My Analysis on Psycho (Psyche) Analysis

2/12/14  My Analysis on Psycho (Psyche ) Analysis

Richard H. von Gremmler

    Throughout my countless years of studies and personal research; reveals Sigmund Freud to be one of the foremost prominent theorists; but more importantly, the founder of psychoanalysis.  As with other renowned theorists such as Jung, Erickson, Piaget, Pavlov, etc.; they were also equally inspired theorists; contributing significant philosophies that are similarly congruent and enlightening. 

   An important aspect to understand about theories is that, the term implies subjective opinions and philosophies.  And the most important factor to always consider; there is nothing mystical, or intellectually required, to understand the philosophical world; as everyone has the potential to become his or her own analytical theorist, regardless of educational or socio-economic background. 

    Everything I refer to in my articles reflects my own personal philosophies, which may coincide with other philosophical and psychological dogma purported by the erudite academia world, which is quite normal, since there is only one reality.  And the readers should always question and challenge my material, as well as the academia world; as again, this information reflects nothing more than personal philosophical dogma.    

   I view psychoanalysis as a process, by which, someone having achieved self-awareness, would be capable with assisting others with the discovery of their latent desires and strife from within their unconscious inner-self; whereby illuminating the genuine reality of his or her true identity (personality).  (Refer to my blog on Consciousness/Subconscious/Unconscious inner-Self)

   This phenomenon, the unconscious inner-self, has also been referred to as the Psyche, Soul, Self and other terms, but I will use the term unconscious inner-self during my writings for simplification purposes.

   My belief is that it would beneficial for everyone to seek out the hidden forces within his or her unconscious inner-self.  This would reveal the genuine inner-feelings and reasons responsible for any anxieties he or she might be experiencing.  The reason being, should we fail to moderate our stress levels, we could eventually reach a point where we may totally deviate from the world of reality.  (Refer to my blog on Stress/Anger Conflicts)

   This process will create additional stress for us, but once we have made some progress, the suffering we were experiencing will be relieved.  This reinforcement will then serve as a stimulus for us to pursue other hidden garbage that may be haunting us.

   We must be courageous and determined when confronting our demons.    The process will require revealing the culprits responsible for our anguish. But for some, they may choose other alternatives; by just existing in the world of denial, or drowning themselves in mind-altering drugs.

   This formidable undertaking will necessitate the exploration and clarification of the unknown variables responsible for our emotional upheaval.  This involves retrieving hidden emotional criteria that had been repressed within the unconscious inner-self, through the assistance of an independent party possessing self-awareness.  What makes the unconscious inner-self so intriguing is that, this emotional criterion is concealed without our knowledge, and cannot be consciously visualized or logically defined.

   There have been a myriad of theories and speculation presented and examined over the past centuries regarding this subject, demonstrating extreme subjective disparities (confusion?).  Most scholars will doggedly adhere to the doctrine that everyone has his or her own personal reality, but this is totally unfounded; as there is only one true and genuine reality. 

   The difficulty arises in that; everyone will rationalize to himself or herself that he or she feels confident with the examination of his or her conscious emotional world.  But in actuality, this will be totally dependent on the individual’s emotional tolerance threshold.  Whereby, we may be capable with consciously accepting and absorbing the reality of some situations, whereas with the more critical issues, we may rebel against and deny their actual existence; while totally distorting the genuine defining factors of the experiences, identifying them as we have a need to believe as reality. 

   This is why most theorists believe everyone to possess his or her own reality, but this is only within consciousness, as the genuine reality of circumstances is hidden within the subconscious or the unconscious inner-self.  And this is where ego-defense mechanisms (barriers) come into play; suppressing the lesser stress producing situations (stressors) into our subconscious, while repressing the more severe stressors, yet without conscious consideration, which are hidden within our unconscious inner-self.  (Refer to my blog on Ego-Defense Mechanisms)

   This transformation transpires because of our lack of self-awareness and stress threshold, when encountering certain challenges we might find as disturbing and are unable to cope with.  And again, depending on the severity of the respective stress situation(s) (stressors), we will either resolve the stressor(s), or we will consciously alter the reality of the circumstance(s), and if severe enough, we may totally deny the specific situation even exists!

   It’s quite normal experiencing anxieties when entertaining circumstances that are challenging for us.  But as a result of our ego-defense mechanisms, which establish barriers, we will consciously, yet unintentionally, deny certain critical stress producing situations, thus avoiding the authentic defining factors of these situations.

   Ego-defense mechanisms are an innate phenomenon that exists within everyone, which are intended to protect us from emotional suffering.  But unfortunately, whenever we deny the reality of any stress related situation or even non-stress conditions, regardless of intensity, this will create many more complications.  And this adds a whole new variable into the equation; guilt.  As a result of guilt, we will experience additional stress in conjunction with the stress from the situation we had denied in the first place.  (Refer to my blog on Guilt) 

   Because of our denial and with the addition of guilt, this will create an emotional void within our unconscious inner-self.  This void will establish a phenomenon, whereby, creating emotional needs from outside resources by which to fulfill and satisfy this emotional void.  And with any future denial, we will accumulate more guilt, and the void will intensify, whereby, also contributing to the increasing of our emotional needs!  (Refer to my blog on Emotional Needs)

   To simplify, whenever we are in denial, we are rejecting ourselves.  As a result of this self-rejection, we will experience guilt and will thus be creating an emotional void or empty space within our unconscious inner-self, which I equate with loneliness.  This void exemplifies our failure with arriving at a realistic conclusion. 

   Because of these infractions, and by our failing to satisfy our own personal emotional world, the only means by which to complement our emotional void, would be to look to others for this fulfillment, thus, through the demanding of emotional needs from others! 

   Therefore, by creating emotional needs, we are introducing a new monster; becoming indoctrinated and conditioned on the dependency of expectations from others.  And even though this may appear to serve as a positive means by which to satisfy our emotional void, this superficial input will only be temporary, and we will be learning to become emotionally dependent on the identities (personalities) of others for our salvation.  So if we fail to complement our own emotional world, we will always be dependent on any form of external stimuli that can contribute to the pseudo temporary fulfillment required within our void.  (Refer to my blog on Subliminal and Operant Conditioning)  

   Again, this pretense may serve as an immediate comfort zone, but only on a temporary basis, and this is when we begin deviating from the world of reality.  And also, because of ego-defense mechanisms, this will construct an unrealistic world within our conscious mind (consciousness).  And some of these denied criteria will be unavailable from conscious observation temporarily, but with the more severe stress related situations, these may be lost forever!

   To reiterate, it’s the stress related criteria we fear and are not capable of accepting which will be restricted from consciousness, whereby, either suppressed into the subconscious, which will be consciously available for observation from time to time, or repressed into the unconscious inner-self, which is always inaccessible from being consciously experienced, unless through the assistance from an outside source, such as a therapist or independent friend, of whom MUST possess self-awareness!

   Suppression entails choosing to ignore or evade less stressful situations, which will reappear within consciousness periodically, and will continue in this manner until resolved.  With repression, the quandary here is that, the explanation of the specific situation is repressed into the unconscious inner-self, without our acknowledgement or conscious awareness.  And this is why we have psychoanalysis; retrieving the latent demons, which are responsible for our misery and suffering.

   This unidentifiable and uncontrollable phenomenon begins from the time we are in our mother’s womb, up until our present juncture in life.  And this process of indoctrination is established by positive and negative influences instilled into our emotional world, which will reveal our identities (personalities).  And we are endowed with these properties from our parents, guardians, peers, and anyone else who may have influence over our destiny in life.

   As identified earlier, all of this hidden garbage must be exposed and examined for resolution by an independent party such as a therapist or qualified individual.  The key here is that this party must not have any biases or emotional needs for the counseled individual, and above all else; POSSESS SELF-AWARENESS!

   What prevails with most therapists though; they will choose the stress-free path and only identify with those renowned personalities that they feel unthreatened by, of who they will actually imitate.  The litmus test here is, since there is only one true and absolute reality, this will be verified by the progress of the client.

   As for myself, I have my own hypotheses on this subject; regarding the processes relating to the positive and effective analysis of the latent dynamics within an individual’s covert world, the unconscious inner-self.

   Over the past 55 years I have associated with a myriad of professors and graduate students in the psychology arena.  As previously expressed, there are those who have pursued an academic education in psychology, where they then discriminately prefer a specific theorist such as Freud, Jung or Maslow, etc., whereby practicing their trade in accordance with the respective philosopher’s theories, whether beneficial or not.  And there are those others, who will experience and understand the depth of various theories, along with theories of their own.  This is how I function, philosophizing on an eclectic basis, whereby creating my own theories, which may be congruent with other theorists, or even be in extreme conflict with the great minds of the past.

   Also, it is imperative for the readers to understand that the psychology field is not a science, as it involves our emotions.  Emotions can never be logically or empirically analyzed through observation, studies, textbooks, etc., since it is impossible to study and memorize emotions from books or by other similar means, as everyone’s emotions and feelings are unique.  And creating even more confusion for most, logic and emotions will always be opposing forces, constantly in conflict with each other.  How can we be subjectively (emotionally) objective (logical), or objectively subjective, impossible! 

   The science aspect is only applicable to the psychiatric field, which is essential at times, and can be utilized in conjunction with the psychology field.  But emotional analysis is a separate entity all of its own.  I mention this because, everyone, regardless of education, socioeconomic background, nationality, etc., can become qualified assisting others with exploring their inner-world; disclosing the true and genuine reality of their identity.

   To reemphasize, when attempting to discover the authenticity of the true and genuine “reality” of our emotional world, the difficulty arises, in that, we will experience various thought and emotional processes on a conscious level, but which may be in total conflict with reality.  And again, because of our ego-defense mechanisms (barriers), which are involuntary and unpredictable, and undetectable by the conscious mind (consciousness), the actual reality may be hidden from consciousness, and reside within the subconscious or the unconscious inner-self.

   I consider the unconscious inner-self to be the most unique and intriguing phenomenon we will ever experience during our lifetime.  But investigating this unknown entity is only possible if we are truly interested and desirous with pursuing the dynamics interacting within the unconscious inner-self.  As for myself, because of my relentless extreme duress and fear, I was forced into this latent world of the unknown.  Fortunately for me, I knew there was something lacking within my thought processes, and there had to be some questions to be answered for resolution.

   What makes my philosophies so unbelievably simple is that, it’s not that I’m intelligent, but once we’re able to thoroughly understand and experience the emotional depth of a theory, it becomes reality.  And while I have extensively studied, researched and explored my emotions, I naturally came across other outside theories identical to my own and others, whereby; validating that there is only one reality.

   And what makes theorizing (philosophizing) interesting and simple is that; no one has a patent on reality, since everyone has access to it!  It is impossible to forget reality, but we need to memorize only what is unreal, except for science and other unemotional subjects.  And it’s pretty much impossible for a number of individuals to come up with the same identical unrealistic theory or philosophy.

    I had questioned many of my colleagues on this matter, with most of them fearing their own demons; the reasoning why they were picking up paper credentials in the psychology field, hoping to relieve their pain and suffering.  Unfortunately for them, again, it is impossible to relieve emotional stress by memorizing theories from research or textbooks.

   When a student is inundated with numerous subjects and voluminous research, especially if the contents are way off target, it’s extremely difficult to be able to analyze every theory to any degree, because of the contradictions and time element.  And this drastically restricts the emotional flexibility because of their cramming, instead of actually learning and understanding, through challenging each theory in an effort to understand the genuine depth and integrity of theories.

   This occurs quite frequently.  While studying and researching various theories, many students will encounter a theory (philosophy) that confuses them or creates stress for them.  But because of their needs (insecurities) to appear capable to demonstrate their ability with understanding the intended depth of a well-known and respected theorist, they will generally rationalize to themselves that; they fully understand the dynamics of the theories.  Since they have no clue as to what the theory is suggesting, the only solution is to memorize the theory.  Pretty emotional, huh?

   This is an extremely interesting phenomenon; where the studies become so overwhelming.  If the student(s) were to hesitate or allow some spare time to research or examine a particular philosophy, they might get bogged down, with the philosophy actually triggering and exposing one of their own personal emotional dysfunctions.  I have experienced this on numerous occasions.

   Then there are the therapists, including uneducated individuals as well, who may have an acute degree of awareness, yet whose theories (philosophies) do not necessarily follow one particular theorist or pattern, or even worse, not in agreement with the self-indulging narcissists.  These theorists, as with myself, are considered as being eclectic, as their theories may or may not be congruent and in conflict with the well-known theorists of the past.  The theories may coincide with some theorists, i.e. Pavlovian, Freudian, Erikson, etc., but there is no pure absolute with every theory from any one individual theorist.

   The sad thing about theory acceptance within the academia environment, which entails nothing more than philosophies, some individuals, who have never pursued a formal education, may reveal excellent and simplistic philosophies that are not acceptable by the faction of the so-called intellectual (erudite) community.  It’s very difficult for extremely overly educated individuals to be humble (secure) so as to learn from outside of their click of the so-called elite, and especially if the individual is considered inferior, i.e. non-credentialed.

   The key for proper psychoanalysis is, for therapists first gaining an acute degree of awareness of their own personal inner-self.  It is of paramount necessity for them having the capacity with understanding and being free of most of their emotional inhibitions and emotional needs.  The therapists must be capable with feeling the feelings of the emotions of themselves and others, which the clients themselves will not even be aware of.  This leads to the assistance with helping individuals bring out repressed feelings that had been hidden away within the unconscious inner-self.

   If therapists fail with having a healthy understanding of their own personal feelings, how in the world would they be capable with getting into the emotional depth of someone else’s personal world?  Therapists will only be capable with getting into a client’s emotional world, to the depth of their own personal emotional self-awareness.

   The desired resultant for proper psychoanalysis is, for the clients, whom I refer to as students, learning how to become their own mentors (analysts).  It is IMPOSSIBLE to be able to develop self-awareness on our own.  There MUST be an unbiased party conducting the counseling, who is aware and has no needs for or from the client.  Thus, the instructing person must have previously successfully achieved Self-awareness.  And above all else, therapists must not attempt to save individuals, but to assist the clients with saving themselves.

   There cannot be genuine Self-psychoanalysis unless we first gain Self-awareness.  The purpose for psychoanalysis from someone other is that, we will ALWAYS prevaricate and lie to ourselves.  This is why it is essential for an unbiased and emotionally qualified individual (not necessarily academically paper credentialed) to instill and motivate clients to become self-motivated and self-challenging.

   The therapists must be capable with motivating clients with having the freedom and courage to be able to challenge and disagree with them, the therapist.  The therapists must also be able to control and manipulate the emotions of the clients.  It is necessary for the client to become dependent on the therapist, whereby removing the dependency from him or herself.  This might seem to be negative, but the underlying purpose is for the therapists having sufficient control over the client’s emotions, as again, clients will always lie to themselves in an effort to hide from the suffering that motivated them to go to the therapist in the first place.  And also of interest, the client may be lying about something that didn’t even occur.  Sometimes clients will do almost anything for attention.  (Refer to my article on Control and Manipulation)

   This might be hard to appreciate, but most clients will seek out a therapist who is as emotionally lost as they are.  On a conscious level, the clients may truly believe they want help, but with the unconscious inner-Self having control over the conscious mind, the ego-defenses will kick-in.  With this phenomenon, clients will feel more comfortable with just the therapists who have not achieved Self-awareness, unconsciously knowing that the therapist is not capable with uncovering the stressor situations (stressors) responsible for their anxieties and suffering.  (Refer to my article on Stress/Anger Conflicts)

   This is how ego-defenses function.  The ego-defenses serve as an emotional blockade.  This prevents the conscious mind from experiencing the stressor situations responsible for the stress.  As a result of not being consciously capable with identifying the reason(s) responsible for the anxieties, and depending on the severity of the respective stressor(s), the actual stressor will be either suppressed into the subconscious, or repressed into the unconscious.

   The conundrum here though, with this scenario, even though ego-defenses provide individuals with instant emotional protection, the stress and anxieties will continue to remain, unless resolved.

   It’s sort of a dammed if you do, damned if you don’t situation.  Since stress situations (stressors) create stress and anxieties, to deny or procrastinate resolving the stressor, the stress will still be with us.  So even though ego-defenses are designed to protect us from emotional suffering, with the stressor possibly being hidden from the conscious mind, the stress and anxieties will continue to exist.

   If the stressor is in the subconscious, the stressor will pop into the conscious mind from time to time.  But if a stressor had been repressed into the unconscious, the identifying of the specific stressor will be extremely more difficult bringing to the surface (conscious mind). 

      As with lying to ourselves, to reiterate, because of ego-defenses, any stressor we fear facing, and we’re unable to consciously accept and acknowledge, will be either suppressed into the subconscious, or repressed into the unconscious.  These ego-defense mechanisms (barriers) are designed to protect us from emotional discomfort, but will actually contribute to our dilemma.  Since, should we fail to resolve the stressor(s) creating the stress, unfortunately, our protective ego-defense mechanisms will actually create guilt; adding even more new stress.

   The thing I find adventurous about psychoanalysis or psychotherapy is; no one has a patent or a guidebook.  Every one of us, individually, is responsible for his or her own emotional mess, regardless of who may have designed or put us in our predicament.  This doesn’t imply that we’re responsible for attempting to conquer the devastation on our own, but we must have the courage and desire to admit to ourselves that maybe something could be wrong.  Once we reach this point, then we can seek out assistance from someone we can truly trust, and not be able to manipulate.

   Everyone is qualified to become a philosopher and/or therapist, regardless of his or her academic background.  I also believe the terms therapy and counseling are condescending and suppressing.  It implies that the therapist is superior to the client.  I myself, have used the term client, but refer to individuals as students, whereby teaching them the philosophy of psychology and life.   ***********

   It seems many theorists cling to the theories they had studied and memorized from previous credentialed professionals such as Freud, Jung, Erickson, Maslow, etc., and without anyone even questioning or challenging these philosophies.  What’s really confusing is that, what if most of the theories are unreal, or possibly even detrimental?  It is impossible to truly understand someone else’s theories, unless they are genuine (reality) and we have a sufficient degree of awareness in order to be able to understand the emotional depth of the respective theory.  Then and only then, will we ever be able to determine if a theorist is on target or not; as again, there is only one reality.

   I’ve come across many individuals in the past who were involved in the psychology field, who truly thought they believed and understood the theories of past philosophers.  But again, it’s not possible to understand the depth of any theory purported by others, unless the philosophies are genuine and we have first achieved Self-awareness.

   It is impossible to understand the depth of someone else’s theories, if we need to memorize them.  An excellent example involves the students in the psychology field; how can someone memorize something emotional; impossible!  If we are unable to experience our genuine feelings and need to memorize something emotional, most likely it’s either unreal or we’re unaware.  And on the flip side, how could we forget what’s real?

   One of the greatest fears therapists will ever encounter, both on conscious and unconscious levels are, attempting to apply what they have digested throughout their educational pursuits, while not totally understanding the depth of the various theories.  And the greater the paper credentials of an individual, the greater the number of theories to memorize, whereby, the greater the accumulation of junk, thereby, the greater the potential for greater stress.

   Also of interest, those individuals with lesser or even no paper credentials, more than not, will look up to the higher credentialed individuals as being superior to them.  The phenomenal thing about this is that, those individual’s having accomplished Self-awareness, and with lesser credentials, or even no paper credentials at all, will actually be superior to those with extreme credentials. They will only respect others in this field, to the degree of their Self-awareness and dynamics; with no relevance on paper credentials.

   As with almost any career, academia is essential. Following an individual’s education, whether a bachelor’s degree, masters or doctorate, individuals will enter into their chosen field applying what they have memorized and retained, in conjunction with learning on the job.

   With the psychology field, the education stresses theories and research from previous theorists from both the psychology and psychiatric schools of thought.  Psychiatrists are geared toward the physiological aspect (endogeny), whereas psychologists concentrate on the external environment (exogeny) affecting an individual. 

   The psychiatric field will focus on an individual’s physiological disorders, which I believe can stem from both internal and/or external stimuli.  With the psychology field, the basis for therapy entails an individual’s past history, which stems from prior classical conditioning.

    Everyone is psychothymic, meaning everyone is mild manic-depressive.  Mood swings affect everyone, and in varying degrees. It’s when emotional moods go beyond moderation; this is when individuals become neurotic.  And the degree of the neurosis will depend if or not an individual should pursue counseling. 

   Unfortunately, many individuals will refrain from outside help, mostly because of societal pressures.  Mental illnesses are considered abnormal, whereby most individuals will hide this secret from others.  And because of barriers (ego-defenses), many are actually able to hide this secret from themselves.  These individuals are easy to read though, because of their behavior and subliminal feelings.

   With getting back to a formal education and of great interest, if someone is in the psychology studies program and has achieved Self-awareness, how could he or she dedicate an extreme amount of time researching someone else’s research of someone else’s research, and so on.  To put it simply, how could anyone emotionally experience the research of others if it is just speculation and guesswork? 

   This is the problem with academia in the psychology field today.  It’s impossible to authenticate a theory, unless we have actually lived and experienced the theory fully.  Just think how many different theories there are that have been examined through research, and how does anyone really know which one is on target.  This is why I have found most research; absolutely putrefying!

   It’s interesting how many theorists and experimental psychologists have documented their beliefs and findings through empirical studies and evaluation, and yet, with very few in agreement with one another.  Are they trying to glorify themselves by creating a new theory that no one else had ever thought of.

   I have found most theorists, as being way off target, as again, there is only one reality.  How come most of the theorists are in conflict with one another?  Why don’t they confer with one another to discover the reality of a specific theory for their own personal growth?  Is it their weak ego driving them?  Are they seeking answers for their own depressions?  Is it a safe means by which to hide their emotions from others; as why would anyone challenge a highly academically (erudite) credentialed psychologist who must know everything about his or her own personal inner-emotions?

   Also of great interest regarding this subject, many scholars will confuse logic with emotions.  This occurs because of their lack of awareness and the need for convenient answers.  It has to be extremely frustrating attempting to identify with a theory, when lacking Self-awareness.  This is when most academics will rely on logic views rather than attempting to understand the emotional aspect. 

   Logic and emotions will always be in conflict, and the difficulty entails ………..

   The psyche is a very complex and difficult phenomenon to truly understand.  But once we’re able to truly experience our inner-Self, the dynamics will make a lot of sense; thus our conquering the simplicity we had lost and hidden from for so many years.

   From my own personal experiences with the Psyche, we must first be capable with feeling how we genuinely feel about something; the ability to feel how we genuinely feel.  We must be capable with emotionally experiencing reality ourselves, ignoring external influences and, without rationalizing how we need to feel about something because of emotional discomfort.

   Everyone has layers of barriers (ego-defenses) that are designed to prevent experiencing stressors and insecurities affecting the conscious mind. These barriers will develop during our lifetime, and without our knowing, and will accumulate and become reinforced as we fail to resolve the respective stress issues (stressors).

   To ever be able to regain our sanity, it is imperative to resolve the issues creating our anxieties, thus eliminating the need for our ego-defenses to activate.  Our goal in life should entail attempting to experience our inner-feelings (Psyche) of who we truly are, and not as we have a need to believe.

   Resolving various stress producing conditions will give us the confidence for us to be able to delve deeper into our Psyche.  And again, as we break through these various layers of barriers, this will reinforce us to have the courage to work with other and future issues.  And with each level we conquer, we will be that much more emotionally strengthened in order to be able to consciously accept future stressors, and also become more secure with our present existence (existentialism).

   Only the conscious mind will lie to us; the unconscious inner-Self never lies.  But unfortunately, we’re unable to consciously retrieve what we have repressed into the unconscious inner-Self.  Only someone with an acute degree of Self-awareness, can achieve assisting with bringing repressed (hidden) stressors into the conscious mind. 

   This becomes very difficult for those therapists dependent on emotional concerns or the income from the various clients.

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