Self-pity is an
emotion
Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is currently no scientific ...
in which one feels self-centered
sorrow and
pity
Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to ''compassion'', '' condolence'' or ''empathy'' – the word deriving from the Latin ''pietas'' (etymon also of ''piety''). Self-pity is pity ...
toward the self in regards to one's own internal and external experiences of suffering.
Self-pity has also been defined as an emotion "directed towards others with the goal of
attracting attention,
empathy
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, co ...
, or help"
Description
The feeling of self-pity typically arises when an individual attributes failures to external factors perceived as uncontrollable.
Although the primary focus of self-pity is on the
self
The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhoo ...
and one's own emotions, it has a strong
interpersonal component as well. In addition to
loneliness
Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...
, subjects may also feel "
envy
Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.
Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred b ...
, blame,
anger
Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.
A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...
, and
hostility
Hostility is seen as form of emotionally charged aggressive behavior. In everyday speech it is more commonly used as a synonym for anger and aggression.
It appears in several psychological theories. For instance it is a facet of neuroticism in ...
directed towards others".
However, it is also very common for people suffering from self-pity to deflect criticism of themselves; they are usually incapable of
self-reflection
Self-reflection is the ability to witness and evaluate our own cognitive, emotional, and behavioural processes. In psychology, other terms used for this self-observation include 'reflective awareness', and 'reflective consciousness', which orig ...
and blame their bad situation only on external factors, such as bad luck or other people's supposed resentment.
Self-pity is different from
self-compassion Self-compassion is extending compassion to one's self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering. Kristin Neff has defined self-compassion as being composed of three main elements – self-kindness, common humanity, and min ...
, which consists of extending
compassion to oneself in cases of failure or general
suffering.
Effects
The research based on observation on self-pity is very slim, but the research that is available shows that self-pity can be an effect from a stressor of a dramatic event. It can also be shown that aspects of one's personality can have an effect of one's self-pity. This can also be combined with antagonistic views against others as their pity to themselves becomes jealousy to the people around. Although others initially respond to self-pity with empathic concern, the interpersonal effects of frequent expression of self-pity can be detrimental. Individuals that engage in pervasive self-pity may be more likely to be rejected by their peers and may commonly be perceived as querulous.
While looking into the science of psychology, the personalities that mostly respond to experiencing self-pity are moody and most likely experience feelings of anxiety, anger, loneliness, etc. In other words, people that are are more likely to have self-pity for the most of their lifespan. There is also evidence that the effect of self-pity can depend on gender, with women being more vulnerable and more likely to go through with that cause.
The focus of where self-pity could rise could come from their past failings or losses and as a result could break down the mind of a person. These people in question could repeat the cycle and continue to beat themselves down to further their pain.
Treatment
As self-pity is observed to be associated with
rumination and
avoidance coping strategies, it is an important emotional experience to acknowledge in therapeutic settings.
When someone goes through the effects of self-pity, it has been seen that these effects can be subsided if one were to think of happy thoughts during the process, it could be beneficial to them and reduce further harm. With the research that is given, it is possible that it can be used to prescribe and tell the difference between a person with anxiety and a person with depression. With how one would deal with self-pity, one could treat their ailment by finding some sort of relief and grow away from further pain.
See also
*
Moral emotions
Moral emotions are a variety of social emotion that are involved in forming and communicating moral judgments and decisions, and in motivating behavioral responses to one's own and others' moral behavior.
Background
Moral reasoning has been the fo ...
*
Pity
Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to ''compassion'', '' condolence'' or ''empathy'' – the word deriving from the Latin ''pietas'' (etymon also of ''piety''). Self-pity is pity ...
*
Self-conscious emotions Self-conscious emotions, such as guilt, shame, embarrassment, and pride, are a variety of social emotions that relate to our sense of self and our consciousness of others' reactions to us.
Description
During the second year of life, new emotions ...
*
Self-compassion Self-compassion is extending compassion to one's self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering. Kristin Neff has defined self-compassion as being composed of three main elements – self-kindness, common humanity, and min ...
*
Social emotions Social emotions are emotions that depend upon the thoughts, feelings or actions of other people, "as experienced, recalled, anticipated or imagined at first hand". Examples are embarrassment, guilt (emotion), guilt, shame, jealousy, envy, Elevation ...
*
Victim playing
Victim playing (also known as playing the victim, victim card, or self-victimization) is the fabrication or exaggeration of victimhood for a variety of reasons such as to justify abuse to others, to manipulate others, a coping strategy, attention ...
*
Victim mentality
Victim mentality is an acquired personality trait in which a person tends to recognize or consider themselves a victim of the negative actions of others, and to behave as if this were the case in the face of contrary evidence of such circumstances ...
*
Pity (film) – movie about the emotion
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Self-Pity
Emotions