Managing Editor on Monday, 8th September 2008. You can leave a reply below.
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10th September 2008
Thanks George,
Looking forward to the series. I’m not sure what a character disturbance is.
Is it related to depression. There seems to be a lot of it about – the amount of prescribed drugs for it is quite mind boggling.
Thanks again.
10th September 2008
Hi George,
thank you for a thought provoking introduction!
Some of my thoughts are these:
1 The examples you give of strange maladies from the past may be alive and well today in different cultures. It is a commonly noted fact (in literature on multi/trans cultural counselling) that people from some cultures typically experience what “we” might call ‘psychological’ distress more as physical distress, and in any doctors waiting room you will find any amount of people with conditions directly related to depression and anxiety but who do not make the connection.
2 Freud’s was the dominant form of thinking and understanding of the day, and today’s dominant form may be something like character disturbance, but the reality described always escapes the categories
3 I don’t know very much about character pathology. But from how these ideas get filtered down into popular culture and how I pick them up, I get a little concerned that the theory leads to the demonisation of people – a goodies and baddies scenario, and that doesn’t strike me as healthy either for the goodies or the baddies.
While there are definitely patterns of behaviour, such as abuse, I don’t see how it is helpful just to label people so that others can avoid them! You do indeed need to avoid some people, but not because you have read up on how awful they are, but because you have gained self respect yourself.
I have had plenty of people coming to me as a therapist who were manipulative and they each had their own individual reasons for being so. I don’t think many of them were born that way.
I am sure the definitions can be very helpful too, in the right context, I suppose I am just a little wary of this becoming the dominant way of thinking about “other people”.
11th September 2008
Manipulation and so forth are usually our best efforts to survive i think.
Finding other ways to get the goodies is often possible I find.
11th September 2008
[...] I’m doing for another blog.  That series began with a post that pointed out the failure of traditional psychology to provide an accurate framework for understanding the phenomenon of character disturbance, as well [...]
13th May 2009
This is very interesting. I have been thinking about how manipulative people work. There does seem to be a paradigm, or frame of mind, a set of beliefs, values and morals, or lack of them, that dictate peoples rationalizations about life and how they interact and justify interactions with others.
I am a psychology student, but have always believed that it was flawed in many ways, and if used as a generalization on all people, can be counterproductive and even dangerous. It can even be used to help manipulative people, become even more manipulative…especially against those who have accepted the idea that we are all alike underneath it all.
I tend to think, that what people choose to believe, and adopt as their values and morals tend to reflect in our society today, the prevailing attitude that instant gratification is the key to being happy. But it is counter-productive and can become an addiction in and of itself. Instead of living in the moment, we are living for the next moment, in the past, or in the future. Constantly exposing the self to things that distract the self from being in the here and now. This need for instant gratification, has lent itself to defining the values and morals that we adopt…and from these values and morals, come our justifications for our behavior.
It seems in this paradigm of thought, integrity is a word…not an experience. It is destructive to the self- and to others. In a state of mind that seeks disocciation, one is not whole, and is not integrated…as a person. To live in the moment is to be whole, integrated and focused. To feel in the here and now in this moment, is where true creative energy comes in. This energy is like a life force. We can find it with in our selves. If we do not and cannot find it, from with in ourselves…we take it from others…manipulation, guilt, shame, abuse, war. Conflict stems from one taking power from another. We can share our power, but it should never be taken by deceit, coercion, betrayal, mind games…and the like. People who manipulate, essentially, are taking power away from you.
13th May 2009
Great points and very well stated, Amanda. One thought. I believe our instinct to survive and prosper is closely linked to our instinctual urge to acquire power – and especially in males – to dominate. This is not an inherent evil. Our primal instincts got us through eons of challenges to our existence. Now that we have evolved to the level we have, the real challenge is to reckon with our legacy and pave the way to an even higher plane of existence. The “evil” that still exists is the failure of some to “own” and voluntarily subjugate their baser instincts in service of the greater good.
Every single radical group causing misery and grief in the world today does so in the name of dedication and subservience to a higher cause. Yet, the truth of the matter is that the will to dominate is their real motivation. Some are “in denial” of this, while most simply lie and cloak their true intentions because of their commitment to power.
The new age will come when we abandon our worn-out metaphors and honestly reckon with ourselves, our heritage, and what we hope will be our future.
2nd October 2009
Dr. Simon, thank you for writing such an important book. I can’t wait to read it. I’m mostly interested in the psychopathic personality, having just emerged from a “cult of one” after 25 years. Haven’t these personalities always existed? For instance jeckyl and hyde, jack the ripper etc…
I agree that the lack of character/narcissism is epidemic today because of so many social factors but what caused it in the victorian era, in jack the ripper?
2nd October 2009
Thanks so much for your comments, Skylar. The new book will have much to say about psychopathy. It will also address the longstanding misconceptions about the root causes of all character disturbance. I have a new series of posts that started yesterday that will give a “sneak peek” into the book before its wide release.