507. The Cassandra Dynamics
When a catastrophe comes out of the blue, it is a challenge allowing oneself to use the own resources and abilities to deal with it. When one faces a problem and does not know, what to do, it is also a challenge to find a solution by using one's own resources.
But the situation of the Cassandra dynamics, when knowing exactly, what needs to be done, while being prevented from doing it, is a situation of the extreme emotional stress of being made helpless and powerless.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra_%28metaphor%29
"The Cassandra metaphor is applied by some psychologists to individuals who experience physical and emotional suffering as a result of distressing personal perceptions, and who are disbelieved when they attempt to share the cause of their suffering with others."
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cassandra%20Syndrome
"Cassandra Syndrome
1) The condition of speaking the truth and having no one believe you.
2) The condition of being able to predict the future, be it the outcome of a particular event, or the reactions of others to the same event, and having no one believe your prophecy until it transpires.
3) Being able to see or understand things long before others, often resulting in them coming to the same conclusions long after your own initial analysis. "
The expression 'syndrome' is misleading, because it focuses too much on Cassandra herself as being the person having some psychological troubles. I prefer to call it Cassandra dynamics, because it concerns the disrupted interaction of two or more persons. Cassandra herself has not the problem, she is implicated by the problems of others.
Cassandra is usually a woman, but sensitive men can also be trapped in the situation of being aware of some development leading towards a breaking-point, the pending catastrophe.
1. Cassandra dynamics are defined by:
- The catastrophe is pending either for Cassandra herself or for someone else or for both.
- Cassandra alone is aware of the pending catastrophe.
- Cassandra needs the other person's cooperation to avoid the catastrophe.
- The involved person's cooperation is not obtainable.
- Cassandra suffers feeling powerless.
2. Cassandra's circumstances
2.1. Cassandra dynamics as a partner in a relationship. Cassandra suffers emotionally beyond her resilience:
- Her emotional needs are not met by the partner.
- She is blamed for not meeting the partner's needs.
- She is blamed for her reactions to how she is treated.
2.2. Cassandra dynamics by altruism and caring. Cassandra feels empathy and wants to support others with insights, which only she has.
3. The partner's unobtainable cooperation to avoid the catastrophe.
- Cassandra cannot convey to him, that there is something wrong.
- Cassandra cannot convey to him her suggestions, what to do.
- He is unable to recognize Cassandra's competence.
- He perceives Cassandra not as an equal partner.
Examples of men's fallacies, flaws and mistakes causing the unobtainability of their cooperation:
3.1. Asymmetrical relationship.
The man gets all his relationship needs met, because he experiences and considers a woman merely as a body chosen for physical homeostasis while not expecting anything more from the relationship. He fulfills his social and intellectual needs elsewhere. He projects his own contentment onto the woman. In this situation, nothing is wrong for him subjectively.
3.2. Imposing gender roles.
The social roles of male superiority causes the man's false belief, that he is the one to define the rules, structure, framework and conditions of the relationship. What he considers as correct treatment of a woman according to gender roles has to be automatically sufficient and suitable for any woman. If she suffers, the man considers it as her flaw, for which he does not need to take any responsibility.
3.3. The Dunning-Kruger effect.
The man overestimates himself and underestimates the woman. The man considers only himself as being competent to decide, how to manage a relationship. Even if he recognizes, that something needs to be improved, his attempts to do so are only decided upon in accordance with his own judgment. If he changes his behavior, he does so by trial and error. This aggravates the situation, speeding up the arriving of the catastrophe. He only throws the woman from the frying-pan into the fire.
3.4. Immaturity
Immaturity, lacking empathy, a low EQ or NLD (Non-Verbal Learning Disability) can cause men to be unable to understand other persons' including a partner's needs or to communicate successfully. Sometimes such men rely on simplified recipes from self-help books, how to handle or even manipulate women. The man's belief of behaving correctly according to his faulty concept of how to treat a woman makes him mindblind to perceive and understand any verbal or non-verbal information indicating her suffering. Such a man is prone to believe the recipes written by male relationship gurus more than a real woman's feedback.
3.5. Selfishness
Psychological problems cause some men to have a selfish attitude and entitlement delusion. They experience and consider others including the partner as utilities existing to serve their needs. They handle, use and maintain them at their convenience, instead of caring for others' individual needs, of which they are oblivious. As long as a person functions according to the purpose for the selfish man, there is nothing wrong and no reason to bother.
3.6. Need for power
Psychological problems cause some men to feel a need for power and control, which causes them to struggle for domination. Narcissists or men with a strong need to reduce anxiety and insecurity, are examples. When they want to believe in their own morality, then they can avoid cognitive dissonance only by the full denial, how much domination causes suffering to the repressed woman.
My mindmate to be found is someone, with whom I will not experience the Cassandra dynamics.
