Atlas personality
{{Short description|Personality trait found in those who took on adult responsibilities early}}
The Atlas personality, named after the story of the Titan Atlas from Greek mythology who is forced to hold up the sky, is someone obliged to take on adult responsibilities prematurely. They are as a result liable to develop a pattern of compulsive caregiving in later life.
Origins and nature
The Atlas personality is typically found in a person who felt obliged during childhood to take on responsibilities such as providing psychological support to parents, often in a chaotic family situation.R. Baron, Psychology (1995) p. 516 This experience often involves parentification. {{cn|date=March 2025}}
The result in adult life can be a personality devoid of fun, and feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders.N. Barry, Mother's Ruin (2013) Depression and anxiety, as well as oversensitivity to others and an inability to assert their own needs, are further identifiable characteristics.[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2044-8341.1993.tb01758.x/abstract L. Z. Vogel: Atlas personality] In addition, there may also be an underlying rage against the parents for not having provided love,John Bowlby, The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds (London 1979) p. 139 and for exploiting the child for their own needs.Alice Miller, 'The Drama of Being a Child'' (London 1990) p. 38
While Atlas personalities may appear to function adequately as adults, they may be pervaded with a sense of emptiness and be lacking in vitality.R. Rentoul, Ferenczi's Language of Tenderness (Plymouth 2011) p. 44
See also
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References
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Further reading
- L. J. Cozolino, The Making of a Therapist (New York 2004)
{{Parenting|state=collapsed}}
Category:Behavioural syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors
Category:Interpersonal relationships