Tag: #self-esteem

Empathy is what makes us human, and it has an effect on self-esteem and social anxiety disorder

The ideal human being does not exist, but having self-esteem, social anxiety disorder, or both, may lead one to believe that they are worth less than another human, based on the impossible standards imposed by society. How does self-esteem and social anxiety disorder affect one’s ability to feel human, and have worth? Since the beginning of time, humans have had face-to-face, friendly, and sexual interactions with other human beings, so why are self-esteem and society anxiety disorder prevalent in our society? We can blame the idea of the ideal human being in our society, and the varying levels of empathy in each of our lives. By reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, one can better understand the affect of these standards on a society. Dick creates the image of an artificial, post-apocalyptic world, which hosts a society with the standards of being physically and mentally abled. If a human being is not affected by the nuclear fallout, and abled, they have the chance to migrate to the new planet, Mars; because of these standards, different characters suffer from low self-esteem and social anxiety disorder symptoms, including androids. The ultimate question remains; is empathy what makes us human, based on the affects it has on our individual self-worth and our interactions? By looking at the science and meaning behind self-esteem and social anxiety disorder, we can use the characters Rick, Iran, and Rachael, and the main concept of the book, empathy, to answer this question.

What Is Self-Esteem?

To truly understand what self-esteem is, I visited the website verywellmind. This website over-flows with information in different areas of psychology. Within this website, self-esteem is characterized as developmental psychology. This website also covers topics of disorders, self-improvement, and advice. verywellmind is one of the few verywell sites, others being verywellhealth, verywellfit, and verywellfamily. On this website, I have gathered information from the article “What Exactly Is Self-Esteem” by Kendra Cherry, which explains the signs of low self-esteem. Cherry states the definition of self-esteem:

“In Psychology, the term self-esteem is used to describe a person’s overall sense of self-worth or personal value. In other words, how much you appreciate and like yourself.” 

She also goes on to say that self-esteem is “often seen as” a “stable and enduring” personality trait, which can “involve a variety of beliefs about yourself, such as the appraisal of your own appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors.” (verywellmind) Being a human requires a level of self-esteem that enables the appreciation of human imperfection, not fitting any ideal body type. In this article, the signs of low self-esteem are provided:

• Negative outlook
• Lack of confidence
• Inability to express your needs
• Focus on your weakness
• Feelings of shame, depression, or anxiety
• Belief that others are better than you
• Trouble accepting positive feedback
• Fear of failure

Before looking into the symptoms of low self-esteem in each character, it is important to look deeper into social-anxiety disorder.

What is Social-anxiety disorder?

To define a much more complex topic, I chose to visit the National Institute of Mental Health’s website to provide information about social-anxiety disorder, and it’s affect on a human being. The NIMH defines social anxiety disorder as a “common type of anxiety disorder.”

“Social anxiety disorder (also called social phobia) is a mental health condition. It is an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others. This fear can affect work, school, and your other day-to-day activities. It can even make it hard to make and keep friends.”

Being a human also requires little to no symptoms of social-anxiety disorder, because of the affects it has on the life of those who have it. In this article, the signs of social-anxiety disorder are provided:

• Blush, sweat, tremble, feel a rapid heart rate, or feel their “mind going blank”
• Feel nauseous or sick to their stomach
• Show a rigid body posture, make little eye contact, or speak with an overly soft voice
• Find it scary and difficult to be with other people, especially those they don’t already know, and have a hard time talking to them even though they wish they could
• Be very self-conscious in front of other people and feel embarrassed and awkward 
• Be very afraid that other people will judge them
• Stay away from places where there are other people

Low Self-Esteem and Social Anxiety Disorder Depicted

We can look at the signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder in Rick and Iran, and Rachael, and demonstrate how that has an affect on each character and their feeling of being human.

In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Rick Deckard is a bounty-hunter who stayed on earth after the nuclear fallout. Throughout the book, he displays senses of unhappiness and depression, a product of his low self-esteem. Rick demonstrates the feelings of depression in a conversation with his wife, Iran, telling her that he got the goat because he’s never been so depressed, that he has reached the point of empathizing with androids (Dick 160-161). He blames it on depression, and explains that:

“when you get that depressed you don’t care. Apathy, because you’ve lost a sense of worth. It doesn’t matter whether you feel better because if you have no worth -” (Dick 161).

Along with his symptoms of low self-esteem, Rick demonstrates symptoms of social anxiety disorder. After buying his black, Nubian goat, Rick “found himself shaking” (Dick 156) and “his hands numb”(Dick 156). I believe that Rick felt this way, because he was so excited, but the goat is so fragile that he is nervous about any interaction with it, for it is a great investment.

Iran demonstrates the low self-esteem feelings of depression. One of her most relevant expressions of her depression is when she says ,”My schedule for today lists a six-hour self-accusatory depression.”(Dick 4). More concerning, she has a negative outlook on life when she states on a phone call to Rick,

“I’m so tired and I just have no hope left, of anything. Of our marriage and you possibly getting killed by one of those andys.” (Dick 87).

Another example of a negative outlook presented by Iran is when Rick bought the two of them a goat. At first Iran responded negatively, saying,

“You shouldn’t have gotten it without me,” Iran gasped. “I have a right to participate in the decision, the most important acquisition we’ll ever -” (Dick 157).

After Rick presents the goat as a surprise to her, Rick and Iran are temporarily cured of depression, being that their status has risen because of the purchase of the animal (Dick 158). The experience of having the goat, something to care for and be empathetic to seems surreal to them (Dick 159).

Rachael Rosen is a female that Rick encounters in the book. Although she is an android, she shows symptoms of low self-esteem. After sleeping with Rick, she thought that he would leave Iran for her, which does not happen. She figures that if he slept with her, he does not love Iran very much, but his new animal, his black, Nubian goat. As an act of jealousy of Ricks love for the goat, and his marriage with Iran, Rachael kills the goat and Iran sees it take place. Although Iran is clueless, Rick believes that “she had what seemed to her a reason.” (Dick 209); revenge.

Rick and Iran demonstrate symptoms of low self-esteem mentally, while Rachael demonstrates her low self-esteem verbally and physically with Rick, and what he loves the most. The absence of empathy, but the presence of emotion in Rachael’s response to Rick made her low self-esteem symptoms stand out from Iran’s low self-esteem symptoms, and Ricks social anxiety symptoms.

How does self-esteem and social anxiety disorder relate to empathy?

In order to discover the relation of self-esteem and social anxiety disorder with empathy, we must look at study that directly correlates them. In April of 2018, a study was published to NCBI, titled, “Burnout in Health Professionals According to Their Self-Esteem, Social Support, and Empathy Profile”. This study focuses on burnout, “a psychological and emotional affection associated with work which generates high distress and absenteeism in individuals” (NCBI), in health professionals. Health professionals were divided into four clusters, and measured by low, medium, and high self-esteem, “cognitive/affective empathy and perceived social support” (NCBI). Cluster 1 “characterized by 100% medium self-esteem and means slightly above those for the total sample in the empathy and social support variables” (NCBI), Cluster 2 characterized by high self-esteem or 100% self-esteem, “with scores on the cognitive empathy and social support variables above the mean for the total sample, and similar scores on affective empathy”(NCBI), and Clusters 3 and 4, containing professionals characterized by low self-esteem, produced scores different than the other two clusters, Cluster 4 scoring the lowest.

In the conclusion of this study, Cluster 1 scored the highest in empathy, Cluster 2 scored the highest in social support, and Cluster 3 “scored above the mean in affective empathy”(NCBI). Whereas empathy makes a difference in the study, self-esteem “is shown to be one of the explanatory variables making the main differences among” the clusters (NCBI).

A Post-Apocalyptic Solution

Although burnout, self-esteem, and social anxiety disorder differ in meaning and symptoms, in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, dialing into the Penfield mood organ can temporarily mask the symptoms of each. The mood organ created by Dick, is used to set a specific, programmed mood on demand. Although this seems like a great solution to feeling symptoms of low self-esteem and social anxiety disorder, Iran presents us with an interesting idea. Dialing into the mood organ is unhealthy because the user is generally “sensing the absence of life”(Dick 5). One could compare the mood organ to modern medicine. Taking a dose of a medication only takes a symptom away temporarily, similar to that of the Penfield mood organ.

An Earthly Solution

Unlike the apocalyptic world created by Dick,  there is no Penfield mood organ, although our medication does the same temporary job. After researching mental health, the question “Can people recover from mental illness?” and “Is there a cure?” are common, but the same answers remain. Answers such as, suggesting medication, diet changes, exercise and sleep. There is no, one cure for mental disorders or any other symptoms affecting mental health. There are various types of treatment for mental health disorders and symptoms, although some seem less frightening and invasive, than others, including psychotherapy, support groups, self help plans, and peer support. It is important to note that these treatments are built for those who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder by a licensed physician, but they remain effective for humans with symptoms of each.

I suffer with majority of the symptoms of low self-esteem and social anxiety disorder. Although I have not been diagnosed, I find peer support and a self help plan the most helpful. My self help plan includes three steps to a better, and more effective day. 1) A routine of self-love, 2) Youtube inspiration and 3) Mirror practice routine. My routine of self-love includes waking up at 5 AM every morning, and having an hour of me-time each day. Me-time includes stretching, having a glass of water, and Pinterest browsing for different lifestyle inspiration, such as minimalism, and eco-friendly living. After me-time, I watch a few ASMR, or relaxation videos to clear my mind of any stress or worry, and then I meditate. Lastly, immediately after meditating, I pick any mirror in my home, and I stand in front of it, staring at myself for roughly five-to-ten minutes. I practice any conversations I may have that day, whether for a leadership event, or presentation for a class. This makes me feel more comfortable with my words, and the “vibe” I will give-off when speaking.

Why Does Empathy Make Us Human?

Looking back at the effects of empathy on self-esteem and social anxiety disorder, and the examples presented by each character in the book, it can be concluded that the main reason for their low self-esteem and social anxiety is the lack of empathy on earth, after the nuclear fallout.

Rick faces a lack of empathy because of his job; almost every character looks down upon his job, for his killing of androids for money. Iran faces a lack of empathy from Rick because she shows a face of depression, for almost the entire book. Rick cannot empathize with her, until he feels the depression that leads him to buy his goat. Rachael, on the other hand, is not empathized with because she is an android, and she has manipulated other bounty hunters into not retiring any more androids. (Dick 185) Rick soon regrets not killing Rachael after she kills his goat. In a conversation with Rick, Inspector Garland states that androids lack a “specific talent” that humans possess. He believes that “it’s called empathy.”(Dick 114).

In our world, empathy is something that varies from household-to-household, which creates instability within our society. Although it was depicted in the book by Dick, husbands are fighters and war-machines, wives are depressed and worriers, and mistresses are jealous and revengeful. I have taken into consideration two other articles “Empathizing 101” by Allie Grasgreen and “What Becomes of Empathy” by Tim Recuber. Recuber  in supporting my solution to lessening low self-esteem and social anxiety.  Recuber provides great points for a solution to unstable levels of empathy, by saying that he believes that “empathy is a virtue”(Recuber), and that “we need to keep working on ways to transform our empathy into action now, and in the months and years to come.”(Recuber). Along with this proposal for action, Grasgreen supports this by saying “empathy is so strongly believed to be a promoter of civility and understanding.” (Grasgreen). I believe that if we all learn to be more empathetic of those who do not fit within the ideal standards of society, low self-esteem and social anxiety disorder with not be so prevalent in our society. A little empathy, can bring a lot of change in society.

 

 

Works Cited:

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Del Ray, an Imprint of Random House, a Division of Penguin Random House, 2017.

Recuber, Tim. “What Becomes of Empathy?” Cyborgology , 26 July 2016, thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2016/07/20/what-becomes-of-empathy/.

Grasgreen, Allie. “Empathizing 101” Inside Higher Ed, 24 November, 2010, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/24/empathizing-101

Cherry, Kendra. “What Exactly Is Self-Esteem?” verywellmind, 20 September, 2018, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-esteem-2795868

“People Man Woman Holding” pixabay, pixabay, 31 July. 2018, https://pixabay.com/en/people-man-woman-holding-hands-2561053/

Youngston, Nick. “Self Esteem” PicPedia.Org, PicPedia.Org, http://www.picpedia.org/highway-signs/s/self-esteem.html