Emile Durkheim’s two concepts, fatalism and anomie, are transcribed manifestations of the emotional state that are brought on by two different alterations in the life of an individual. A romantic relationship, particularly the end of one, can awaken these two emotional states in a relatively short amount of time.
Fatalism is commonly known as the temporary mental state that arises from a sense of overwhelming regulation, or social control that standardizes most things of an individual’s life internally and externally. This immense amount of regulation gives way to an individual believing that the world is crumbling around them and absolutely nothing can be done to change it. In some cases that individual is driven to take the only way out that she or he can see—suicide.
Anomie is similar to fatalism in the result of suicide seen as a way out of the temporary mental state brought on, but the path taken to suicide is significantly different. Anomie occurs when there is a lack of regulation so great, that an individual is simply lost in the universe. The individual is detached from everything so much that the only way to become grounded is to commit suicide.
The end of a romantic relationship can bring on what I will call emotional fatalism, shortly followed by emotional anomie. The signal that a relationship should end may be the sense of fatalism itself. At the end of my last relationship, I felt an overwhelming sense of regulation coming from myself my partner in the form of frequent disagreements about just about anything. These fights occurred because of us trying to regulate each other’s behaviors. Eventually the social control that we were exerting over each other became excessive to the point of over regulation. I felt like I was trapped, and that there was nothing that I could do to change the relationship that I was in, and I took the way out that Emile Durkheim would have predicted. I killed myself as a boyfriend by ending a relationship that was giving me a helpless feeling.
Shortly following the end of my last romantic relationship (oh, about 15 minutes or so), I felt like something major was missing in my life. My foundation had been ripped from underneath me and I still felt the attachment to the relationship, but there was nothing there. My emotions were running free, with so many feelings of love and warmth that I couldn’t give out to a person. For a short time, I was in love with no one and I was lost in a very large world. I needed the regulation of a relationship to make me feel whole again. Eventually, I found myself in the large emotional world after reaching out to friends and family to whine about breaking up and directing my new energy towards working out and going to school.
Durkheim’s fatalism and anomie can manifest themselves in many different parts of our lives. Whenever we have a structure, we are subject to it overwhelming us to the point of suicide—emotional or otherwise. When a structure sets us free, we are sometimes too free, to the point where missing the structure leads us to end everything just to have one thing.
Fatalism is commonly known as the temporary mental state that arises from a sense of overwhelming regulation, or social control that standardizes most things of an individual’s life internally and externally. This immense amount of regulation gives way to an individual believing that the world is crumbling around them and absolutely nothing can be done to change it. In some cases that individual is driven to take the only way out that she or he can see—suicide.
Anomie is similar to fatalism in the result of suicide seen as a way out of the temporary mental state brought on, but the path taken to suicide is significantly different. Anomie occurs when there is a lack of regulation so great, that an individual is simply lost in the universe. The individual is detached from everything so much that the only way to become grounded is to commit suicide.
The end of a romantic relationship can bring on what I will call emotional fatalism, shortly followed by emotional anomie. The signal that a relationship should end may be the sense of fatalism itself. At the end of my last relationship, I felt an overwhelming sense of regulation coming from myself my partner in the form of frequent disagreements about just about anything. These fights occurred because of us trying to regulate each other’s behaviors. Eventually the social control that we were exerting over each other became excessive to the point of over regulation. I felt like I was trapped, and that there was nothing that I could do to change the relationship that I was in, and I took the way out that Emile Durkheim would have predicted. I killed myself as a boyfriend by ending a relationship that was giving me a helpless feeling.
Shortly following the end of my last romantic relationship (oh, about 15 minutes or so), I felt like something major was missing in my life. My foundation had been ripped from underneath me and I still felt the attachment to the relationship, but there was nothing there. My emotions were running free, with so many feelings of love and warmth that I couldn’t give out to a person. For a short time, I was in love with no one and I was lost in a very large world. I needed the regulation of a relationship to make me feel whole again. Eventually, I found myself in the large emotional world after reaching out to friends and family to whine about breaking up and directing my new energy towards working out and going to school.
Durkheim’s fatalism and anomie can manifest themselves in many different parts of our lives. Whenever we have a structure, we are subject to it overwhelming us to the point of suicide—emotional or otherwise. When a structure sets us free, we are sometimes too free, to the point where missing the structure leads us to end everything just to have one thing.
Armond,
Interesting blog and good analysis on how fatalism and anomie occur at the end of a relationship. Relationships do create fatalism, that state of overwhelming rule that lose you as an individual. They almost depersonalize you and give you a new set of rule that are followed so closely that when the break up occurs you forget who you were and that you were a person before the relationship--anomie. You no longer have a set of rules to follow so you get lost. Great analysis of both concepts sure got me to see things differently. No wonder there are some people who are bitter and don't want these exclusive committed relationships. It is hard to find your self and re-identify who you are as a being without that someone else, especially after so many things have been shared.
Dubon
Interesting blog and good analysis on how fatalism and anomie occur at the end of a relationship. Relationships do create fatalism, that state of overwhelming rule that lose you as an individual. They almost depersonalize you and give you a new set of rule that are followed so closely that when the break up occurs you forget who you were and that you were a person before the relationship--anomie. You no longer have a set of rules to follow so you get lost. Great analysis of both concepts sure got me to see things differently. No wonder there are some people who are bitter and don't want these exclusive committed relationships. It is hard to find your self and re-identify who you are as a being without that someone else, especially after so many things have been shared.
Dubon