the great pumpkin strikes again

alter ego (noun) : what you dress up as on Halloween
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Happy Halloween!

resistance

resistance (noun) : the phenomena that analysands will keep hidden aspects of themselves from the therapist in order to defend against worse feelings (aka the reason why therapy takes so long)
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We’ve all either been there or know someone there – holding onto something or someone that keeps us stuck in an unhealthy situation. And somehow the fear of NOT having that to hold onto, and the comfort of the known (albeit unhealthy), blocks movement from it. This “gain from illness” theory apparently is only one of five types of resistance, according to Freud.

BTW, did you know that our friend Dr Freud is all the rage in China? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/10/AR2010101004051.html

The other forms may be less clear as “resistance” but make a bit of sense if you associate them with folks you know. Like the person who misdirects anger or responsibility onto someone or something else – their friends, their therapist, their boss. This is the “transference” type of resistance. Outside of the therapist office, this usually results in the eventual loss of friends and jobs. (Blaming your mother doesn’t count here, because that’s truth as opposed to transference.)

Or perhaps you’ve encountered someone who doesn’t get angry or upset (or feel much of anything). This is the “repression” type of resistance and is a particularly fun one because it results in passive aggressive behaviour, always is a treasured experience.

Another form is the “repetition compulsion” type of resistance. You know, that person who keeps doing the same thing hoping that the result will change and who appears surprised when it doesn’t? Again, outside the therapist’s office (and maybe inside it if you don’t face your therapist during the session), this usually results in the rolling of eyes and the thought of ‘duh!’

And Freud's last form of resistance (apparently stemming from guilt) - “self sabotage”, the form that makes us cringe whether inside or outside the therapist’s office. When conducted outside of it, there will be immediate bad consequences, like contracting a disease; when conducted inside of it, it's almost the same - there will be years of more therapy.

The Alter Ego

alter ego (noun) : the pretend part of one's psyche
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Several friends of mine each have a few different personae that emerge when the situation calls for a new personality. It's hard to keep track of these people, their likes/dislikes, gender, age, etc. It's hard enough to keep track of my friends' own likes/dislikes, so bringing these other personalities into the mix becomes confusing. I liken it to my creation of characters in my stories - they do gain a life of their own and sometimes can crowd your head. But my characters are simply that. I don't pretend I'm them when I'm out having a drink.

Why do people create a second (or third or fourth) self? I see it helping on a job interview, or when you're waiting tables (because who really wants to serve obnoxious, demanding people, day in and day out, with a smile and the hope of a decent tip so that the bills can be paid). But on a daily basis?

I think creating "alters" (as it's called, at least on "The United States of Tara") represents a dissatisfaction of one's real personality, a kind of rejection of the ego. But my friends disagree. They love their varied personalities and enjoy having instant comrades whom they not only know intimately, but get to control.

Imagine what these folks could do if they concentrated on the one personality.