Fixed fantasy
Encyclopedia
A fixed fantasy — also known as a "dysfunctional schema
" — is a belief or system of beliefs held by a single individual to be genuine, but that cannot be verified in reality. The term is typically applied to individuals suffering from some type of psychiatric dysregulation, most often a personality disorder
.
The term is also used in the different context of psychoanalysis
to distinguish between 'a normal transitory one and a fixed fantasy' with respect to the phantasised 'fulfilment in conscious or unconscious thought of the sexualised wish'.
, 'the omnipotence betrayed by the "fixed fantasy" underlying self-victimization or other forms of self-defeating behaviour...creates the illusory sense that they are actively producing the abandonment [&] pain', rather than merely suffering it passively - 'arranging deceits..arrang[ing] for blows to fall'. Unfortunately 'in the course of development, these patterns acquire multiple adaptive functions...and serve as a key organizer of their sense of self'.
'In producing movement away from fixed fantasy systems, commonplace statements are often necessary because the more fixed and extensive the fantasy system, the fewer the transitional opportunities offered; there is little conflicting material to ride. Banalities may be the only resource', as anything more complex may be used to feed back into the fantasy system itself.
or delusional system in that, superficially, a fixed fantasy tends to appear plausible, and the person expressing the fantasy is not suffering a break from reality, as occurs in a delusional state. For example, sufferers of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
would believe that "everything has to be perfect" while sufferers of avoidant personality disorder
would believe that they are "not good enough". Challenging such 'automatic thoughts...attitudes and basic negative beliefs' is an important part of cognitive therapy
.
or superstition
in that these are culturally bound, whereas a fixed fantasy is specific to an individual. In and of themselves, fixed fantasies are not necessarily harmful, but they can interfere with an individual's ability to develop a coherent and integrated life experience.
- conscious and unconscious.
'In rare cases, a person can become so fixed on a particular fantasy that he or she cannot become aroused without it'. Such fantasies underpin much perversion
, where 'the perverse and fixed "scenario"...is as much a defence against the anxieties associated with alternative fantasies as it is with the gaining of satisfaction'. Robert Stoller
considered such fixed fantasies to structure 'one's preferred erotic script...at the centre of which is a remembered (not always consciously remembered, however) bad experience or relationship in early childhood'. The fixed fantasy is 'a primal daydream that summarises the person's erotic
preferences and mirrors that person's whole character structure'.
Schema (psychology)
A schema , in psychology and cognitive science, describes any of several concepts including:* An organized pattern of thought or behavior.* A structured cluster of pre-conceived ideas....
" — is a belief or system of beliefs held by a single individual to be genuine, but that cannot be verified in reality. The term is typically applied to individuals suffering from some type of psychiatric dysregulation, most often a personality disorder
Personality disorder
Personality disorders, formerly referred to as character disorders, are a class of personality types and behaviors. Personality disorders are noted on Axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM-IV-TR of the American Psychiatric Association.Personality disorders are...
.
The term is also used in the different context of psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
to distinguish between 'a normal transitory one and a fixed fantasy' with respect to the phantasised 'fulfilment in conscious or unconscious thought of the sexualised wish'.
Self-destruction
Studies of borderline children often uncovered at the base of their self-destructive behaviour patterns ' a "fixed fantasy"...a rigid, nonreflective scenario of self-induced pain'. As part of a psychic defence mechanismDefence mechanism
In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are unconscious psychological strategies brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to maintain self-image. Healthy persons normally use different defences throughout life...
, 'the omnipotence betrayed by the "fixed fantasy" underlying self-victimization or other forms of self-defeating behaviour...creates the illusory sense that they are actively producing the abandonment [&] pain', rather than merely suffering it passively - 'arranging deceits..arrang[ing] for blows to fall'. Unfortunately 'in the course of development, these patterns acquire multiple adaptive functions...and serve as a key organizer of their sense of self'.
'In producing movement away from fixed fantasy systems, commonplace statements are often necessary because the more fixed and extensive the fantasy system, the fewer the transitional opportunities offered; there is little conflicting material to ride. Banalities may be the only resource', as anything more complex may be used to feed back into the fantasy system itself.
Basic beliefs and cognitive therapy
A fixed fantasy differs from a delusionDelusion
A delusion is a false belief held with absolute conviction despite superior evidence. Unlike hallucinations, delusions are always pathological...
or delusional system in that, superficially, a fixed fantasy tends to appear plausible, and the person expressing the fantasy is not suffering a break from reality, as occurs in a delusional state. For example, sufferers of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency.- Signs and symptoms :The primary symptoms of OCPD...
would believe that "everything has to be perfect" while sufferers of avoidant personality disorder
Avoidant personality disorder
Avoidant personality disorder is a personality disorder recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders handbook in a person characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, and avoidance of...
would believe that they are "not good enough". Challenging such 'automatic thoughts...attitudes and basic negative beliefs' is an important part of cognitive therapy
Cognitive therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach: a talking therapy. CBT aims to solve problems concerning dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure in the present...
.
Religion
A fixed fantasy also differs from religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
or superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
in that these are culturally bound, whereas a fixed fantasy is specific to an individual. In and of themselves, fixed fantasies are not necessarily harmful, but they can interfere with an individual's ability to develop a coherent and integrated life experience.
Psychosexual
In a disciplinary distinct usage (though one equally dependent upon 'emotional conditioning', upon how 'emotions can become associated and linked together...an automatic switch'), the term fixed fantasy has also been used in respect of psychosexual phantasiesSexual fantasy
A sexual fantasy, also called an erotic fantasy, is a fantasy or pattern of thoughts with the effect of creating or enhancing sexual feelings; in short, it is "almost any mental imagery that is sexually arousing or erotic to [an] individual"...
- conscious and unconscious.
'In rare cases, a person can become so fixed on a particular fantasy that he or she cannot become aroused without it'. Such fantasies underpin much perversion
Perversion
Perversion is a concept describing those types of human behavior that are a serious deviation from what is considered to be orthodox or normal. Although it can refer to varying forms of deviation, it is most often used to describe sexual behaviors that are seen by an individual as abnormal,...
, where 'the perverse and fixed "scenario"...is as much a defence against the anxieties associated with alternative fantasies as it is with the gaining of satisfaction'. Robert Stoller
Robert Stoller
Robert Jesse Stoller , was an American psychoanalyst.-Life and works:Stoller graduated with an M.D. from the University of California at San Francisco in 1948, and proceeded to join the psychiatry faculty at UCLA following his initial medical practice.Stoller was a Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA...
considered such fixed fantasies to structure 'one's preferred erotic script...at the centre of which is a remembered (not always consciously remembered, however) bad experience or relationship in early childhood'. The fixed fantasy is 'a primal daydream that summarises the person's erotic
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
preferences and mirrors that person's whole character structure'.
See also
Further reading
- I. V Halvorsen/S. N. Olsen eds., New Research on Personality Disorders (2008)
- Robert J. Stoller, Perversion: The Erotic Form of Hatred (1986)