Autosabotarea și autosubminarea: efecte asupra dezvoltării individuale și strategii ameliorative

Abstract

In a hectic, performance-centric world where comparison and competition have become ubiquitous, the human brain often finds dysfunctional self-defense mechanisms to cope with the multitude of stimuli acting upon it. Thus, we talk about self-sabotage and self-undermining, as concepts related to self-destructive behavior and thoughts that, most of the time, have negative effects in our lives. Self-sabotage involves deliberately preventing one’s success, this is associated with physical, mental, and emotional degradation (Wilson, 2021). Dobler, Emmermacher, et al. (2021) argue that self-undermining is a health-impairing behavior pattern, with individuals experiencing pressure to perform tasks and pushing themselves to higher and higher standards. raised. It is the fulfillment of a conceptual distinction between self-handicapping and self-handicapping behaviors. Both affect individual performance, but self-handicapping reserves a conscious strategy to protect self-esteem in the event of failure, while self-undermining involves reactive, unwanted behaviors, diminishing individuals’ optimal functioning, thus undermining development (Bakker & Wang, 2020). Individual capacities for self-evaluation, awareness, learning, and personal growth can contribute considerably to removing self-sabotage and self-undermining from personal and professional life, but perceived empathy is also found useful to provide support to people who are under the influence of the two behaviors.