Control freak ( control maniac [Note 1] ) is an informal name for psychological accentuation associated with the obsessive desire to control everything that happens around. It became widespread in the English language in the late 1960s [1] .
Content
Psychological picture
Maniacs of control are also often perfectionists [2] seeking to protect themselves from internal vulnerability; their need for total control comes from the fear of re-experiencing the despair of helplessness once experienced in childhood [3] .
Those suffering from mania control tend to manipulate others and exert psychological or physical pressure on them to change behavior, which saves them from having to change their own behavior, habits and beliefs [4] , and avoids the feeling of their own internal emptiness [5] . Mania control is sometimes associated with the manifestation of codependency . In these cases, the fear of being abandoned by one of the dependents leads to attempts to control those whom the individual depends on [6] .
In the framework of the theory of “personality types A and B,” control freaks are strongly pronounced type A individuals who strive to dominate and lead [7] . Obsessive desire to lead others is also associated with sociopathy [8] .
Historical figures
It is believed that the signs of mania control were observed in many famous historical figures, including Queen Victoria , Duke Wellington , Vladimir Lenin [9] .
Queen Victoria
The BBC documentary “ Queen Victoria’s Children ” ( English Queen Victoria's Children ), released on BBC-2 in 2013, states that, judging by the way Victoria treated her children, she suffered from pathological control mania [10 ] .
Vladimir Lenin
Lenin's biographer Robert Service believes that the desire to dominate by all means was one of the main traits of V. I. Lenin's character. This desire was manifested both in major issues of party strategy and tactics, and in small things, sometimes funny [Note. 2] . The tsarist political police considered Lenin's hostile attitude to be useful in quality, and used him as an agent of influence to split the RSDLP [9] .
See also
- Personality disorder
- Classification of accentuations
- Almighty control (psychology)
Comments
- ↑ English verb to control has a pronounced active meaning ( command, dominate, direct, steer, pilot, hold sway over, rule, exercise, or govern, manage, lead, conduct, be in control (of), call the tune , guide, oversee, supervise [1] ), which most closely corresponds to the Russian “ to manage, direct ”, and not to control in the sense of keeping it under observation . There is no unambiguous translation into Russian of the expression Control freak (see Russian-English dictionary )
- ↑ During the journey from Germany in a “ sealed train ”, Lenin introduced tickets to the toilet (R.Servis “Lenin. Biography”, c = 250)
Notes
- ↑ Kristin Glaser, in The Radical Therapist (Penguin 1974) p. 246
- ↑ Michelle N. Lafrance, Women and Depression (2009) p. 89
- ↑ Art Horn, Face It (2004) p. 53
- London Robin Skynner / John Cleese, Families (London 1994) p. 208
- ↑ Robert Bly and Marion Woodman, The Maiden King (Dorset 1999) p. 141
- ↑ David Stafford & Liz Hodgkinson, Codependency (London 1995) p. 131
- ↑ Andrew Holmes / Dan Wilson, Pains in the Office (2004) p. 56
- ↑ Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door (2005) p. 47
- ↑ 1 2 Service, 2002 , p. 250
- ↑ Queen Victoria's Children BBC2 January 2013
Literature
- EA Deuble & A. Bradley, It Has A Name !: How To Keep Controls Freaks & Others Unhealthy Narcissists From Ruining Your Life (2010)
- Mary L. Berg, The Joy of Being a Control Freak (2011)
- Service Robert . Lenin. Biography = Service R. Lenin: a biography / Trans. from English G. I. Levitan. - M .: Potpourri , 2002. - 624 p. - ISBN 985-438-591-4 .