Book Summary of "Archetypes of Fear"
Book: Archetypes of Fear: A Deep Exploring of Divisive, Melancholic, Obsessive, and Hysterical Personalities
Author: FRITZ RIEMANN, 1902-1979, German psychologist and psychoanalyst
Translator: Yang Mengru
Original book published: 1961
Translation published: 2017
"Archetypes of Fear: A Deep Exploration of Divisive, Depressed, Obsessive, and Hysterical Personalities" details the four basic fears, including emotional world, aggression, environmental factors, and the case story of the personality. Finally, through supplementary explanations, repeatedly Emphasize that these are not the case with personality defects, even healthy personalities face these four fear dynamics.
In the beginning, it was not "fear", but the driving force of desire. The author compared these four forces to the earth of the solar system. The four states of rotation, revolution, centripetal force and centrifugal force represent different dynamic trends.
The following summary:
Rotation - Split Personality
We want to be unique and we are afraid to give ourselves up and feel like we will lose ourselves.
If the motivation to protect oneself is too strong, it will become a "split personality", tending to isolate and hide oneself. In intimate relationships, they often push the other party away in a cold and sarcastic way, secretly set up a test level, and wait until the other party really If you leave yourself, you will think, "he/she really doesn't love me" or "he/she left after all".
Negative influence of the environment, causing split personality to be filled with anger or fear, thus strengthening the protective shell of the ego; persistent insecurity due to inability to make emotional connections, and real/imagined threats of aggression, venting to defend oneself The manner, including verbal and physical violence, can also be cynical and lack an intermediate tone of behavior.
Being able to express the inner fear is a certain degree of relief, but because of the fear of being called a lunatic by others, the fear keeps accumulating in the split personality, and it is difficult to express it; able to do.
Likes to work with less contact with people, healthy people with these characteristics, independent, do not bother others, have the courage to live according to their own arrangements, observe things in detail, be critical and firm, and have the courage to face things ugly and cruel On the one hand, it will not be cowardly or deliberately glorified.
Revolution - Melancholy Personality
We open up to the world, our lives, and the people around us, fear of feeling insecure and isolated from the world, fear of being ourselves.
Living only for others, worrying about the strong insecurities of being separated from the world, will become a "depressed personality", there is a strong need for someone to show their love, the love of others is desperately needed, and the distance between each other is eliminated as much as possible; distance represents Abandoned, this will make the melancholic personality fall into the bottom of melancholy, pessimism and despair.
The negative influence of the environment makes the aggressiveness of the melancholic personality not outward, but inward, cultivate a calm personality, allow oneself to be ignored, in order to make up for the injustice in the heart, it will raise a sense of moral superiority, and balance the heart in the way of aggression of anger, thinking that he has endured everything, the fault is the other party, and he has long shaped others as bad people, and he is the victim.
If you can't find an outlet, you will easily become passive, lazy, and become a symptom of depression. You have no interest in everything, or even despair. Learning to vent your anger is healthy and an important component of self-worth, which will help build healthy self-esteem. .
Likes to take care of, assist or obey others, and display the qualities of benevolence .
Centripetal Force - Obsessive Personality
We long for an eternal, stable future, so we are afraid of change, experimentation, unplanned things.
The more you are afraid of change, the more you resist it without change, and become a "compulsive personality". The desire for control is extremely strong, and it is difficult to accept things without absolute things, unchanging laws, and predictable results; in intimate relationships, others are required to follow Do what you want, otherwise you will suppress the other party. Protecting yourself from putting up with things you don't like is the most important life principle, so there is always indecision, doubt, and inability to make decisions.
Setting rules and patterns is a part of our lives, but there are some things that make no sense at all, but we feel that we have to do them, which can be called obsessive personality. For example: rigid educational methods, the supreme authority and principles of parents and nurturers.
The negative influence of the environment forces the personality to train itself to "keep silent", to suppress anger to avoid being punished or unloved, or to rationalize one's anger, to declare war on all the prohibited behaviors, to keep breaking the rules, and even to think that one's starting point is very important. sacred.
Like to engage in work related to power, accurate, careful, responsible and control over the overall business, familiar with professional knowledge, healthy people with similar characteristics, will be stable, hard-working and motivated people, if they make good use of their characteristics, they will become a society mainstay.
Centrifugal Force - Hysterical Personality
We are ready to change ourselves at any time, dare to experiment, take risks, fear the freedom of change and restraint.
Escape from all norms, become a "hysterical personality", hate bondage, love adventure, there is no eternal absolute, the present and the present are the most important, keep open to the future, ready to let go of the past at any time; in intimate relationships, like to fall in love and expand The ego has a strong desire to be affirmed, and the partner is a mirror used to prove oneself and gain a sense of self-superiority.
They often look at each other's economic ability, reputation, status, and property, and often demand a lot from others, but are not prepared to pay in equal measure. Whenever there is a problem, they complain and distort the facts. If they cannot be satisfied, they turn to others. Compete and prove one's ability as aggressive behavior to gain self-esteem and respect.
The environment of extreme oppression and coercion from childhood causes a hysterical personality to prefer to be a child who is irresponsible; or a child who lives in a doting family and can enjoy life without learning responsibility and independence can easily become a hysterical personality; or , Parents are extreme characters, sometimes they are kind, sometimes they appear indifferent, and their uncertain characters make people confused, so "authenticity" is their most fundamental problem.
Healthy people with these characteristics are resilient, energetic and enthusiastic, have an optimistic view of life, and are good at seizing opportunities to live a rich life.
There are four archetypes of fear in everyone's heart
The book has a detailed introduction to the personality story and mentions mild, moderate and severe symptoms. The above summary is for reference only. The environmental factors that shape the personality of reading are usually derived from the background of childhood growth, but adults can also be affected by the environment. Injury; fear in our hearts can grow negatively or positively.
Those who are closer to us will magnify these fears, and will always test how we face them, but we are not perfect, neither perfect nor complete . The fear that afflicts us is a sign that helps us to identify the imbalance in our life, or that a major challenge is holding us back, a new understanding, a new freedom will be gained, and in this way there will be fear positive meaning.
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