The Real Self

Explanation of The Real Self

To explain this conception, we have to decompose the different mental compositions of “the self”:

Self-image

is the image an individual has of himself at a particular time and in a specific situation. It consists of his body image and the mental representation of his state at that particular time. This image may be conscious or unconscious, realistic or distorted.

Self representation

is a more enduring schema than self-image, constructed by the ego out of the multitude of distorted and realistic self-images which an individual has had at different times. It represents the person as he consciously and unconsciously perceives himself and may be dormant or active

Self-organization

is a subjective experience and may be organized by multiple self –organizations. The ”I” in one state of mind may not necessarily be the same ”I” as in another state of mind. The connection in the self-organization provides a unity between them and a sense of wholeness

The total self

is the total person of an individual in reality. One´s own person as contrasted with other persons and objects outside one-self.

The real self

is not the total self, but the intra psychic sense of the sum of these selves and the object representations (the others represented in your psyche) with their related affects. The word ”real” is synonymous with healthy and has an important reality function. The notion of the real self is the concept of the true self: it is the position in which comes the spontaneous gesture and personal idea. Only the true nature can be creative and feel ”real”.

The true self also helps differentiate from the false selves of the impaired personality (defense mechanisms and impaired self representations) that are based primarily on defensive fantasy, not reality, and are directed toward defense, not toward self expression in reality.

The real self-exist as a parallel partner to the ego that has its own development capacities and psychopathology. They function together in tandem. If the ego is arrested, so is the real self.  Like executive partners, but the real self is much more than that, as its primary function is to maintain an intra psychic equilibrium.

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