I'm sure that everyone reading this blog has heard of Freud - Sigmund Freud - the so-called 'father' of psychoanalysis. (If you want more info on Freud, "google" him!)
Anyhow, Freud took the view that people's personalities are formed through experiences at the conscious, preconscious and unconscious levels of awareness. His theory of personality incorporates three primary concepts: the id, ego and superego. We've all been with someone, at one time or another, who we think has a large ego, a very large ego, one the size of New York city perhaps. We are usually reacting to some bragging, cockiness, or self-absorption on their part. What we really should be thinking, though, is "wow, that person's id is sure working overtime!"
You see, the id, in the Freudian sense of the word, is what is overactive when someone is conveying with words, or otherwise: "look at me, look at me - can't you see how great I am!" The ego isn't what is on display here; in fact, the ego hasn't surfaced at all in order to moderate the influence of the id. We might think, "what a big ego" when in fact, it is the id (the child in each of us) that does the boasting and playing up. The ego is the rational (adult) side of our personalities, but in today's world, it seems, it gets blamed for the id's 'misbehaviour'. All emotions, moods, drives, playfulness and misbehaving are id or child features.
Our maturity depends, according to Freud's theory, on our ability to strengthen our Adult (ego) whose role is to resolve the conflict between our inner Child (id) and our inner Parent (superego). The Parent is the moralizing, criticizing, bossing, blaming and punishing aspect. The Adult - the moderator - is all logic, planning, problem-solving, peace-keeping and mediating. If you are like most people I know, including myself, we tend to alternate between all three inner 'beings'. Which one becomes dominant in any given situation depends on the situation, how we are feeling in the situation, and other factors.
The next time you're at a cocktail party, however, and you're at the receiving end of a person talking AT you, you might just find yourself thinking "wow, what an "id---".
D.
About Me
- Deborah K. Hanula
- Deborah K. Hanula has a year of Journalism training from Humber College, a Political Science degree from the University of Waterloo, and a Law degree from the University of British Columbia. In addition, she has Diplomas in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Child Psychology, and Psychotherapy and Counselling as well as a Family Life Educator and Coach Certificate and Certificates in Reflexology, Assertiveness Training, and Mindfulness Meditation. She is the author of five cookbooks, primarily concerned with gluten-free and dairy-free diets, although one pertains to chocolate. As an adult, in the past she worked primarily as a lawyer, but also as a university and college lecturer, a tutor, editor, writer, counsellor, researcher and piano teacher. She enjoys a multi-faceted approach when it comes to life, work and study, in order to keep things fresh and interesting. Check out her new book: A Murder of Crows & Other Poems (2023).
