It's been a week since my last post and there have been a lot of things going on with my life. Pressures, deadlines, family obligations, personal issues and of course anxiety who always sticks to me these past few days. Maybe I suck with life now and it's really affecting me emotionally. When I meant emotional I mean it. Too many lingering emotions, too little time to blog and to write. I know unnecessary thoughts are just a waste of cognitive space but can't help it. When I feel down I lose the motivation to be productive. But as I contemplated with my life, I realized that the more I sulk up the more that I will be stagnant. Loneliness only comes when you have time, these words hit me right on spot.

So here I am writing another article on my psychology series. This time I will be talking about one of the foundations of theories in personality and yet a controversial one. We will unravel the psychodynamic perspective of personality; Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory. Psychoanalysis is known to be both a theory and a therapy. It's a theory stating that if an individual can make his unconscious conscious then there will be psychological freedom thus releasing that person from the shackles of depression and anxiety.

In an attempt to understand personality, people have always been on a quest to find it's true meaning. Combining all the theories that we have learned in psychology and about the human mind,it all boils down to the same question over and over again. "What makes us who we really are?"

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Before we talk about the topic for todays blog, let us first try to digest some important facts about the man who we owe for the origins of psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud who was originally from Austria but lived almost his whole life in Vienna and who was trained to become a neurologist has gained a lot of contradictions throughout the years. Some people have applauded him for being one of the greatest thinkers in psychology but others have criticized his liberal views.

Freud was very famous because of his notions that the human mind is like an inceberg. Only the tip of the iceberg is seen above the surface but what lies beneath is a greater mass that is quietly hidden in the depths.

He believed that the tip of the iceberg is the conscious part of our minds that we are aware of and the part of the iceberg that we need to pay huge attention to is what lies beneath the surface and that's our unconscious. Our unconscious state comprises our hidden memories,motives,thoughts,fears and urges that we are not always aware of and these aspects according to Freud can influence behavior. So while the conscious part of our minds are made while we are fully aware of it, the unconscious state lies in mystery. The preconscious on the other hand can become conscious states if an individual focuses on them. Our unconscious motives or urges are very difficult to experienced consciously and other unconscious states will be hidden below the surface because of repression.

Repression means that we sometimes automatically force ourselves to forget traumatic memories or ideas that inflict anxiety compeletely out of our awareness.

So if these unconscious desires are not expressed but rather supressed according to Freud it can result to emotional conflicts & psychological issues. He also highlighted that the unconscious mind should be explored and that paved the way in creating psychoanalysis. In psychoanalytic therapy the client is encouraged to openly share anything & everything that he thinks about.

To sum it up, the psychoanalytic theory highlights the idea that unconscious forces determines and influences an individuals personality.

Freud's Mental Structures of Personality

Freud suggests that our personality is divided into three parts: The id,ego and superego. This idea still lies on the psychodynamic perspective, which we know as an approach that states an individual's behavior is determined by inner memories,motives and hidden psychological conflicts that are beyond our conscious control. I will shed a light on these three components and why it's very important to know them.

ID | The Pleasure Principle

The id is present at birth. It's how you cried because of being hungry when you were a baby. Or you punching your classmate at middle school. Even engaging in premarital sex during your senior years. All of these are part of your id. The raw,unorganized and innate side of you which also constitutes your primitive drives: sex,hunger,aggression and several other illogical and irrational impulses. Anything and everything that pleases you & satisfies you even if these needs are irrational in nature are all part of your id. So you can think that your id is your selfish side, it will do anything to maximize satisfaction and reduce anxiety from not being able to please it's greedy self.

Ego | Reality Principle

You were thinking about cheating on your diet because you were craving for sweets. You were tempted to indulge yourself to satisfy your wants. But you then realized that you are diabetic and you to need to restrict yourself from these kind of food since you know you will suffer from the wrath of your sickness. In this scenario, ego is trying to work its way to get rid of your temptations. Think of it as a mediator, it mediates between superego and your primitive id. This particular structure of the mind is always rational & logical. It strives to help the person control his irrational urges while integrating the person into the society his dwelling on.

Superego | Moral Principle

The superego is the part of the mind that revolves around morality and socially accepted principles. It persuades the individual to act morally to be accepted by the society and neglects any irrational thoughts that may hinder it from achieving it's social goals. It is fixated with following what is right & to avoid doing the wrong things so as not to be judged by the society. It establishes models of an ideal self, one that is accepted by societal norms. It creates feelings of guilt when the ego makes incorrect judgments.

Freud argued that for a person to be psychologically healthy,the id should be satisfied without ignoring the demands of the superego. Most of id's demands are contained so as Freud believed these demands should be gratified but with the guidance and verdict of the ego.

Now let's go back to the iceberg example, the tip of the iceberg typically the part where it's visible are usually composed of the id and the superego. While the larger portion of the iceberg that is hidden below the surface water is the id. What Freud is trying to prove here is that the structure of the mind that we are not always aware of or our unconscious should be gratified and acknowledged. Our hidden thoughts,feelings,motives,urges,drives and even dreams should be made conscious to understand how we behave. It would also lessen emotional conflicts and anxiety.

So there you have it, I hope that you were able to digest all the essential psychoanalytic ideas that I have shared so far. For my next blog I will further widen the psychoanalytic perspective by laying out it's techniques towards understanding human personality & behavior.

Love & Light,

@sakura1012

References:
1. The Psychodynamic Perspectives on Personality
2. Psychoanalysis
3. Psychoanalysis. What is Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory/Perspective

Further Reading:

1. Rathus, S. A. (2014) Psychology Third Edition, "The Psychodynamic Perspective" (pp. 244-246),Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd,Quezon City:Philippines
2. Feldman,Robert S. (Robert Stephen),1947- Development across the lifespan/Robert S. Feldman," The Psychodynamic Perspective: Focusing on the Inner Person" page 18

Images from Pixabay:
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