Ego! What exactly is the ego? I am sure you’ve heard the phrase “you have such a big ego” And that in general means someone who is full of themselves but there is a deeper meaning to the word “ego” as you will see.
If you are like me and you search for answers to why you are the way you are and why others are the way they are, then you are going to find some interesting points in this blog post.
Sigmund Freud Theory
According to Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, our mind is divided into three parts: the id, superego, and the ego. To explain this a little bit easier, let’s pretend you have 3 little people inside of you. These 3 personalities are very different from each other and are always fighting to win your attention. We always end up listening to one more than the others.
Freud illustrates this concept really well by giving a metaphor of an iceberg. If you look at an iceberg, most of its mass is below the surface where you can’t really see it. But, it also has a part on the surface that we can see. He refers to this part as the ego. The part of our brain that we can access.
The Ego- The Rational Adult
The ego is based on the conscious level. We have access to this part of our brain. The ego is referred to as the rational part of our personality. The ego is like the big brother or sister making sure the other two are making the right decisions. It is the logical part and makes sure our decision makes sense. This is the part that is seen by others, so we can say it makes the final decision. But, that’s not always the case as you will see.
The Superego- Conscience
The superego develops as a child. This is more on a preconscious level. It is outside of our awareness but it is still accessible. Superego is the one who strives for perfection and has moral control. The superego forms as we get to know the world around us and what are the rules, sort of like a moral compass.
The superego sits right next to the ego in Freud’s iceberg example. As you can see part of the superego sits at the surface level, meaning we have access to part of it. According to Freud, the superego represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment. It is constantly looking out for you and guides you to do the right thing.
The Id- The Demanding Child
The id lies in the unconscious mind. It is below the surface in Freud’s image, this means we can’t really access it. The id is the demanding personality who seeks pleasures such as hunger, thirst, sex, etc. It is flooded with emotions and motivations that impact our actions even though we can’t access it.
The id operates on the pleasure principle and demands immediate gratification in most things. I would compare the id to a baby who cries demanding attention and only seeks its own selfish needs. It’s not really concerned with the feelings of others. As we get older, our id grows with us and seeks other adult needs such as sexual and aggressive desires. You can probably what type of personality a person who is ruled by their id has; demanding and only thinking of themselves. We have all been around certain people. Narcissist much?
Who Wins?
So, how do these work? Who wins? Well, they all work together or try to. The ego is the mediator and always keeps the id and superego in check. When these personalities fight and can’t get in agreement with each other, that is when you experience anxiety and other mental problems. Can you imagine how we would all be if there was no ego? Or if we all just had an id? We would basically be animals.
There is much more to this perspective but I hope I was able to briefly show you how our brains work, according to Freud’s perspective. I think it’s so interesting that some people are more governed by their id and you can straight out see it.
How does knowing this help?
How does this info help? Well, knowing this concept should make it easier to understand people better and which personality governs them the most. For example, we know someone ruled mostly by their id is a narcissist….ok. What about someone ruled by their superego? Hmmm, the superego strives for perfection so we can say, a perfectionist or someone who is overly cautious.
If you love understanding the mind check out this other blog post I wrote on How to control your mind.
Keep seeking the truth friends!
Xoxo, Xio💚
References:
- Psychology;Rose M. Spielman
- Youtube: PsychU
