“Xenophobia” is a common notion. We often use this word in everyday speech, we meet in the press. But not every one of us clearly understands what is xenophobia.
it diseasebut peculiar. Unlike agoraphobia (fear of open spaces) or arachnophobia (those suffering from this pathology are afraid of spiders in panic) related to typical mental deviations, xenophobia is a social as well as psychological, mental pathology.
Cause this disease is always rooted in the very personality of the patient. Therefore, getting rid of this disease is achieved differently than the cure of most other phobias.
Definition, characterization and synonyms
We give a brief description of the concept. In ancient Greek, "phobos" means "fear".
What is meant is not rational (fear of what is really dangerous, what really threatens us), but irrational fear. That is, the fear that in fact is not at all dangerous.
Psychologists, psychiatrists and sociologists call “phobias” unfounded fears that torment people. Such conditions can also make the patient dangerous to others. This refers to xenophobia.
We talk about xenophobia most often when people suffering from this deviation behave aggressively and brutally. However, this is only one of the visible manifestations of the disease.
In fact, the patient himself suffers because feels threatened by himself your safety and your life. His aggression is an attempt to defend himself against the danger that he supposedly threatens.
“Xenos” is “alien”, “not ours”, “alien” or “incomprehensible”.
“Xenophobia” is the fear of other people than the patient himself: another nation, race, ethnic group, religion, other age, gender, with other convictions, worldview. Whether this inner emotional state manifests itself in some actions does not matter to the doctor.
Xenophobia is not usually mental illness. Although a certain stage of it can lead to mental disorders, but this happens infrequently.
Most psychiatrists who suffer from this ailment would be called completely sane. However, socially and psychologically they are not.
Out of three major mental illness: schizophrenia, paranoia and hysteria - xenophobia is closer to schizophrenia and paranoia.
Schizophrenics perceive the world split into pieces (“schizo” = split, split off a piece), not connected with each other and often hostile to each other.
Although in reality the world consists of complementary, mutually friendly parts, closely interconnected and interacting with each other. Approximately as the schizophrenic perceives the world and the patient with xenophobia.
Paranoia - This is a persecution mania. It seems to such a patient all the time that he is threatened, they want to be offended, even killed by various people, who in fact do not even know about this person and do not think about him.
Emotionally paranoia similar to xenophobia: those who suffer from both ailments feel threatened, although there is no real reason for this.
Therefore, the individual symptoms of these diseases may overlap, but these are completely different diseases.
Full synonyms to the word "xenophobia" no. Often it is replaced by the concepts of "nationalism", "racism", "chauvinism", but this is not true.
"Nationalism" is a concern for its people. In its malignant forms, it does indeed close in with xenophobia, but there is also a benign form of nationalism.
And even its extreme forms are not by disease. Nationalism is a belief system, usually not accompanied by any fears.
"Racism" - also an ideological category related to people's beliefs.
This is a conviction in the superiority of their race over all other races. Racists also usually do not suffer from any fears.
"Chauvinism" - This is also a worldview, although very close to that which is characteristic of xenophobic people.
Chauvinists are convinced of the superiority of their nation over all others. Chauvinism is a malignant form of nationalism.
If xenophobia is viewed only as a belief system (which is wrong), it is closest to chauvinism. However, in reality xenophobia is exactly social and psychological deviation.
Those who suffer from it should be treated as sick, which is not the case with chauvinists, racists and nationalists.
Who are the xenophobes? (examples)
Imagine that you came to Israel, the Jewish state where you also live many Arabs and Ethiopians. Outwardly, they do not look like Jews.
You get in a taxi. Driver - typical Jewfluent in Russian. Drive past a street cafe. Behind the table closest to the road are two dark-skinned young men.
Seeing them, you snort loudly and speak, obviously counting on your sympathy: “What ?! Are these Papuans here ?! ”
Jewish driver knows perfectly well that these are Ethiopians and not Papuans.
He knows that these are different nations. He also knows that migrants from East African countries perform almost all the black work in Israel that local people do not want to do. That is, these people are of great benefit.
However, Israel is a small country, the number jobs there are limited. And this man subconsciously fears that the aliens will force him and his children. This is a threat. They came here, there are many of them, they have ten children in their families.
They energetic, don't shun any work. It seems to the driver that these migrants threaten the well-being of him and his family. And he fears these people. Seeing them, he feels anxiety, anxiety, irritation. A lot of them! And they are different, not like me! Is it dangerous!
Such an emotional state can be rationalized (“rationalization” is the term psychoanalysis: it is an attempt to rationally explain what is fundamentally irrational) with the help of some, even quite convincing, reasoning. But its basis lies beyond consciousness and mind.
Tolerance vs xenophobia:
Kinds
The essence of this disease is always irrational fear of strangers.
But in the division of humanity into "their" (not causing concerns) and "alien" (dangerous) can use completely different criteria. Depending on them, different types of xenophobia:
- Fear of other nations (usually outwardly clearly different from their own people).
- Fear of other races (means with a different skin color).
- Fears are caused by representatives of another culture, carriers of incomprehensible, alien values (although they may belong to the same ethnic group as the patient himself).
- Fear of another subculture (teenage).
- Fear of people of another sex (lynophobia).
- People who profess a different faith, or even supporters of the same religious concept, but its other branch (Sunni - Shiites, Catholics - Orthodox - Protestants), sometimes sectarians seem dangerous.
- Fears are caused by people of a different sexual orientation.
- They are afraid of those who lead an unusual lifestyle, adheres to strange ideas (hippies).
- They fear political or ideological opponents.
- They are afraid of competitors in the economic sphere.
It is difficult to give an exhaustive list: there is exotic types of xenophobia.
For example, fans of one football team are afraid and hate fans of another. Or teenagers from one yard avoid teenagers from another, neighboring yard.
ABOUT the natural nature of xenophobia and the psychology of tolerance in this video:
The reasons
The main cause of this pathology is considered to be self-doubt in some respects, personal inferiority or inferiority complex.
The reason is not the one who is feared.
This is very important for understanding the nature of this deviation. The reason - in the patient. Something is wrong with him.
What exactly?
Adolf Schicklgruber (future Hitler) in his youth was an artist. However, he failed to get a full-fledged art education. He painted paintings to order in private.
Then he tried to radically improve his position, improve his social status and income. To do this, it was necessary to enter the Academy of Arts and finish it.
However adolf not accepted. He presented a number of his paintings to the creative competition. The professor who selected the candidates was a Jew. Adolf knew about it. This professor had a typically Jewish appearance.
He did not select the work of candidate Schicklgruber, since it seemed to him that the author was not independent, not original enough, although the talent of the draftsman was clear. This failure hurts hit on ego Adolf
Since then, he had an irrational fear of the Jews. He began to perceive all Jews as a kind of parasites that penetrated into the body of the German nation and destroy it.
It is quite obvious that Hitler’s disease has a sense of weakness, helplessness, an inferiority complex. Deep down he was sure that Jews are talented, stronger, more energetic, betterand in fair competition with them he has no chance.
Hence the idea that all Jews must be destroyed.
It is known that Adolf had cold and despotic father.
He shouted at his son, beat him and did not love him at all. Thus arose the complex, deepened due to certain circumstances of his life.
If Hitler had not encountered a Jewish professor who had “slaughtered” him in a creative exam, he could not become an anti-Semite. But it would still be a xenophobe.
Only the outward direction of the disease would be different. However, Hitler was afraid and hated both Roma, and gays, and blacks, and Slavs.
Xenophobe can fear anyone. The choice of the object is quite random. But it is no coincidence that he is unsure of himself and fears other people who are not like him.
Symptoms
Symptoms and signs manifestations of phobia:
- the patient is constantly restless, he is nervous, irritated, unable to distract from what he cares about;
- sleeps badly, sees nightmares. Often then he tells them, moreover, it seems to him that these dreams confirm his fears;
- constantly very emotionally discussing with those around him who arouses his fears, cannot distract from this topic;
- does not look happy, satisfied with his life, seems unhappy, dissatisfied;
- in relations with people (even those who do not bother him, even with relatives) is cold, detached, touchy and suspicious;
- his facial expression is often squeamish, like a person who feels an unpleasant smell;
- he is attached to the past (his family, nations, races, or his co-religionists), which seems beautiful to him, whereas in the present everything goes wrong. It seems to him that it is necessary to correct the present, returning it to its former, ideal, state;
- he does not tolerate contradictions, is clearly nervous in a dispute; if you disagree with him, it becomes aggressive.
Methods of treatment and advice of psychologists
Xenophobia only drug not treated. It is a disease of the soul, not the body. Tablets per capita do not affect.
However, as an additional means, medical treatment can be used (to stabilize sleep, for example).
This pathology is incurable if the patient himself does not understand that sickthat he needs to be treated. It is impossible to cure this disease against the wishes of the patient himself, since the root of the deviation is in the person’s personality itself.
To help such a patient, you need to strengthen his self-confidence. He must learn to adequately evaluate himself and others. In competition, he feels very weak, so you should teach him to be stronger.
Without strengthening self-confidence, overcoming an inferiority complex pathology is incurable, as it is secondary to this complex.
You need to contact not a psychiatrist, but a psychotherapist or psychologist.
Exist various treatments: occupational therapy, individual conversations, cognitive-behavioral therapy, group methods, canistherapy (treatment by care of dogs), hypnotherapy.
Unfortunately, the problem of patients is often that there are many of them, so they consider their deviation to be a normal phenomenon. People tend to consider the usual normal.
Not realizing your problemit cannot be solved. The patient, confident that he is healthy, hurts himself. And no one can help him.
Yuri Shevchuk on xenophobia:
