Trying to help others can be beneficial for your health. But if you feel that you have to do it and put your own well-being to the side to make it happen, this can be a problem. This is referred to as savior complex syndrome. It may not seem important, but in some cases it can lead to more serious problems.
People with a savior complex may feel that it is their destiny to save other people and that they are responsible for helping others. In such cases, people may be overly well-intentioned, or they may take on the role of savior for self-serving reasons, such as a desire for praise, power, self-worth.
The savior complex is a mental condition and can be experienced by individuals with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, delusional disorder and schizophrenia.
People with a savior complex may have good or bad intentions to save others. They may achieve good or bad results in saving others.
If you want to help others because you feel superior or for power, and your behavior harms others, this may be a signal to seek psychological support. In some cases, people with a savior complex may not treat other people well and may want them to obey.
What are the symptoms of a savior complex?
You may enjoy helping other people and show too much eager behavior or want to rescue people who could harm you. Helping other people is of course useful. It can become a problem for yourself and others around you when the time you put in starts to have a negative impact. For example, you may think that losing sleep to do a good deed does no harm, but over time the physical and mental factors can become toxic .
People withmegalomania can also set out to help other people. An individual with megalomania may have an intense sense of self-worth and feel that they are more important than they are in real life.
If you feel that you are responsible for another individual's needs and aim to meet those needs, even if they are bad, you may be more prone to a Messiah complex or pathological favoritism.
Individuals with eating disorders generally tend to support others rather than themselves. Some experts think that individuals with eating disorders may be more likely to carry pathological altruism, which is linked to carrying this complex.
Individuals with megalomania need to be praised or think they are more important than they are. These individuals may be more likely to carry a creator complex. Other mental problems may be associated with this condition, but having any of these problems may not necessarily mean that you have a creative complex.
How does a creative complex harm a person?
Really wanting to help others and feeling that you have to help others involve very different situations. Here are some of the ways in which a creative complex can harm a person;
- If you try to save someone who is in danger, it can put you in physical danger.
- It can affect you mentally, especially if you cannot save the other person.
- It causes you to ignore your own physical needs which can cause discomfort.
- It can negatively affect your personal relationships.
- The people you are trying to help may be badly affected.
Is the Savior Complex a Mental Disorder?
It is not a mental disorder, but people with mental disorders can have a savior complex. It is compared to grandiosity or important thoughts about themselves. This is when there is an intense sense of a person's importance, strength or identity. It is quite common in individuals with bipolar disorder. The Christ complex has also been linked to schizophrenia and delusional disorder.
You don't have to have a mental disorder to have a Christ complex . You can start helping other people with good intentions or help them to develop this complex over time. Some people help others at their own expense because they want to feel good about themselves or because they want to feel that they are in control of others. Having a savior complex does not mean that you are harming other people, but it may not be good for your or their overall health.
What should a person with a savior complex do?
Helping others is not a bad thing. There are many healthy aspects, but sometimes doing good things for other people can lead to neglecting oneself. Even the best intentions can lead to bad consequences.
There is no diagnostic test for a savior complex, but a therapist or counselor can help you identify it.
Getting help is a helpful way to analyze your feelings so that you can help others without exaggerating or running away. If the savior complex is rooted in a desire for power over other people, or if you truly believe that you are a savior, therapy can help you understand how your beliefs affect your life and those around you.