The Wounds Of Authoritarianism Take The Longest To Heal

Humiliation, neglect, aggression, domination … The wounds of authoritarianism heal very slowly, leave scars and even condition us in some aspects. Thus, that shadow of an authoritarian father or mother, a dominant partner or a narcissistic and equally authoritarian boss can accompany us for years in the form of a knot that we cannot undo.

It is always important to return to this topic, that of authoritarianism. Either from a social or psychological point of view, it never hurts to influence this dimension that has caused so much damage to our history. Since Theodor Adorno theorized for the first time on this subject in 1950 in his book  The Authoritarian Personality , this area has only progressed and become much more profiled thanks to social psychology and multiple works and field investigations.

However, while the bibliography on this type of psychological profile is more and more extensive and reliable, we still do not have too many works on the impact that authoritarianism can have. And we are not only talking about the effect of an upbringing in this context. We also refer to affective relationships and to those work settings controlled by a clearly authoritarian figure.

They are those microspheres where a series of dynamics as exhausting as they are harmful inhabit, and that we do not always know how to handle. We are talking about an important topic that is worth delving into.

The wounds of authoritarianism, marks that persist

The poet Luis Cernuda used to say that we are all an echo of something. We all carry a voice, a weight, a burden that conditions us consciously or unconsciously. We know, for example, that a childhood of abuse and mistreatment generates a traumatic effect that impacts the child at any level: emotional, psychological, development … Now, the veil of authoritarianism is present in many ways in our society and even more, not only coexist with us: we allow it.

There are mothers and fathers who underestimate their children, who exert abusive control over them and who completely restrict their emotional development. Likewise, much the same is true in many organizations and companies. We value innovation, creativity and human capital, but in management positions there are still figures who prefer docility and who do not hesitate to belittle and control their workers.

Dr. Eric R. Maisel, a well-known University of California psychologist and writer, validated a questionnaire a year ago to assess the wounds of authoritarianism. This interesting instrument allows us to explore the impact that these types of dynamics have on human beings. Thus, and after having applied this test in multiple social settings: universities, health centers and well-known companies, it has been possible to conclude that a good part of the population “carries” the imprint of that brand, the one that authoritarianism exercised in some moment of our lives.

The impact of authoritarianism

The Eric R. Maisel scale measures ten dimensions  that can occur in any relationship, in any family, couple, work relationship, etc. Identifying these characteristics would help us curb the negative impact of authoritarianism and act accordingly before these consequences take root in our dynamics, both thought and behavior.

They are as follows:

• Threats and use of the tactic of fear or blackmail.
• Undervaluation.
• Quixotic rules (unclear, meaningless, or variable).
• Hate: this emotion is always present, they project it on us or on others. The authoritarian always has his “black list”, people that he detests and that he considers his enemies.
• They have their own truth, their scheme and conception of how the world is. The rest are wrong.
• They are controlling, but the need for control in the authoritarian personality goes much further. He also enjoys ridiculing, humiliating.
• Rigid thinking.
• They are intrusive
• They distrust everything and everyone.
• Absolute lack of empathy.

The anatomy of authoritarian wounds

The wounds of authoritarianism are traumatic. They can change our personality, condition our choices and even the way we see ourselves. Everything will undoubtedly depend on the time in which we have been in contact with the authority figure and the way in which we have ended the relationship with that person.

So let’s see what effect this type of abusive and painful dynamic can have on us.

• Low self-esteem.
• Feeling that we have no control over ourselves.
• Unsafety.
• Anxiety and post-traumatic stress.
• Feeling of ineffectiveness.
• Frustration and accumulated anger that we don’t know how to channel.

How to heal the wounds of authoritarianism?

There are many people who come to therapy after many years working in a company. After leaving that employment contract, they feel the need to leave behind another type of contract: the emotional one. That paid only with suffering, with the violation of dignity and generated by an authority figure who exercised abuse, control and even humiliation.

The same happens in many relationships, where one of the members acted with the same dynamics. Thus, something that we must take into account is that in those cases where we experience that someone restricts our freedom in any of its forms, what they are exercising is a type of abuse. It may not leave a physical trace, it may even our penal code does not record certain behaviors as the object of a complaint, however, they are ways in which our rights are violated and as such, we must defend ourselves.

Psychological intervention in these cases should focus on restoring lost self-esteem. What patients need is to put many of these situations aloud and discover, understand and accept that, indeed, they were victims of psychological abuse. Likewise, therapies such as that based on EMDR (Reprocessing and Desensitization) have become an interesting strategy in recent years to treat unpleasant or traumatic events, reduce anxiety and promote emotional recovery.

To conclude, let us never ignore the effect of that fine shower of authoritarianism that seeps almost without our realizing it in countless settings, both public and private. The consequences often come at an immense cost.