Defences

Today's anti-Psychology trend is unfortunate. While Freudian theory has been misused to oppress and silence some who have been outside the norms of society, it has also been used effectively to liberate and open the human consciousness for others, when applied with mindfulness and compassion. Current therapeutic trends seem to delegate all hope for remediation of psychic pain to the geneticist and the psycho-pharmacologist. Fortunes are being made on psychiatric drugs and genetic research. Yet the level of homelessness and chronic mental illness rises.

Source: Wikipedia Commons

Mechanisms of defence, core structural components of Freudian theory, are still helpful in looking at human behavior for the purpose of understanding others and understanding yourself. Realizing that the animal brain is behind much of what we think and do helps. Studying the history of individual development and conditioning also helps. By learning the Freudian theory, an intelligent individual need not fear it or fear being victimized by it at the hands of an unscrupulous psychoanalyst. The linked Wikipedia summary is actually quite good.

A modern mantra is "Don't judge (me)!" I find this very odd. It often seems to me that those who fall back on this slogan most often are those whose behavior screams most loudly to be judged. Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears and other celebrities are famous for whining about being judged. Their public behaviors have been self-destructive, addictive and generally obnoxious. Yet they, and many like them, scream "Don't you judge me!"

Perhaps it is time for people to start to judge their own behavior more honestly. This may do more for eliminating external judgments than anything else. Honestly judging your own behavior is the first step to a realistic picture of who you are. Without knowing who you really are, you are condemned to a life of self-delusion. If self-delusion is a social trend, then the society itself will be deluded with disastrous results.

Sub-prime mortgage, anyone?