Is Excessive Sacrifice A Psychological Problem?

Psychiatrist / Psychotherapist Asst. Assoc. Dr. Rıdvan Üney gave information on the subject. Sacrifice means giving up one's own interests for the sake of a purpose or for anything that is wanted to be accomplished.

Sacrifice; It has different meanings in terms of doing and done. We have made various sacrifices in our lives. We make sacrifices for our parents, for our children, for our spouse, for our siblings, for our relatives, for our friend, for our job, for our country, for our boss. Making sacrifices gives people satisfaction and makes you feel good. However, how much of this is good for us, how much of it bothers us, this is the main problem.

Regardless of who the sacrifice is for, if it is above a certain level, if it is unlimited, it hurts the person who does it. Because one has to give up his own interests for the interests of others. We make sacrifices for our children from birth. When he is sick, we do not sleep until the morning, we postpone our own food to feed him, we give up our own needs for school needs. These are natural and healthy situations. We don't care about ourselves while making these sacrifices. In fact, when we see the positive results of these, what we do does not matter.

People often get used to comfort. Therefore, when excessive sacrifice is made, the other party will no longer care about it. He does not find it valuable. Despite this, the altruist does not give up on this. He disrupts his own work for others. He can never finish his work. Sometimes this situation is noticed by others and abused.

Despite all this, the reason why one makes sacrifices is excessive anxiety, intense fears, obsessive thoughts and extreme remorse.

Excessive sacrifice is seen in some psychological and psychiatric disorders. In an obsession or anxiety disorder, the person thinks that if they do not make a sacrifice, something bad will happen to them or their loved ones, that someone will be sick or die. Although he finds this situation absurd, he cannot prevent his thinking. He feels a deep remorse. He continues to sacrifice to get out of this situation. Her life gets harder and more complicated.

Not all sacrifices are a problem. However, if the person is overly self-sacrificing and cannot prevent this, if this situation affects his / her own life, getting psychological or psychiatric support will make his life easier.