Freud and the People Inside

Hey Lily, hey 9, have you ever heard of Sigmund Freud?

 

Certainly.

 

Huh?

 

Our close personal friend AI Overview can help you out, 9:

 

“Sigmund Freud is best known as the founder of psychoanalysis, a groundbreaking method for treating mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind. He is renowned for developing talk therapy, exploring the unconscious, interpreting dreams, and introducing concepts like the id, ego, and superego. . .”

 

Do we have mental disorders?

 

If you count being in active communication with your older and younger selves, some people would probably say yes, 9.

 

But for those of us with a healthy amount of imagination, let’s continue.

 

Though not a big fan of Freud (for reasons that would require their own separate blog or two), I kind of like his ideas about the conscious and unconscious elements of the mind. His concept, for me, turns into a play with three characters- –

 

The id, the ego, and the superego.

 

Right you are, Lily.

 

Is id like Cousin It on The Addams Family?

 

Hard to say, 9, as Cousin It talked so fast I could never understand him, except for the one episode when he put marbles in his mouth. The id, in Freud’s system, is like a child, drive solely by the need to satisfy basic needs and desires, such as eating. The id resides in the unconscious mind.

 

Neat!

 

Handy, because in my imaginary three character play I am casting you, 9, as the id. Lily, you will play the role of the superego.

 

That means I’m in charge.

 

Kind of. You are a judge and guardian who tries to steer us other two toward moral perfection.

 

I’d prefer to steer you toward theatrical perfection.

 

If we lived in a perfect world, you could make it so.

 

The impulsive id works behind the scenes, in the unconscious. The superego resides in both the unconscious and conscious. My part, as the ego, spends most of its time in the conscious.

 

Good thing, since you’re the one who does the driving.

 

In Freud’s world, the id, ego and superego are in continual conflict. But recently I read a review of some books that consider Freud’s theory from a different perspective. This is where I came across a better (to me) notion for how the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind work. In a word: together. Like a discussion instead of a brawl. In Equals, an essay collection by Phillip Adams © 2002, the author draws a correlation between the id, ego and superego working together, and democracy. From the book:

 

“. . .being listened to can enable one to hear- -and even enjoy- -listening to oneself and others; which democracy itself depends on.”

 

If you reside in 1969, like 9, or in 1974, like Lily, you might have the notion that listening to others and hearing what they have to say has something to do with democracy, even if those people have different values and opinions than yours. But now. . .?

 

Maybe if we start listening to our inner selves, really hearing what they have to say, and accepting that there are differences of opinion within us, ourselves, we can start the hard work learning how to listen to others again?

 

Let’s start now. I want a piece of chocolate cake!

 

Sorry, 9, I got rid of most of that stuff when I found out I’m pre-diabetic. But I have some 85% cacao chocolate you might like.

 

She doesn’t need cake or chocolate, and you don’t, either! I’m determined to steer you both to dietary perfection, like me! Cottage cheese and apples are all you need.

 

Apples and cottage cheese are certainly nutritious, Lily, but, as you also say, I’m the one who does the driving. Your role is to try to steer us toward perfection. Some days, the trying will go better than on others. We’ll have our dark chocolate now and again, and cottage cheese and apples more often, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we very, very rarely indulge in a piece of cake.

 

Yay!

 

Because if one of us always got everything our own way, it would not be a pretty picture.