By: THEODORE MILLON
et al.
Although the term
masochistic was coined in reference to a specific male sexual perversion, it
quickly became associated with the feminine and submissive. Hence, it has become a politically charged construct that has been
dropped from the DSM-IV. The
masochistic personality
also has several normal variants that are often described as saintly. For example, Oldham
and Morris’s (1995) self-sacrificing style lives to serve others. Millon’s yielding
style is moving closer toward the pathological end of the spectrum in that this
style tends to remain deferential to others despite possessing superior
abilities.
Several
variants of the masochist blend with other personality traits. The self-undoing masochist blends traits with the avoidant personality
where failure brings some kind of relief from anxiety. Possessive masochists blend with
negativistic traits and tend to try to guilt others into staying with them. Oppressed
masochists combine depressive traits with the masochistic ones and tend
to complain about their terrible lives although they do not necessarily enjoy their
sufferings. Virtuous masochists are a blend with histrionic traits as well as dependent
ones and are stoic in their suffering, while continually manipulating others with their generous
giving. Masochists
share many traits with other personalities, including the depressive,
dependent, compulsive, and borderline personalities. They are also vulnerable
to developing dysthymia, panic disorders, and somatoform disorders.
Like the term masochism,
sadism has become a politicized construct. Originally coined in response to the Marquis de Sade, who derived
sexual pleasure by causing others to suffer, it quickly came to describe other,
nonsexual behaviors. Also like masochism, sadism has been dropped from the DSM-IV, although it was only in the
appendix of the DSM-III-R.
While true
sadists are only seldom encountered in everyday life, sadistic traits and behaviors are all around us.
Millon’s
controlling style is an example of normal variants of the sadistic personality
who enjoy using their power to direct and intimidate others. Some combinations with other personality traits are
possible. Explosive sadists possess borderline traits and seem to use their
aggression as an outlet for emotions rather than like other sadists who
use it to gain control. The tyrannical sadist possesses features of the negativistic
or paranoid and is particularly frightening and cruel. The enforcing sadist has
many compulsive traits and acts like society’s sadistic superego. The
spineless sadist is
combined with avoidant traits where hostility is a kind of a counterphobic act.
The sadist also shares many traits with negativists, antisocials, paranoids,
and narcissists. They
are also vulnerable to certain Axis I disorders such as anxiety disorders,
substance abuse, and paranoid fears.
For depressive
personalities, being depressed is more than a symptom. Like a person suffering from depression, depressive personalities
feel sad and guilty, but their emotional state is indicative of an entire
matrix of pervasive and long-standing characteristics of feeling worthless and
inadequate. On the continuum toward normality, people with depressive traits may be
reflective of negative aspects but are not overcome by them and are self-conscious of
their standing but able to take criticism constructively.
There are several
variations of the depressive personality that mix with other personality traits.
The ill-humored depressive is a mixture with the negativistic personality that complains endlessly and is chronically irritable. The
voguish depressive is a mixture with histrionic or narcissistic features that sees
suffering as noble. Self-derogating depressives possess some dependent
features where they feel guilt and must discharge it though self-punishment.
The morbid depressive shares features with the masochistic personality and
frequently blends into
an Axis I clinical depression. The restive depressive has avoidant
features, expressing
anguish and agitation. Depressives may share many traits also with
the schizoid,
compulsive, and borderline personalities. They are also often diagnosed with
dysthymia, major
depressive episodes, as well as with anxiety syndromes.
Negativists
vacillate between feelings of dependence and a need for self-assertion, usually feel misunderstood, and act out their
frustrations in indirect ways. Normal traits of this personality may be
seen when people feel overcontrolled by someone and have fantasies about ways to make
the overcontrolling person suffer. More normal variants may possess the same basic tendencies but are able to
function in society and get along with others socially.
Several
variations on the negativistic personality exist. The circuitous negativist is
a mixture with dependent traits
that covertly undercuts others. The abrasive negativist shares traits with the
sadistic personality and is more overtly hostile and vile to others.
The discontented
negativist is a combination of the negativist with depressive traits, a
person that constantly
gripes. Vacillating negativists are mixed with borderline traits and experience rapid changes
in their emotions and attitudes. The negativist shares many qualities with other
personality types, including the paranoid, narcissistic, antisocial, and
masochistic. Anxiety, phobias, depressive episodes, and paranoid decompensation
are but some of the Axis I types of disorders to which the negativist is vulnerable.
References
Personality Disorders in Modern Life, second edition, 2000,
2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment