The problem of self in psychology. The self is ...

In psychology, there are many terms that are not understandable to the common man in the street. In today's publication, we are ready to shed light on one interesting phenomenon. Let's talk about what is the concept of self.

In Carl Jung's interpretation

The famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung was the founder of in-depth analytical psychology. Throughout his life he actively used the concept of "self". Jung believed that in each person deep unconscious talents are laid. All our potential, which we have not yet learned, is uniting into the so-called hidden personality.

The self is an example of the personality that we are destined to become from the very birth. Some people achieve great success in the field of knowing their own internal resources and hidden talents. And some do not realize a small share of their own capabilities. So, at birth, each person is already destined for his own, unique way of life.

The self is a hidden person, it is extremely flexible and takes the context of a specific time period in a person's life. For the fullest realization of own internal resources, a person faces certain difficulties. A wise person takes all the obstacles for granted, as an invaluable life experience, as an opportunity to move forward and to know the resources of his own soul, mind and body. A morally weak person always grumbles at fate, feeling unhappy and deprived. Paradoxically, even the most successful people are often unhappy with their current results.

Empirical concept, expressing the unity of personality

We have already learned what the self means. It is a kind of psychological spectrum and reflects how closely the conscious and unconscious person of a person fuses together. A holistic personality includes the unconscious component, so it can reflect the experiences that have already happened, as well as the moments that have not yet occurred. Carl Jung believed that the unconscious personality can be endowed with superhorts, and its possibilities can be truly unlimited.

Unity of Opposites

Empirically, the self is the unity of two opposites, both male and female, as the attraction of a negative and positive charge, like the interaction of light and shadow, as the hero's struggle with his sworn enemy. This list can be continued indefinitely, and the third, as we see, is not given. The self is the union of opposites into a kind of integral union. This concept is not accepted as an independent philosophical idea and in fact is only a working hypothesis. However, it is widely represented in geometric forms and symbols, it can be traced in fairy tales, legends, myths and dreams. Therefore, the concept of self occupies one of the leading places in the series of many similar archetypal ideas.

The problem of the self in psychology

It happens that patients complain to doctors about inner emptiness or lack of meaning in life. In this case, distinctly manifested loss of communication with his own hidden personality, which is capable of leading a person forward. The absence of such a guiding star is a serious psychological problem and requires the intervention of professionals.

And outwardly a man may seem too confident, but within himself he experiences complete devastation. It seems to him that he is an absolute loser and that in the whole world no one likes him. Internal doubts and lack of self-respect also have opposite manifestations, for example, a chronic need for attention from outside.

Narcissism leads to inner emptiness

An insecure person who completely lost the sense of existence needs help and support. However, hypertrophied ego, arrogance, narcissistic nature and the requirement of constant attention from others is also a problem. As we found out, the self is a hidden archetypal personality, which is an inner filling. Communication with it gives a person a sense of harmony and integrity with the unconscious. When a person is disoriented about his own "I", he has serious psychological problems.

Two sides of the same coin

The following two diametrically opposite clinical examples have the same consequences. Psychiatrists often face such a picture. Observing two clinically depressed people, they notice many similarities, but also some differences between them. Both patients may have the same physical manifestations of a mental disorder: apathy, tearfulness, lethargy, a violation of appetite and insomnia. However, their subjective experiences radically differ from each other.

One patient feels his moral imperfection and thinks about suicide in order to rid the world of its negative influence. Another patient does not feel his own immorality (narcissus), but he does not see the meaning of existence on this planet. So, thinking about suicide, he does not do a favor to the world. The second patient lost a guiding star called "self". This in psychology means that a person is in dire need of consolation and support from outside. He yearns to reestablish a connection with the internal objects that guide him through this life. Most often he feels a great relief if someone is called to help him. In this case, even the all-consuming sense of shame goes to the background.

Melancholic and Narcissus

People who fall into melancholy, do not feel shame, but are accustomed to blaming themselves for everything. According to such patients, they came to this planet in order to spoil the world. They are too crowded with the internalized objects inherent in the hidden personality. These people have not lost touch with their own altero, but, on the contrary, self-control over them. This is described in psychology as a violation of the balance of the personality, as the predominance of the unconscious over the conscious. Both pathologies - both melancholy and narcissistic depletion of the psyche - require clinical treatment.