Symptoms of a lost soul

The lost soul is one of those concepts that when mentioned, everyone intuits what it is about, but which is not easy to define precisely, due to its ambiguity. First, the very idea of ​​”soul” is somewhat confusing. For religion it is equivalent to an immaterial substance that lives in the body. In popular language it refers to the inner world.

It should be noted that the lost soul is an idea present in many myths and legends. Generally, it refers to a spirit Without body, condemned to wander eternally as a consequence of some unapproachable loss or a guilt that is never fully paid. One way or another, that is the equivalent in psychological terms.

In addition, The concept of the lost soul appears in dissimilar fields, such as psychiatry or shamanism., in addition to psychology. In all these areas it has analogous meanings, although, obviously, they also present differences. Let’s see what this is about.

The lost soul in psychology

Although in psychology the lost soul has not been given a specific category, not even a syndrome, it is one of those concepts that many psychologists use to work with models.

People with this characteristic are not exactly depressed or anxious people, strictly speaking, but rather They have some features in which a lack of connection can be seen with themselves.

The four basic characteristics of the lost soul would be the following:

They act defensively. In general, these are people with very deep fears. This leads them to put up great barriers that prevent them from knowing them. The problem is that they don’t know themselves either, because fears invade everything.They have a closed mind. Lost souls often have unshakeable beliefs and ideas. In reality, their system of values ​​and convictions are part of their defensive shield and that is why they refuse to reevaluate them.They repeat mistakes, over and over again. These types of people encounter the same adverse situations over and over again. That is partly the factor that leads them to become defensive.They feel uprooted. It is as if they are foreigners, even in their own home. They are not part of groups of friends nor do they develop an enormous passion for their work or hobbies that fill their lives.

Shamanism and soul loss

In shamanism we do not talk about lost souls, but about loss of the soul; a similar concept, although not identical. This would be part of what is called “the disease of susto”, or simply “susto”. Psychiatry recognizes it as a cultural syndrome.

What characterizes the loss of the soul is the feeling of not being yourself or that there are parts of oneself that have been hidden or lost. As a consequence of this, energy and vitality are lost. Likewise, a strong feeling of emptiness and anxiety is experienced, which is almost always accompanied by depression and fatigue.

“Scare” is a category present in Mexican shamanism. Some of the symptoms of this condition are the following:

Blocked feeling.Feeling of being confused or incomplete.Disappointment in life. Seeing yourself as a stranger.Addictions.Vital sensation of a dark night. Distance from others and fear of coming into contact with others.Constant fatigue.Thirst to change and impossibility to do so.

The meeting

No one becomes a lost soul, or “loses their soul,” just because. It happens in life that in order to recognize ourselves, we initially need someone to recognize us. Let him tell us “you are there”, “that is you”. It is what our mother, or whoever acts as her, does under normal conditions during childhood.

The point is that this does not always happen. Sometimes that mother is not there, or is not there, or refuses to recognize us because something prevents her from doing so.. It also happens that confusing and painful experiences are experienced during childhood and, then, the circumstances are so invasive that they leave no room for that self-recognition.

There are many reasons why a person establishes a wall with the world or avoids being the way they are. In that condition, sooner or later, that feeling of strangeness arises and that sensation of not having anywhere to go nor wanting to go anywhere. The soul is not lost, but hidden behind defenses and impostures.

Taking the path back to ourselves is an arduous task. The most common thing is that that desire does not even appear. You have to know, in any case, that yes you can take that journey and learn to be. This usually requires help, but it can be done.

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