I am going to use the “invisible third option” on this blog post because there is a theory here dealing with ego and repression put forth by Freud that in some ways coincides with my own views of the sub-conscious and also directly relates to a book I just finished reading called “The Shadow Effect”, by Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford, and Marianne Williamson.
I find Freud’s theory of the relationship between the pleasure-principal, and the reality-principle very intriguing. On page 5 of chapter 1 Freud writes “Under the influence of the instinct of the ego for self-preservation it {pleasure-principle} is replaced by the ‘reality-principle’, which without giving up the intention of ultimately attaining pleasure yet demands and enforces the postponement of satisfaction… and the temporary endurance of ‘pain’ on the long and circuitous road to pleasure.” After this to paraphrase he also goes on to say that the pleasure principle prevails over the reality-principle to the detriment of the whole organism. Now in “The Shadow Effect”, to fill you in the idea is that we all have a shadow side where feelings, actions, and personality traits, which at some point in our lives were made to feel wrong or bad are hidden, and when we do stupid things, or embarrass ourselves it is this shadow side, which is considered part of if not all of the ego, tries to come out and that is when we act foolish. The correlation I find between the two is that the pleasure principle prevailing over the reality principle seems to me to be the same idea. The reality of the situation is we know what the right thing to do is in a given situation, but there is always that little evil ego side that sometimes pushes us to do what may not be the best thing for our ego, soul, reality, or whatever you want to call it in the long run. Have you ever been in an unfulfilling relationship, you know it’s making you miserable, but you think, “this is better than being alone”? Now that sounds like one small part but maybe that bad relationship is what is preventing you from developing fully as a person and although you might think I’m just miserable now but it will get better, this situation could be making you miss out on great opportunities, and new open doors.
To get back to Freud I think when he says the pleasure principle “prevails over the reality principle to the detriment of the whole organism”, what he is saying is going for instant gratification, (i.e. that one night stand, going out drinking and missing work, burning yourself out in order to help others because you don’t want to be selfish etc.) although seeming fun and pleasurable at the time is not helping in the pursuit of long term happiness.
On page 6 Freud writes “particular instincts, or portions of them, prove irreconcilable in their aims or demands with others which can be welded into the comprehensive unity of the ego. They are thereupon split off from this unity by the process of repression, retained on lower stages of psychic development, and for the time being cut off from all possibility of gratification.” From this I gather that certain actions or instincts cannot function together even though they all fall under the umbrella of “ego”. I believe certain parts of our ego are hidden in the “shadow” area due to past experiences of guilt, embarrassment, or any other trauma causing us to believe in their social un-acceptance. This shadow area is very different for everyone, and depends upon personal experiences and reactions to them. Freud also states “most pain we experience is of a perceptual order”. This idea of perception I have recently come across in “The Shadow Effect”, “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius, and a quote from Shakespeare: “Things are neither good nor bad but thinking makes it so.” Everything in life has a purpose, or even if it doesn’t, “just is”, so by perceiving something as good or bad, we are just putting our own spin on what “is”, good things come from bad and sometimes vice versa, so it is our own perception of a situation that causes this ‘pain’ which Freud is talking about and not the actual situation itself. This is a timeless theory and I would like to know how everyone else feels about this concept.
To further elaborate on the idea of perception we come to stress management. In chapter 2 page 8 Freud talks about “traumatic neurosis”, which I took to mean posttraumatic stress disorder. He describes it as “general weakening and shattering of the mental functions” and claims it to resemble hypochondria. Like most instances with PTSD, he uses the example of soldiers returning from war. However what about students who are cracking under the pressure of final exams, or an over-worked under paid man who loses it in a fit of road rage in traffic. I feel neurologically, these all can have the same end result, now you may consider the students problem to be menial in comparison to that of the soldier, but it is not the situation which is causing the ‘traumatic neurosis’, but it is the individuals ability to perceive the situation as it is and then implement proper stress management techniques. Although this is not a physical illness, stress can certainly lead to one, and also “weakening and shattering of the mental functions” is not something I would say resembles hypochondria! Have you ever been stressed out over a bad situation, and then heard a friend complaining about their own problems and thought “they don’t even know what stress is”. Well they may be thinking the same of you and this is why looking at problems from all different angles is important, and taking active steps to keep stress low is very important for overall health.
I think in these two chapters Freud really hits on a lot of different topics of timeless ideas, and things people have been trying to figure out since the beginning of reason about themselves and others. I hope this response fills the criteria for an option three paper and I would love to hear how everyone feels about perception as pertaining to stress, and also the “shadow” side we all have dying to get out and embarrass us!
