Sigmund Freud began a form of analysis that is still used to this day. His ideas of human suffering and how it relates to sexuality in this day and age are often controversial and highly debated. Whether his ideas are accurate or far from normal, Freud had a huge impact on modern day therapy. Psychoanalysis is the foundation of all psychotherapy. Psychoanalysis is the study of behavior through three mindsets. The id, the ego, and the super-ego are all a part of psychoanalysis. Though Freud did have many theories his most popular are in fact, the id, the ego, and the super-ego. His ideas made others question his beliefs. Such as “What relevance does this even have to psychology?” Perhaps his ideas are questionable, but Sigmund Freud has certainly changed psychology.
The psychological areas of the mind have three divisions: the ego, the super-ego, and the id. The id, meaning “the it” in German, is the most complex division of the mind. At birth, the mind only consists of one division, the id. This state consists of pure energy, meaning no bad or harm has entered the state of mind. If the id becomes hurt, it cannot tolerate the pain and must resort to heal itself. The id has two forms of healing itself from the pain. One is called “reflex action” which means, if pain is felt in an area, it stops said pain. The other is called “wish fulfillment” that means that, if the id becomes hungry, it cannot create a meal out of thin air, it must find an alternative way to settle the hunger. The id is not conscious, it is from the unconscious. Meaning, when one sneezes because ones nose is irritated, the person does not sit there and say, “I am going to sneeze now to stop the irritation,” one simply sneezes and moves on.
Another division of the mind is called the super-ego. In German, the super-ego means “the over I.” The super-ego is one of the less complex divisions. The division of the mind is part of the unconscious. Just like the id is. The super-ego is the “police” of the brain. It takes moral standards that it has learned since birth, and thinks about the consequences. For example: if a young college student had a bad day and wanted to relive the stress by consuming alcohol. In the id division of mind, the student would go out and consume as much alcohol as they wanted. However, the super-ego division steps in and weighs the outcome. It makes sure there are no tests to study for, and no car keys in the college student’s pocket. This is the last division to form, because it is the most mature. In order to have the division formed, a person must have had experience with life. Seeing consequences and feeling guilt and pain. One cannot come into the world with the knowledge of the super-ego.
The last division is the ego. In German ego means “I”. Like the other divisions, the ego comes from the unconscious. However, the ego also comes from the conscious part of the brain. Just as the super-ego, the ego also plays a major role in one’s brain. The ego is the balance. It decides when not to do something, and when to go ahead and live a little. The ego will also satisfy the id’s needs. For example: Fred is a struggling musician and so is Tim. Fred and Tim write a song together, and play equal parts. When the song goes platinum, Fred takes all of the credit. At this moment, Tim is very upset. He wants to punch Fred in order to release his stress. If the id were controlling the situation, then Fred would have a black eye. However, the ego decides to step in and take control. It comes in due to Tim’s unconscious, but as Tim contemplates what to do, the conscious side is awakened. Tim decides that punching Fred in the face would be both mean and socially unacceptable, so Tim decides to talk to Fred about the way he feels. Tim has now partially satisfied the id without jeopardizing his career.
There are many people who have done something amazing in their time. Andrew Warhol created pop art, and Jesus created Christianity. Then of course there is Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud has many ideas about the human brain and how it functions. The ego, the super-ego, and the id are how he classifies the brain. The divisions tap into the unconscious and conscious part of the brain, and how a person thinks. Though his ideas about the brain seemed absurd and ridiculous in his time, they are now a vital part of modern day Psychology. Freud did not create something that has no relevance to the modern day; he created an entire empire of psychoanalysis.
The branch of Psychology has many different branches, such as play therapy, EMDR, counseling, and more. None of these would be possible without the ideas of Sigmund Freud. Both play therapy and EMDR are modern forms of Freud’s theories. Play therapy is a way of helping a young boy or girl through toys. Through playing, the unconscious level of the girl or boy is opened, and feelings of hatred and hope begin to come forth. In play therapy a child may be asked to prepare a meal for a huge party. If the child were to say, “I am not allowed to have parties,” the child would be entering the super-ego division of his or her brain. However, if the child were to say something along the lines of “You need beer for a party,” that is clearly the id division. Through out play therapy, the Psychologist can observe what the child does, with the main principles of the ego, the super-ego, and the id. Play therapy has a lot of relevance to the modern day psychological branch. If the id, the ego, and the super-ego were never created, play therapy would only be a figment of a person’s crazy imagination. Without Freud, there would be no way to analyze a child through play toys.
Another branch of Psychology is EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This may be a hard concept for most people to comprehend. In other simpler terms, psychological manner to repress a memory by using rapid eye movement. EMDR allows people who have a trauma, get through the trauma. For many people this method is very effective and can relieve suicidal thoughts. Without the laws of the id, the ego, and the super-ego, EMDR would only be a mere thought. Most rapid eye movement happens when a person is sleeping in a state called “rem sleep.” Freud has many theories about why a person struggles with life. Most of the time he pinpoints it to childhood. If a child was not nurtured as a young one, the child will grow up seeking love and care. If the child was in a horrible car crash at the age of 2, the child will grow up to fear cars. The ideas Freud has are very black and white, but they have created EMDR. During a session of EMDR, just like play therapy, a Psychologist will move their fingers back and forth over a person’s eye while discussing the memory that has caused so much pain. As the fingers move faster and faster, the person begins to move forward with every step, learning to put the memory in the past, and therefore repressing it. Now, this may seem like it is on a different road than Freud. However, Freud believed that if a person gets the nurture that was not given as a child, the person could move on. It is the exact same idea, only with more modern ideas.
Similar to magic, psychology does have its skeptics. Psychology may not be as astonishing as a magic trick, but it is very complex and mysterious. Some believe that there is no “unconscious” part of the brain. I assure you there is. When a child sneezes they do not know why they are sneezing, they simply are. Freud bases all of his ideas and theories on simplicity. The simplexes of three divisions inside the brain, one, which acts as the police, another that acts as, a balance, and the other that acts as a non-thinker. Every day the three divisions can be found. If a person were to sit for a minute and simply be, and sneezed, said person would be using the Id division of the brain. If the phone rang and said person looked at it but decided not answer, the person would be using the Ego. If the phone rang and said person did not want to answer it but then thought about the responsibilities set forth, the Super-Ego would have answered the phone. Freud was not one of those crazy theory-making Psychologists. He based his theories on the one thing people all know; life.
