Week 7: (Psychoanalysis Reflection) Feed Your Ego!

        I really enjoyed this week’s class discussion because I find Freud’s theories to be very interesting and entertaining.  The fact that he was able to analyze the minds of human beings and come up with various conclusions is incredible to me.  I find the Oedipal Complex to be one of his most interesting works and I also enjoyed the section on Fetishism because it was something completely new to me. 

        To begin with, Freud’s analysis of the different ways the mind works has been studied and used throughout time.  His ideas of the Ego, Superego, and Id have produced many other theories and understanding of the human mind.  The Ego represents our personality and there is an ongoing battle between the Superego and the Id.  The Superego acts like the angel whereas the Id plays the role of the devil.  The Id is driven by what we want and also represents our animal instinctive drives such as sex, food, and sleep.  I believe that we can apply Freud’s analysis to pretty much anything and I think plays a major role in making Freud such an infamous figure.  These models of the psyche explain why we humans do the things we do and illustrate the forces behind our actions.  

          I also enjoyed learning about some Defense Mechanisms that Freud illustrates how we behave and think to defend ourselves.  For example, some mechanisms include repression, projection, reaction formation, denial, and disassociation.  When we tell ourselves that we are going to do one thing but end up doing another illustrates how there is a conflict between our conscious and subconscious mind and we cannot control the outcome.  For example, when a person tells themselves that they are going to put themselves on a diet, but continually fail to follow their plan and so they start to feel angry and upset because they were not able to overcome it.  I think the concept of the Id, Superego, and Ego play a major role in this example.  The Superego will act like the “angel” and constantly will remind you that you have to stick to the diet plan in order to see results.  However, the Id will do the complete opposite and will take on the role of the evil character and will persuade you to forget your diet and eat all the type of foods that the Superego will disagree with.  This conveys an ongoing battle between doing what is right or following the dark side of the mind.  This conflict is always occurring in our minds and it is up to us to decide whether we want to follow the path that will lead us to redemption or temptation.