Ambivalence - what is it and how to get rid of it?

Initially, the term duality was widespread in medicine. For the first time ambivalence became known thanks to the French psychiatrist Bleuler in the 1900s. With the passage of time, this concept began to be used in psychoanalytic theories and the works of Sigmund Freud.

What is ambivalence?

Ambivalence is a bifurcation in a person's mind of a relationship to something and this can be due to experiences, or a two-way relationship to the subject, to a person and so on. A state within which two opposing feelings can coexist. In order to fully study the concept of ambivalence, it is necessary to consider it from the point of view of psychology and psychiatry.

What is ambivalence in psychology?

If we ignore, the fact that the term ambivalence was originally used only in the medical field, the idea of ​​the coexistence of completely different feelings in the human mind has become widely popular in psychoanalysis. From a psychological point of view, an ambivalent person is not sick, since this state can affect absolutely any person, the difference is only in the degree of manifestation of such a state. In general, ambivalence in psychology is a feeling of ambivalence toward anything.

Sigmund Freud argued that a vivid manifestation of duality can be expressed in different neurotic states, manifested in a certain period of personality development. Why do psychoanalysts pay so much attention to this feature? The basis lies in the very structure of the human superego. There are two inalienable instincts of life and death that already coexist in the mind of a person since its inception, which is a more visible indicator of ambivalence.

Proceeding from this, it can not be asserted that this phenomenon can be acquired, or caused by certain factors, but it should be noted that in the presence of conditions conducive to duality, this state can become much more dangerous and cause nervous disorders and as a result - negative consequences. Favorable factors can be the following:

There is also a well-known version that at one point, existing conflicting feelings or thoughts can enter into a conflict situation, as a result of which one state can displace the other in the subconscious. Because of this, not everyone is able to show ambivalence, which is present in the mind, against which background unpleasant situations develop.

Ambivalence in philosophy

The concept of duality in philosophy is viewed as a mirror image in the human mind of processes that contradict each other. The ambivalence of being consists in the constant struggle between good and evil, in birth and death, love and hatred. Every second a man is subjected to several drives simultaneously, making a choice, feeling and creating one or the other. Human life is filled with a lot of ambivalent feelings and decisions.

Ambivalence and ambition

Ambitendency means a complex violation of motor behavior, which is characterized by a duality in the sphere of spontaneous actions, the consequence of which is inadequate, strange behavior. This phenomenon is mainly manifested in people who are schizophrenic with catatonic syndrome. That is, an ambivalent process can lead to an ambition of a person with a psychomotor disorder.

The causes of ambivalence

The main causes of duality are the special factors that are manifested in humans.

  1. Inability to make any decision. The choice in front of a person occurs throughout life, and each decision entails a number of consequences, both good and bad. People who try to avoid making decisions face conflicts at the internal psychoemotional level, which leads to ambivalence.
  2. Uncertainty and subconscious fear of committing an error can also cause ambivalence.
  3. Prolonged depression, stress, negative emotions - all this can cause an ambivalent disorder.

Ambivalence in relationships

Man is a complex being in which there is no consistency between thoughts, actions and desires. Human feelings, in the main, do not have cohesion and unity. We can experience simultaneously two conflicting feelings towards one person. They do not inadvertently say: "I love and hate" - it would seem, how can one experience it at the same time?

An ambivalent attitude can be manifested in the simultaneous testing of the tenderness of the mother to her child and feelings of anger and irritation from fatigue, or love of her husband and hatred caused by jealousy. The duality of feelings can be the norm in the event that conflicting emotions are provoked and arise briefly, while there are certain established feelings for a particular object, person, or action.

Sexual ambivalence

Experiences of a dual nature in a sexual life can be caused by established norms of sexual life, from which a feeling provoked by sexual thoughts may arise. In addition, ambivalent feelings can be caused by the simultaneous presence of tenderness and thoughts of sexual rudeness. At one point a person may want something "sweet", and the next second give him "peppercorn".

Gender ambivalence

The problem is the uncertainty of a person in his or her gender and sexual orientation. There is no concrete certainty in the human mind - for some reason, it can rush between its definitions, not realizing which way it should be. The ambivalence of behavior can also be caused by the attraction of a sexual nature to both the female and the male.

Ambivalence in attachment

Ambivalent attachment is a kind of attachment, in which the child is not sure of his feelings for mother, he hesitates, then tries to attract her attention, then on the contrary pushing it away. Such a manifestation can arise as a result of the lack of trust between mother and her child. Education of children in severity, with constant limitations and limits, without the manifestation of warmth, affection and attention, leads to the subsequent duality of feelings in the child in relation to the parents.

Consequence of such a phenomenon may be the contrary, excessive guardianship of parents, intrusion into the child's personal space and constant attention, without any restrictions. As a consequence of such education, ambiguity may manifest itself. At the same time, with age, a person will become:

Ambivalence - how to get rid?

Ambivalence - a phenomenon that often occurs in the mind of a person imperceptibly and does not entail any consequences. However, if the ambivalence of emotions, feelings, brings discomfort in communicating with other people and in general in life, then you should consult a specialist. The treatment of ambivalence consists in properly selected remedies, based on the general state of the person and the causes of the origin of duality.

In therapy, drugs whose task is to suppress the pathological state of the psyche and stabilize the condition can be used. There are cases when the disease progresses, there may be a threat to the life of the patient and others, then treatment should be carried out in psychiatric hospitals. At the first signals of ambivalence, as manifestations of a pathological condition, one should not engage in self-medication, since this can not only fail to produce positive results, but also significantly aggravate the condition.

Given that ambivalence is a feature of the psychological state of a person, it is necessary to monitor your psyche, pay attention to any changes. If you are beginning to visit obsessive ideas that you can not get rid of on your own, then you need to seek help from a doctor. This will make it possible to identify the disease in the early stages, which will greatly facilitate the subsequent treatment.