Indifference is indifference, a cold-blooded attitude towards the needs and troubles that arise in someone’s life. The manifestation of indifference is described as the main evil of our time and the reaction to it must be immediate, since this phenomenon, unfortunately, is taking root in our environment. Indifference borders on insensitivity, apathy and becomes a common problem, and this can provoke negative consequences in a person’s life. By distancing ourselves from the problems of strangers, we try to protect ourselves according to the rule: if I don’t see a problem, it simply doesn’t exist.

What is indifference

When considering the phenomenon of indifference, one must take into account that the individual’s choice is completely conscious, it is a complete avoidance of taking part in any actions that do not concern him. This is either a refusal to help, or an inability to show support and compassion at a time of extreme need to help people. First of all, this behavior encourages obligations. The result of invading the life of strangers may be undesirable reactions, and the kindness shown by you sincerely and unselfishly may turn against you. But there are always risks; when making any decision, we are responsible for the future consequences. So is it worth rejecting people who need us?

Experiencing the indifference shown by others towards us, we feel upset and stop believing in humanity; it is not easy to trust again, what to say about providing help to others when we ourselves did not receive it on time. By refusing help and remaining indifferent, we risk experiencing a feeling of guilt over time, which will leave a detrimental imprint on our lives. Why carry the weight of guilt with you? When there is an opportunity to do good and live with the belief that everything possible has been accomplished.

However, indifference can occur in absolutely everyone, regardless of character and values. The reason for this behavior is sometimes simple boredom. Boredom can cause a sluggish depressive state; while experiencing it, the individual does not have the required amount of internal resources to assist in the problems of others. A task that you do separately from work or study will help you overcome boredom; finding a task that has become an outlet and will begin to fill you with positive energy and strength is very important. This is related to age, so you can look for a type of activity that will bring happiness at any period of your life, as well as change it in the future.

Human behavior as a social being is strictly regulated by a certain number of hereditary factors. The interaction of a subject with society is a reflection of its characteristics.

To raise a caring person, parents should talk with their child about the manifestation of indifference in life, give examples, discuss various situations and discuss how they can show compassion, provide mutual assistance and understanding. Observe the manifestation of indifference in your child, perhaps by analyzing his interests and hobbies. If there are none, it is advisable to start looking for a favorite activity together, because responsiveness to people is possible when a person develops harmoniously in all areas.

Reasons for indifference

Where does indifference come from, what exactly caused its development in people? There are factors after which a subject decides to be deaf and blind regarding certain situations. Let's look at some of the reasons. A prolonged feeling of stress and anxiety makes a person emotionally exhausted and incapable of additional experiences. Such individuals are characterized by apathy and passivity.

The next reason for indifference is being stuck on one’s own problems, an unshakable belief that there is simply nothing going on with those around you that is worth paying attention to. All other people's problems are leveled out and devalued, and the person himself is prone to a constant position of victim and expects pity and support only for himself. Most often, indifferent people do not see themselves as such; even more, many of them are absolutely sure that they are soft and sympathetic.

Also, a large number of misfortunes experienced can make any person more rigid and detached from the troubles of others. Although it would seem, on the contrary, that those who have experienced such a situation are best able to show responsiveness, unfortunately this is not always the case.

Our psyche tends to protect us from repeating traumatic situations that once happened, so a person seems to distance himself from everything that reminds him of what he experienced. But this happens while the person is consciously sure that he is absolutely not interested in delving into other people’s affairs. And sometimes, circumstances arise in which a person who has not had such sad situations is simply not able to empathize with the grief of others. But a similar reaction is most often characteristic of teenagers, when childhood naivety and all-encompassing love have passed, and life experience is not yet enough to adequately assess the current situation.

In addition to the global reasons described, there are situational reasons when a person was simply confused and could not provide help immediately, felt unwell and did not react properly. Do not rush to condemn others in anything, do not bear the burden of grievances, learn to forgive and give others the opportunity to improve.

Why is indifference dangerous?

Let's consider what dangers indifference brings. Indifference and responsiveness are opposite concepts in their meaning. If responsiveness can positively influence a person, renew hope for a solution, and give strength, then human indifference pushes us to despair and powerlessness in the face of the wall of troubles that have arisen.

Indifference, a phenomenon that destroys our society, the indifference of one will most likely affect everyone around. A child who notices indifference in the relationship between parents adopts their model of behavior and will behave the same way in similar situations. An adult who has felt the indifference of others may one day not help another, feeling resentment, experienced inattention from loved ones and society as a whole.

How often does society look past such global social problems as neglected children, assault in families, weakness and defenselessness of older people. What would happen if we found the strength to solve problems that affected not only our interests? It is likely that there would be less evil that we encounter every day absolutely everywhere.

At the moment of indifference, humanity loses the ability to empathize, the connection with morality is lost, which, in principle, defines us as individuals. These people are filled more with negativity, envy, and the inability to share not only the suffering of others, but also joy. It is also difficult for such people to show love; inside they can experience this feeling that they do not understand, but outwardly they can push away their loved one or even offend them. And this all turns into an unbreakable circle. A person who does not know how to show love is unlikely to evoke a feeling of love in others, this, in turn, will have an even greater impact on his life and will lead to loneliness, because it will be very difficult to maintain even ordinary communication with such a person, let alone to create a strong family.

Please note that you don’t need to take other people’s problems too closely into your heart. This is the cause of depression, sadness, and emotional instability. Sympathy is wonderful, but even in this feeling there should be boundaries; you shouldn’t live with other people’s problems. Showing participation and support is very simple, often these are ordinary things: helping a young mother with a stroller, telling a grandmother with poor eyesight the bus number, helping a lost child find his parents, or helping a person who feels unwell.

We often rush, not paying attention to what is happening around us, although sometimes just a minute of our time can cost a person his life. The famous writer Bruno Yasensky wrote in his novel “The Conspiracy of the Indifferent”: “Do not be afraid of your friends - in the worst case, they may betray you, do not be afraid of your enemies - in the worst case, they will try to kill you, but beware of the indifferent - only with their silent blessing betrayals and murders are happening on Earth.”

Positive emotions make our lives bright and full; try to notice more good things around you, show more compassion and help, and respond to people with kindness.

Each new generation is obliged to develop through the accumulation of social experience. The interaction of an individual with the social environment is a process of demands and expectations on both sides. A person is guided by skills acquired through direct relationships in social groups. Therefore, by freeing ourselves from the burden of grievances and accumulated claims against others, we will free ourselves from such qualities as indifference, indifference and callousness. Give goodness to the world, and the world will definitely give it back to you threefold!

As Victor Hugo used to say, a person has three characters: one is attributed to him by his environment, another he attributes to himself, and the third is real, objective.

There are more than five hundred human character traits, and not all of them are clearly positive or negative; much depends on the context.

Therefore, any personality that has collected certain qualities in individual proportions is unique.

A person’s character is a specific, unique combination of personal, ordered psychological traits, characteristics, and nuances. It is formed, however, throughout life and manifests itself during work and social interaction.

Soberly assessing and describing the character of the chosen person is not an easy task. After all, not all of its properties are demonstrated to the environment: some features (good and bad) remain in the shadows. And we seem to ourselves to be somewhat different than what we see in the mirror.

Is it possible? Yes, there is a version that this is possible. Through long efforts and training, you are able to assign yourself the qualities you love, becoming a little better.

A person's character is manifested in actions, in social behavior. It is visible in a person’s attitude to work, to things, to other people and in her self-esteem.

In addition, character qualities are divided into groups - “volitional”, “emotional”, “intellectual” and “social”.

We are not born with specific traits, but acquire them through the process of upbringing, education, exploration of the environment, and so on. Of course, the genotype also influences the formation of character: the apple often falls extremely close to the apple tree.

At its core, character is close to temperament, but they are not the same thing.

In order to relatively soberly assess yourself and your role in society, psychologists advise writing down your positive, neutral and negative traits on a piece of paper and analyzing them.

Try to do this too; you will find examples of character traits below.

Positive character traits (list)

Negative character traits (list)

At the same time, some qualities are difficult to classify as good or bad, and they cannot be called neutral. So, any mother wants her daughter to be shy, silent and bashful, but is this beneficial for the girl?

Again, a dreamy person may be cute, but completely unlucky because he always has his head in the clouds. An assertive individual looks stubborn to some, but obnoxious and pushy to others.

Is it bad to be gambling and carefree? How far has cunning gone from wisdom and resourcefulness? Do ambition, ambition, and determination lead to success or to loneliness? It will probably depend on the situation and context.

And what you want to be, you decide for yourself!

Encyclopedia "Human Vices: Callousness

Callousness scratches us, teaching us not to drown in the sea of ​​love, but to get busy. If it were not for callousness, the world would be overwhelmed by the elements of complacency and would swallow all people, and then they, having decomposed in this caustic solution, merged into a single sluggish mass - faceless, colorless, weak-willed, and then humanity would inevitably perish. On the contrary, a person discouraged by callousness learns to be independent, because he sees that there is nowhere to wait for help. Callousness alleviates suffering. It is human nature to empathize. And the more he is unsure of the strength of his own destiny, the more he empathizes with others. Only through callousness can one be saved from that eternal shudder. horror, anger, which humanity requires in an inescapably unhappy world. Powerless to change the world and save it from evil, a person would become exhausted in fruitless impulses and fade away without having accomplished anything remarkable. But callousness comes to the rescue. She does not allow feelings to flare up, she binds passions, she turns a person to what is within reach. A callous person, unable to ease the burden of another, at least does not plunge into deception and false hopes aroused by sympathy. He distances himself from the troubles and experiences of another not because he considers them empty, but because he knows his place, the limits of his capabilities and is busy with his own life. Callousness shows: people are outside of me, they don’t care about me, I’m left to my own devices. And, therefore, he must take care of himself. The formation of personality begins with this concern, and how would this be possible if it were not for blessed callousness? At a certain advanced age, complaints about the infantilism of youth begin. They show a visual defect caused by the tortuous trajectory of life. However, nevertheless. the infantile character is not a fiction. I believe that it is born from the lack of callousness of others. Remember how cordially parents take care of their child. Knowing what kind of injuries await someone who is not experienced in difficult life situations, they strive to save him from such a life. But this only exacerbates his helplessness. And how good the state is! In its concern for the well-being of its subjects, it knows no bounds. With what paternal care it frees its citizens from the slightest independence, from the daring attempt to assert their inappropriate self. But, alas! For some reason this does not make citizens happier. Truly, parents, like government agencies, lack callousness - this reasonable antidote to immoderate paternal love.


Callousness is a terrible vice of humanity. He turns a blind eye to people's pain and makes his heart hard. To be callous is to be dead. Although the heart is still beating, there is emptiness inside.

In Kuprin's story we see a terrible picture. The whole family, hearing the voice of prayer, remained in their bed. They had everything. A cozy house, large gates and strong locks protected these people. The result is complete inaction and selfishness.

Also today. We often see people who need help. For example, while walking down the street, you may see a person lying on the ground. The first thing that comes to mind is reproach. Probably an alcoholic. But what if he just felt bad? What if he tripped and fell? What if he got drunk for the first time in his life because he lost his family?

I know for sure that if callousness is a part of our heart, then sooner or later no one will help us.

Let's do good. And it will definitely come back to us.

Updated: 2015-02-23

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