Messiah Complex

[Eddi]

If you have an example of a “typical” case I would love to hear of it.

Otherwise what are we discussing here?

I can offer my past self as an example

And also a friend of mine

And also I think @Jimmy

I'm sure there are many other cases you could find if you looked for them

 

[GoodAttention]

Most messiah complexes don’t last that long.

That’s a shame, if they could have been saved.

 

[Jimmy]

That’s a shame, if they could have been saved.

I’m not saying that they die. I’m saying most Messiah complexes don’t last that long.

 

[GoodAttention]

I can offer my past self as an example

And also a friend of mine

And also I think @Jimmy

I'm sure there are many other cases you could find if you looked for them

If that’s the case I have zero idea what “Messiah complex” really is.

At this point, thanks to all for the discussion, and if there really are such people out there I’ll say this.

GTFU off the computer and go BE good Christians!

 

[Vinayaka]

Just what is it? I mean what do people exactly think they can do when they have this complex? Do they think they can make the blind see? Do they think they can shape shift? Does anybody here have any inside information on what these people actually think about themselves as far as special powers go? Probably not because of doctor patient confidentiality. I’m just curious.

The definition states that someone believes they’re a Messiah or prophet that will save or redeem people. It’s a little vague.

If you do some research in medical papers on grandiose delusion, you'll most likely get a better feel for it. It's a mental health issue that is far more common than the average man knows. Source: my psychiatrist friend who works at an institution, after I asked him. It can be crippling, and I have empathy for it, personally.

 

[Jimmy]

If you do some research in medical papers on grandiose delusion, you'll most likely get a better feel for it. It's a mental health issue that is far more common than the average man knows. Source: my psychiatrist friend who works at an institution, after I asked him. It can be crippling, and I have empathy for it, personally.

Care to share any details?

 

[Jimmy]

If you do some research in medical papers on grandiose delusion, you'll most likely get a better feel for it. It's a mental health issue that is far more common than the average man knows. Source: my psychiatrist friend who works at an institution, after I asked him. It can be crippling, and I have empathy for it, personally.

I think stuff that severe like you’re talking about, has more to do with paranoid, delusions and chemical imbalances in the brain, schizophrenia, and stuff like that rather than merely thinking you’re a messiah. There’s something definitely wrong on a deeper level.

 

[Vinayaka]

I think stuff that severe like you’re talking about, has more to do with paranoid, delusions and chemical imbalances in the brain, schizophrenia, and stuff like that rather than merely thinking you’re a messiah. There’s something definitely physically going on.

So, in your view, thinking and believing you're a messiah isn't a serious issue for that individual? I can agree with that just so long the person isn't acting on it against other people, or hasn't convinced others to do dangerous things. If they're just ranting away in their Mother's basement, I see no issue to humanity.

 

[Eddi]

If that’s the case I have zero idea what “Messiah complex” really is.

You have been given explanations here by multiple people

At this point, thanks to all for the discussion, and if there really are such people out there I’ll say this.

GTFU off the computer and go BE good Christians!

Godspeed and amen!

 

[Jimmy]

So, in your view, thinking and believing you're a messiah isn't a serious issue for that individual? I can agree with that just so long the person isn't acting on it against other people, or hasn't convinced others to do dangerous things. If they're just ranting away in their Mother's basement, I see no issue to humanity.

If they’re not harming anyone else or themselves. But like I said most people that think these things have something else going on that’s deeper.

 

[GoodAttention]

If they’re not harming anyone else or themselves. But like I said most people that think these things have something else going on that’s deeper.

Deeper for them is relatively speaking.

We draw the line at harm because one should not add to suffering.

The next step is to move on from time spent wishing, since time spent wasted is also a form of suffering (imo).

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Just what is it?

A messiah complex is when someone feels destined to save others, often feeling compelled to take on that role. It is usually connected with grandiose beliefs about themselves, and inflated sense of responsibility, a desire for control, and a need for recognition.

An example of a Messiah complex could be someone who constantly intervenes in the lives of friends or family, believing they alone can "save" them from their problems, even if the intervention is unwanted or inappropriate.

When someone goes beyond this to think they are literally the messiah promised in the Bible, that's called a delusion of grandeur, and is a form of psychosis. This kind of delusion interferes with the person's ability to function. It is a very serious thing, and needs medical intervention.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

I don't think he is typical though

If anything he's an extreme case

In that he managed to get followers

Probably other issues there as well

I think that "messiah complex" exists on a spectrum ranging from people who butt into their friends' private lives because they feel called to save them from their mistakes, to delusional sorts who think they are Jesus.

 

[Jimmy]

A messiah complex is when someone feels destined to save others, often feeling compelled to take on that role. It is usually connected with grandiose beliefs about themselves, and inflated sense of responsibility, a desire for control, and a need for recognition.

An example of a Messiah complex could be someone who constantly intervenes in the lives of friends or family, believing they alone can "save" them from their problems, even if the intervention is unwanted or inappropriate.

When someone goes beyond this to think they are literally the messiah promised in the Bible, that's called a delusion of grandeur, and is a form of psychosis. This kind of delusion interferes with the person's ability to function. It is a very serious thing, and needs medical intervention.

So how are the Jews ever going to be able to get their Messiah if they’re all sent to the hospital?

 

[Jimmy]

I think that "messiah complex" exists on a spectrum ranging from people who butt into their friends' private lives because they feel called to save them from their mistakes, to delusional sorts who think they are Jesus.

Would you consider what I believe about myself a Messiah complex? Just curious.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

So how are the Jews ever going to be able to get their Messiah if they’re all sent to the hospital?

Let me answer that two different ways.

First, the Jewish messiah would have no need to claim being the Messiah. It is the world that will make this declaration.

Second, not all religious Jews share a belief in one particular man who will be the messiah. Many of us focus more on the idyllic messianic era. "The messiah" functions as a metaphor for the efforts of human beings who work to bring that about.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Would you consider what I believe about myself a Messiah complex? Just curious.

I don't know enough about you to answer. What beliefs do you have about yourself that I should comment on?

 

[The Hammer]

The Role of Psychotic Disorders in Religious History Considered | The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences

The authors have analyzed the religious figures Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and St. Paul from a behavioral, neurologic, and neuropsychiatric perspective to determine whether new insights can be achieved about the nature of their revelations. Analysis reveals that these individuals had experiences...

psychiatryonline.org

"The Role of Psychotic Disorders in Religious History Considered"

The authors have analyzed the religious figures Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and St. Paul from a behavioral, neurologic, and neuropsychiatric perspective to determine whether new insights can be achieved about the nature of their revelations. Analysis reveals that these individuals had experiences that resemble those now defined as psychotic symptoms, suggesting that their experiences may have been manifestations of primary or mood disorder-associated psychotic disorders.

 

[Jimmy]

I don't know enough about you to answer. What beliefs do you have about yourself that I should comment on?

Never mind

 

[IndigoChild5559]

The Role of Psychotic Disorders in Religious History Considered | The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences

The authors have analyzed the religious figures Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and St. Paul from a behavioral, neurologic, and neuropsychiatric perspective to determine whether new insights can be achieved about the nature of their revelations. Analysis reveals that these individuals had experiences...

psychiatryonline.org

"The Role of Psychotic Disorders in Religious History Considered"

The authors have analyzed the religious figures Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and St. Paul from a behavioral, neurologic, and neuropsychiatric perspective to determine whether new insights can be achieved about the nature of their revelations. Analysis reveals that these individuals had experiences that resemble those now defined as psychotic symptoms, suggesting that their experiences may have been manifestations of primary or mood disorder-associated psychotic disorders.

I thought I replied to this in an earlier post?

Robert Sapolsky, a scientist well know for his research into primates, neuroscience, and behavioral biology, discusses the relationship of mental conditions to religion.

Using the analogy of genetic disorders being devastating when fully expressed, but helpful when only partially expressed, he comments on how schizophrenia, a fully expressed disorder, is devastating, but that schizotypal personality, a far less severe expression which still has meta-magical thinking, is adaptive. The difference is one of context. The schizotypal person will speak with the dead at the right place and right time and in the right way, and be seen as a valuable person to have in the group. The schizophrenic who hears those voices constantly is universally marginalized.

In a similar vein, he discusses the propensity of human beings to engage in ritual behavior to soothe anxiety. However, this trait in its fully expressed form (OCD) is a debilitating condition.

Sapolsky would not characterize people like Moses, Jesus, Buddha, etc. as being psychotic.