What is a god complex and how can you tell that someone has it?
Have you ever interacted with someone who came across as boastful, entitled, and who made you feel inferior? Well, you may have been dealing with someone with a personality flaw known as a god complex.
Source: UGC
Individuals suffering from this condition display a pattern of arrogant and self-centered behavior and thinking. They also lack empathy and crave to be admired wherever they go. People who relate with such individuals often describe them as selfish, demanding, cocky, patronizing, and manipulative.
What is the best definition of god complex?
So, what is a god complex? It can be described as a delusional self-image based on uncontrolled narcissism, overblown arrogance, and a need to have control, humiliate, and at times mock other people in a way that makes them feel inferior or unworthy.
God complex definition continues to explain that an individual with this condition may refuse to acknowledge the possibility of failure or error, even in the face of extremely challenging situations. They may also perceive their opinions as unquestionably correct.
They disregard the rules of society and believe that they are an exception; thus, they require special privileges and consideration.
God complex is not considered as a diagnosable disorder or a clinical term. Therefore, it does not appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Which is the best god complex meaning?
As you can now define god complex, what does it actually mean? It is a common misconception that people with this condition love themselves. The truth is that they dislike themselves to a great extent.
Their inflated arrogance, perfectionism, and self-flattery are what they use to hide their true feelings and identity, even from themselves. As they do not admit to being flawed, they project their insecurities on others through criticism.
This category of people refuses to evaluate themselves as they are afraid of the truth. They are also emotionally dead and rely on validation from others, unlike what they portray to the outside world.
Diagnosis of the god complex
Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which is the most appropriate god complex synonym, is a rare mental disorder characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, a deep need for admiration, entitlement, and an alarming lack of empathy for other people.
As is evident in the definition god complex, the condition can get extreme to the point where someone with the disorder does not even view the people around them as humans. It is an obsessive preoccupation with power and status that gives it the moniker god complex.
All personality traits range from mild to severe. For the god complex, mature individuals are able to idealize romantic partners and use their skills and talents to accomplish their goals while exploiting only neurotic defences.
Source: UGC
The middle category has unstable boundaries and employs borderline defences. The most severely affected employ psychotic and destructive defences. Their relationships, both personal and professional, are also usually unstable.
Signs and symptoms of the god complex
To identify someone suffering from this state of mind, whether mildly or severely, you will notice some behaviors and traits.
1. Sense of entitlement
As these people consider themselves to be special, they always expect to receive favorable treatment when compared to those around them. They believe that they should always get what they want and expect others to comply with their wishes and demands.
If you claim to be unable to meet their needs, they will deem you as useless. They also do not take such responses lightly and will use aggression to call you out for your incompetence.
2. Grandiose sense of self-importance
This trait is characterized by an unrealistic sense of superiority where the individual believes that they are special and unique; thus, they can only relate and be understood by similar people.
As they claim to be above average, they desire to be associated with people, things, and places that have high status.
They believe to be better than everyone else and expect to be recognized for this, even without doing anything significant. They are also known to exaggerate their talents and achievements.
When talking about relationships, they rant about how much they contribute without mentioning the impact of any other party involved. They claim to be a great friend, partner, family member, or business associate and consider the people in their lives lucky to have them.
3. Exploitation of others
These kinds of people lack the ability to identify with others. In other terms, they lack empathy and cannot put themselves in another person’s shoes to try and understand them. This is because they view others as objects to serve their needs.
Therefore, they take advantage of others whenever they need something said or done without caring how it will affect them. Generally, they do not care how their behavior affects those around them.
If you try to point it out, they will not understand as they only care about their needs and how they benefit from any situation.
Source: UGC
4. Living in a world of fantasy
As reality does not support their grandiose view of themselves, they live in a fantasy world that is characterized by magical thinking, distortion, and self-deception.
To make them feel like they are in control and unique from within, they spin self-glorifying fantasies of attractiveness, power, ideal love, success, and brilliance.
These fantasies are meant to protect them from feeling empty and shame. Therefore, any facts and opinions brought up contradicting their fantasy are dismissed.
Any comments or opinions that threaten to burst their fantasy bubble can be met with rage or extreme defensiveness. Therefore, those around such individuals learn to be careful about how they address issues with them as a result of their denial of reality.
5. Demeaning, bullying, intimidating and belittling others
When they meet people who appear to have something they lack, they tend to feel threatened. They do not like to feel challenged, especially by individuals that are quite popular or seem confident.
Therefore, they neutralize the threat by trying to bring the threat down. This can be done by dismissing their opinions or even ignoring their presence. Sometimes, they go to the extend of insulting, bullying, or even using threats.
6. Need for constant praise and admiration
To keep them feeling like a god, these individuals need their ego fed. They try to surround themselves with those that constantly compliment them as they crave for affirmations at all times.
As these relationships are often one-sided and most times, they never last for long. If the attention of the admirer is diverted, interrupted, or diminishes, the admired sees it as a betrayal.
How to avoid being a victim of someone with a god complex
These people are often very charming and magnetic at first as they appear to be composed and extremely confident. This is all because they are living in a fantasy world; thus, their lives tend to be very attractive to normal people as there is something different about them.
It is important to note that this is just an illusion, and if you fall for it, you will end up getting hurt, with your self-esteem shattered at the end of it all. Therefore, this is how you avoid being a victim.
1. Examine how they treat other people
When you meet someone, take time to not only evaluate how they treat you but also how they treat others. If they are disrespectful, manipulative, hurtful, and liars, they will eventually treat you the same way. Do not be deceived that you are different.
2. Check on the fulfilment of your needs
As they are not usually looking for partners but obedient admirers, you need to check if your needs are being met. If you feel like your feelings and needs are irrelevant to the potential partner or friend, you need to leave.
3. Create healthy boundaries
The foundation of a healthy relationship is mutual care and respect. People suffering from a god complex are not capable of being in a healthy relationship.
This is because they do not see, hear, or recognize others outside of how their needs will be met. Therefore, such an individual cannot meet the basic requirements of a healthy relationship, let alone those required to take a relationship to the next level.
4. Have a plan
When seeking a new romantic relationship or friendship, write down what you are looking for. If you have a history of meeting abusive people, whether emotionally or physically, list down all the traits and behaviors that they had to avoid making the same mistake.
Source: UGC
5. Keep your boundaries
In any relationship, you need to be willing to uphold the boundaries you have created. This is the only way you will be taken seriously.
For instance, if you state that you always have to go home after a meetup or date, you always need to do this because when you do not, the other party will see that you are willing to adjust your boundaries to please them.
6. Know yourself
When you know yourself, any type of negative comments or opinions from others will not mean anything. Therefore, when you come across someone with a god complex, you will immediately identify what they are trying to do and avoid their company.
7. Kill the need for approval
It is important not to base your worth on anyone’s opinion. By doing this, you protect your self-esteem from being destroyed. You will also never have to do anything to prove a point to someone.
8. Understand the scope of healthy relationships
To understand something, especially if you have not experienced it before, you ought to be presented with a clear picture of it. You can achieve this by interacting with people who have had similar experiences.
9. Spend time with honest people
When you surround yourself with genuinely honest people that you confide in and who care about your well-being, they can help you identify, eliminate, and avoid toxic people from your life.
How to leave someone with a god complex
By the time most people resort to leaving someone, it is usually after trying every possible alternative to save the relationship. Leaving a toxic friend, family member, or partner is not easy, but when you are suffering and in anguish, it is usually the best option.
You do not necessarily leave because of hate. Sometimes, it must be done to put an end to emotional pain or abuse, feeling irrelevant, small and unopinionated, or even feeling ignored.
Source: UGC
We all deserve to associate with people who love us for who we are and not for what we have to offer. If you evaluate the actions of various individuals in your life and realize that they are manipulative, it is not worth it.
1. Learn about this condition exclusively
Develop a clear understanding of the god complex and learn the techniques they use to exploit their victims manipulatively.
With this understanding, you will be able to know which actions trigger certain actions from them. Having this kind of predictability will keep you a step ahead of them.
Therefore, for example, when you tell them that you want to end the relationship, they will often bring back the endless adoration and flattery that got you hooked to them. They could also make grand promises about special gifts or changing their behavior, which will never happen or be seen.
2. List down the reasons why you want to leave
This will help you know precisely why you want change as you deserve the best of what life has to offer despite any mistakes you may have made in the past.
Whenever you feel like you want to change your mind about leaving, you can check your list to remind you to stay on track. You can save it on your phone, laptop, diary, or anywhere that will be easily accessible.
3. Avoid making empty threats
Do not keep announcing that you will leave the abuser as they could make it harder for you. Just stay silent as you create a plan and leave when you are ready.
4. Find support
During this period, you can fear being alone if it is something you are not used to. This fear can also hold you back from ending the relationship as you will imagine being alone as you grieve.
Therefore, it is advisable that you reach out to someone you trust like a family member or friend to spend time with you during those trying times.
If you do not know anyone of this kind, you can reach out to support groups in your area or domestic violence shelters. Go where you will feel safe and protected, and allow yourself to grieve and heal from the trauma.
5. Contact emergency services
If they fail to allow you to leave or threaten you in any way, you should feel free to contact your country’s local emergency service and seek help.
Can a god complex be treated?
Individuals with this condition view the cause of their problems to be external. This is as a result of their defences of distortion, denial, and projection which prevent their ability for introspection.
When they agree to seek treatment, which they rarely do, they may seek treatment for depression and loneliness instead of getting to the bottom line of the problem. In this case, medication is not usually effective except for treating associated depression.
Source: UGC
They may also do it to manage an external problem such as major issues at work or a divorce. If it is a problem in marriage, the idea mostly comes from the spouse, who may also insist on conjoint counselling to give them a safe space for expressing themselves.
Individual therapy
Many therapists believe in-depth work should be avoided not only because the patient’s difficulties are felt as ego-syntonic, but also because they need to strengthen their defences against primitive feelings.
As much as it may be hard to treat, progress can be made over time. They can be taught how to manage their impulsivity and anger, as well as develop empathy by using imagination, that is, putting themselves in another’s shoes.
After the patient can trust and confide in the therapist, they can start mirroring to allow the patient to participate in self-reflection and accept as well as tolerate the interpretations.
Conjoint therapy
The goal of this form of therapy is for partners to achieve a more empathic and realistic object representation of one another to enable them to tolerate each other’s failures.
To create self-awareness and mutual empathy, the therapist can ask both parties to express the methods they each employ to protect themselves when they are hurt, their needs and wants from each other, and how effective their current strategies are.
This can open an empathic dialogue between them about the ways to communicate, their true feelings, wishes, needs, wants, and, therefore, understand if they have a positive or negative impact on each other’s lives.
Read also
Top 4 types of temperament with cool meaning: choleric, melancholy, phlegmatic and sanguine
Now, you could be wondering, ‘Do I have a god complex?’, or you could be even thinking about someone who could have it. Depending on your situation, you now have an idea of how to deal with god complex peacefully.
Source: Legit.ng
