Does development of personality play a role in my mental health?

These days, there are so many websites bombarding us with free downloadable tests and quizzes to help us understand our personality traits. But have you ever wondered how your personality is developed and how understanding through awareness can help your mental health? Have you thought about where your avoidance and anxiety may stem from because it sometimes seems to appear out of thin air?

Sigmund Freud, an Austrian Neurologist, developed a Psychoanalytic Theory in 1924. This theory gave us a lens to finally understand the different components of our unique and beautiful personalities. Freud's model consisted of the Id, Ego, and Superego. This theory gave professional practitioners a template to understand the different constructs of personality formation. It gave us a tool to garner greater awareness and reflect more deeply on the root foundations of our very being.

After each component, there are questions you may wish to complete, including a self-awareness exercise, a self-reflective exercise, and a process exercise. These may help you learn and understand yourself a little better. These worksheets are not a substitute for personal therapy, but they may assist you in learning and understanding yourself better.

Id: The unconscious

Instincts, drives, and wishes are the steering wheel of the Id. This is where motivational drives reside, whereby we seek to satisfy needs and wants (pleasure principle). Adhering to routine and discipline has been shown to significantly assist in developing healthier behaviour patterns.

"According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories, the super-ego operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego."

McLeod, S (2024)

For example, 

If I work (instinct), I will get paid money, allowing me to pay my bills and progress on my life path. I can also let it be a stepping stone if I don’t know what I want, and that’s OK for now, as I am moving forward and not stuck. 

Things that can hinder growth are not going to bed at a reasonable time, habitually playing games or scrolling the internet aimlessly, gambling, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol regularly, or taking/abusing addictive substances…

Establishing a routine to get out of bed in the morning, maintaining good hygiene, and controlling impulses (self-awareness and honest reflection will help control impulses) is paramount, or I won’t hold onto my work position (drives). 

I hope to have extra money for fun stuff, holidays (wishes), etc. If I balance my instincts, drives, and wishes, the (Pleasure principle) can be healthily activated.

Ego: The conscious

This part of you attempts to satisfy and keep the Id balanced in the ‘here and now.’ It is rational and driven by the (conscious), i.e., balancing the demands of the external world of ‘accountability’ and ‘responsibilities’ ‘Reality Principle’ while balancing and controlling the gratification of the Id to an appropriate time after responsibilities have been taken care of.

"The term ego is often used informally to suggest that someone has an inflated sense of self. However, the ego in personality has a positive effect. It is the part of your personality that keeps you grounded in reality. It prevents the id and superego from pulling you too far toward your most basic urges or moralistic virtues. Having a strong ego means having a strong sense of self-awareness".

Cherry, K (2024)

i.e., I would like to go out for the day with friends, but I have been putting off cleaning my home, and I have a sink full of dishes (responsibilities). So, I will have to take a rain check on a day out (accountability) as the priority is to sort my living priorities before anything else (controlling gratification of the Id).

Suppose we don’t balance and hold ourselves accountable or responsible for our actions; we may see this manifest in symptoms of avoidance (sabotaging future self) and anxiety (inner conflict), which can manifest in physical symptoms of…

Superego: The conscious

What barriers can the ego encounter?

The Ego responds to communication from the Superego, which has formed rules based on the external world and peer standards seen and experienced to feel like we ‘fit in.’ The superego is also responsible for internalizing our caregivers' moral standards and societal rights and wrongs of the day.

"The superego is the ethical component of the personality and provides the moral standards by which the ego operates."

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, (2024)

The superego (conscious) can tap into cognitions that can be helpful and unhelpful, manifesting in feelings of guilt and shame, etc. These feelings can be activated by repression (unconscious) or suppression (conscious), which impacts our growth. Simply put, the Id is our blueprint, our ‘go-to.’

Through the trauma of abuse in childhood, i.e., un-available emotional parents, role models demonstrating societal unacceptable social and moral values, sexual/physical/neglect abuse, etc., The Id, then, can be programmed not to serve us intentionally, causing undue emotional harm and resulting in shame and guilt, which can impede our growth. 

Can we change this? Absolutely, yes, but we first need to understand to reprogramme the Id to work in our best interests, not to trigger emotional responses like shame and guilt that can render an individual stuck in a vortex of procrastination and ‘fear of fear’ anxiety-stricken paralysis.

Repression is an (unconscious) blocking of painful emotions, memories, and impulses from our conscious mind to minimize guilt and anxiety, hence a ‘defence mechanism.’ It is typically buried deep in the Id from childhood, where caregivers or siblings emotionally or physically shamed, humiliated, or used punishment as a weapon. 

Initially, it helped control at an unconscious level painful emotion, but issues inevitably arise and resurface by external triggers, which can cause anxiety in later years. Thus, the Ego has no conscious awareness that it has been hidden from us, and it exhibits in our behaviours and unhelpful reliance on unhealthy coping mechanisms. This is where therapy greatly assists individuals in unpacking childhood narratives to find root causes.

Suppression, however, (conscious mind) is purposefully trying to block unwanted painful thoughts or memories and control how we are seen by others so that they can return at an appropriate time when the Ego can handle them. This can be an effective coping mechanism unless an individual uses it as a form of chronic avoidance so as not to feel any negative or difficult emotions or memories.

For example, I feel shame/guilt that I am always late for work. Where does this come from? What was my experience of being late?

Can you describe the feelings of shame/guilt in your own words? You do not have to verbalise this; this is also OK if you can draw and find it easier to express yourself creatively. What would it be if it were a colour, sound, or smell? We can express our feelings in many ways, and not all are one-size-fits-all.

References

• Cherry, K. (2024). Id, Ego, And Superego: Freud's Elements of Personality. 
• Very Well Mind
• Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2024). Superego. Britannica. 
• McLeod, Saul. (2024). Freud's Theory of Personality: Id, Ego, and Superego. Simply Psychology.