Martyr complex

{{Short description|Desire to seek suffering or persecution}}

In psychology a person who has a martyr complex desires the feeling of being a martyr for their own sake and seeks out suffering or persecution because it either feeds a physical need or a desire to avoid responsibility. In some cases, this results from the belief that the martyr has been singled out for persecution because of exceptional ability or integrity.{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/01619564509535934 |title=What Are Modern Martyrs Worth? |author=Davis, Sheldon E. |journal=Peabody Journal of Education |volume=23 |issue=2 |date=September 1945 |pages=67–68}} Other martyr complexes involve willful suffering in the name of love or duty. This has been observed especially in poor families, as well as in codependent or abusive relationships.{{Cite journal |title=Husbands and Wives in a Mexican Village: A Study of Role Conflict |author=Lewis, Oscar |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=51 |issue=4 |date=October–December 1949 |pages=602–610 |doi=10.1525/aa.1949.51.4.02a00050 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |title=The Poor Vs. the Non-poor: an Ethnic and Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Comparison |author=Kutner, Nancy G. |journal=The Sociological Quarterly |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=250–263 |date=March 1975 |doi=10.1111/j.1533-8525.1975.tb00943.x}} The desire for martyrdom is sometimes considered a form of masochism.{{cite journal |title=Masochism |author=Seligman, David B. |journal=Australasian Journal of Philosophy |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=67–75 |date=May 1970 |doi=10.1080/00048407012341471}} Allan Berger, however, described it as one of several patterns of "pain/suffering seeking behavior", including asceticism and penance.{{cite journal |title=Choosing to Suffer: Reflections on an Enigma |author=Berger, Allen S. |journal=Journal of Religion and Health |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=251–255 |date=September 2003 |doi=10.1023/A:1024843702805}} Theologian Paul Johnson considers such beliefs a topic of concern for the mental health of clergy.{{cite journal |author=Johnson, Paul E. |date=January 1970 |title=The emotional health of the clergy |journal=Journal of Religion and Health |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=50–59 |doi=10.1007/BF01533165|pmid=24420304 }}