Do you think you act differently when alone than when other people are around? The answer to this question is typically a resounding 'yes. ' We are concerned with our social image or how other people see us; some more than others, but very few people see no difference in their behavior.
Groups Produce Conformity
In modern times, groups protect us from loneliness and/or purposelessness. By conforming, we demonstrate our willingness to be a part of the group, thus increasing the likelihood the group will protect us. Conformity can be a positive force if the group supports positive behaviors.
Everyone does it sometimes. You act differently at a funeral than you do at a party. You speak differently around your sheltered grandma than you do around your buddies. Things like that are easy enough to do and just considerate.
A big reason we behave differently in different situations is because Behaviour Breeds Behaviour. This means a couple of things. Firstly, if you do something once, it's easy to do it again. If you smoke once, it's easy to smoke again.
There are many causes of unusual or strange behavior, including medical and psychiatric illnesses. Two of the more common medical causes are: Delirium -- Sudden or quick onset of reduced consciousness, awareness, perception, or thought that may be a symptom of a medical illness such as brain or mental dysfunction.
Personality changes can be caused by a mental illness like depression, bipolar disorder, or personality disorders. It may also be caused by physical illnesses like a urinary tract infection (especially in older adults), concussion, or brain tumor. Understanding the cause can help create an effective treatment.
It may stem from an unwillingness or an inability to connect with others. There are two general types. In some cases, you may develop emotional detachment as a response to a difficult or stressful situation. In other cases, it may result from an underlying psychological condition.
When someone copies the facial expressions, gestures, vocal inflections, opinions, and attitudes of another person during a social interaction, this is known as mirroring.
People can also change their personality based on who they're around. If the person you're with makes you uncomfortable, you're not likely to be very talkative and offer up good conversation.
Feeling lonely can also have a negative impact on your mental health, especially if these feelings have lasted a long time. Some research suggests that loneliness is associated with an increased risk of certain mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, sleep problems and increased stress.
"Loneliness can change the neurochemistry of the brain, turning off the dopamine neurons, which trigger the reward response, and causing some degeneration in the brain when the reward response is not activated," says Katherine Peters, MD, PhD, FAAN, associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Duke University.
Social identity theorists argue that when in a crowd, we experience a shift from our individual selves to a collective self, and our behaviour in response to this shift is regulated by the social norms shared by our fellow group members.
Were you born this way? The ways you are include your personality, intelligence, character, virtues, sexual orientation, and gender identity. These result from interactions of five factors: genetics, epigenetics, early childhood learning, later social learning, and choice.
People with BPD tend to experience intense emotions. In theory, “quiet BPD” describes when these significant feelings are directed toward yourself without letting others see them. Some of the emotions associated with BPD include: anger or rage. anxiety.
Mirroring, or reflecting back what others say and do, is a common behavior that many of us engage in, often unconsciously, to create rapport and show feelings of connectedness with others.
chameleon – noun, often attributive : a person who often changes his or her beliefs or behaviour to please others or to succeed : one that is subject to quick or frequent change, especially in appearance.
Results: Based on the analysis, emotional distancing is a self-controlled defensive strategy involving emotional separation from patients to maintain neutrality. Conclusion: Emotional distancing can enable health-related workers to protect the mental health of nurses while also providing best nursing care to patients.
For some people, being emotionally detached is a coping mechanism—a strategy that is used to protect them from stress or getting hurt. For others, it can be a reaction to trauma, abuse, or unprocessed emotions, which makes the person unable to open up about their struggles.
The outward signs of a mental illness are often behavioral. A person may be extremely quiet or withdrawn. Conversely, they may burst into tears, have great anxiety or have outbursts of anger. Even after treatment has started, someindividuals with a mental illness can exhibit anti-social behaviors.
While a gradual personality change isn't unusual, a sudden change can be caused by an injury or illness.
As a result, stress has been implicated in the development of several highly recurrent and chronic forms of psychopathology, including anxiety disorders and depression (Slavich & Irwin, 2014), which can promote persistent changes in affective aspects of personality (Klein, Kotov, & Bufferd, 2011).