Hubris syndrome, excessive omnipotence

Hubris syndrome is characterized by excessive arrogance that exceeds the limits of what could be considered normal.

The word Hybris either Hubris, It comes from the Greek and means 'pride', 'arrogance' or 'presumption'; The Greeks used this term to refer to human behavior characterized by arrogance that challenged the gods.

What moved those who suffered from Hubris syndrome was a ambition without limits, with reckless and insolent behavior that led them to think that they could get far beyond what fate had planned.

The most interesting thing is that Hubris syndrome exceeds the edges of mythology and is in the real world, not only with the behavior of kings, rulers, emperors, politicians and managers, but also that It can also affect doctors or businessmen, as well as any other person who reaches a position with responsibility and begins to experience the symptoms of rising.

Content

• Hubris syndrome
• 12 Main symptoms of Hubris Syndrome
• The phases of Hubris Syndrome
  • Bibliography

Hubris syndrome

The ego of those who suffer from Hubris syndrome is excessive, their approach to life is exaggerated, eccentricities predominate in their daily lives and usually despise the opinions of others.

According to author J. González-García, in his study on the Hubris syndrome in neurosurgery, People with this syndrome experience a sensation of omnipotence that leads them to transgress the limits that immortal gods have imposed on mortal man, according to mythological vision.

In Greek mythology, with this term there were reference to those who believed themselves similar to the gods and acted like them, thus breaking the balance that should exist between men, nature and the gods, which led to the contempt of others and commit cruel acts.

In turn, this terminology is related to the moiras, the mythological beings that were responsible for measuring, threading and cutting the thread of life. Who was sick of Hubris was believed with a superior right to have more thread than he had been assigned and rebelled against his destiny. It is because of that It is currently used as a synonym for arrogance, superb or arrogance.

Similarly, in Greek mythology, nemesis, it was the goddess of justice, moderation and balance, who punished those who were sick of Hubris, thus restoring the balance of nature. That is why the Sun melted the wings of Icaro, when it intended to fly very high, making it fall into the sea and making it disappear forever.

The neurologist, member of the Chamber of Lores and British former chancellor, David Owen, in 2008, published a work in which he presented the psychological profile of those who suffered from Hubris syndrome, attracted by the behavior of politicians, dictators and parliamentarians. In his text, Owen coined the term "Hubris Syndrome" to refer to leaders who believed to have been called to carry out great works and demonstrated a tendency towards omnipotence and grandiosity, being unable to listen to criticism.

For Owen, Hubris syndrome is related to power and is increased by success, so it describes it as an acquired disorder that can be reversible and that can decrease once the power has disappeared.

In 2009, Owen and psychiatrist Jonathan Davidson proposed that Hubris syndrome was considered as a psychiatric disorder, mentioning with fourteen symptoms that characterized him.

Some of these symptoms are unique, but the rest are similar to those collected in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM), which are suggestive of other personality disorders, such as antisocial, histrionic and narcissistic. But, in order to establish the diagnosis of Hubris, only the presence of at least three of the 14 criteria suggested by the authors is required and that at least one of them is unique.

In addition, an exclusion criterion established by experts was that no organic or psychiatric disease that could justify such symptoms could coexist.

12 Main symptoms of Hubris Syndrome

Among the symptoms of Hubris syndrome, the following stand out:

1. A narcissistic propensity to see the world as a scenario in which you can seek glory and exercise power;
2. Tendency to carry out actions to self -guide and improve your image;
3. Excessive concern for the image;
4. Messianic mode (as if it were a messiah) when talking about any current matter or the tendency to exaltation;
5. Identification with the nation, the State or a certain organization;
6. Tendency to talk about himself in the third person;
7. Excessive trust in his own judgment and contempt for the criteria of others;
8. Exaggerated self -confidence with trends to omnipotence;
9. The belief that equals, society or colleagues should not be accounts, but before higher cuts, to God or history;
10. Loss of contact with reality with progressive isolation;
11. Impulsivity, restlessness and recklessness;
12. Conviction of the moral righteousness of his ideas;

Who suffer from Hubris syndrome They end up being incompetent, due to excessive self -confidence and lack of attention to details.

Although this syndrome seems to correspond more with a definition of sociology, psychiatrists are aware of the influence that power can exert on a person, which can make the person sick of Hubris, losing command , feel anger, desolation and resentment.

In this regard, Owen pointed out that the pressures and responsibilities involved by power can affect the mind, since leaders stop listening, do not consult and begin to make decisions on their own and, although these are wrong, they never reach recognize their own mistakes.

In this sense, it is estimated that those who are affected by Hubris syndrome, at the same time, develop paranoid disorder, which leads them to believe that those who oppose their ideas are personal enemies that are moved by envy.

The phases of Hubris Syndrome

According to David Owen, who suffer from this syndrome usually cross several phases, among which are the following:

• Doubts: After being appointed to occupy a position, it is normal for people not to feel completely safe from their decisions.
• Self-confidence: If everything starts to go well, then people begin to feel that they are deserving of the position they occupy.
• Floods: Once success is reached, compliments arrive, which usually reinforce the ego and generate a feeling of endorsement.
• Arrogance: At this point, people are considered indispensable to question how the company has been able to survive without them.
• Pride: It is a phase in which megalomaniac idealization is present, in which the person feels indispensable, infallible and believes that he will always enjoy the effects forever.
• Paranoia: By believing that others act moved by envy, which leads to the fact that, who suffers from the syndrome, despises the criticisms that others make. Paranoia can also lead them to consider others as personal enemies.
• Fall in misfortune: Finally, it happens frequently that politicians reach this phase once they are electorally defeated and, in the case of entrepreneurs, with dismissals.

In this last phase, the patient of Hubris syndrome does not understand why he has been dismissed from his position, which can lead him to live a depressive picture.

God's complex, the pride taken to the extreme

Bibliography

• González-García, J. (2019). "Hubris" syndrome in neurosurgery.  neurol.(Ed. impr.), 346-353.
• Caiza evils, k. AND. (2020). Hubris syndrome and personality types in health professionals. Riobamba, 2019(Bachelor's ahesis, National University of Chimborazo 2020).
• Miguel, a., & Negrón, C. (2020). Perception of the existence of Hubris syndrome and its characteristics in a sample of employees in Puerto Rico(Dissertation Doctoral, Albizu University).