Reopening Old Wounds

1376 Words3 Pages

Reopening Old Wounds

Professor’s Comment: Bob’s essay is an intensely personal, admirably honest introspective examination of his repressed emotions concerning his parents divorce.

I would cry, but that would be a pointless waste of energy.

It’s one of those things that I envied my mother. In a flash she could go from the stoic lady of the house to a sobbing goose. I never understood how. I’d go from astonishment to disgust to envy. I take more after my old man. I’ve never seen him shed a single tear. Then again I’ve never really seen him smile either. I grin a lot.

I was supposed to be in my home town right now, tossing back cold ones and laughing with my best and oldest friends. My schedule wouldn’t permit it, however. It’s probably for the best. It’s never a good idea to hit one’s home town in a poor mood. I’d probably just end up hanging around the main drag, pissed off my ass and yelling at cruisers. Chances are I would end up in jail, or calling an old girlfriend and reopening old wounds that should have healed years ago. I wonder which of those two prospects is worse.

Instead of expressing my emotions as I should, I have withdrawn them and locked them away deep inside me. Rather than call a friend and talk, or go walking, or listen to records, or break things, I am in front of the computer, writing. It is a safe form of expression; if this gets too revealing or too corny, I can always delete the file, or password protect it, restricting access to me alone.

So the question on my mind lately has been why. What happened and when that has left me so numb to my feelings? I’ve tried countless times to trace it back and pin it down to an event, to that key moment when I started down the path of self-imposed isolation.

Of course, Freud would insist I failed the oral stage, the stage where trust and security develop. It occurs usually around the second year of life, when parents wean their child. If all goes well—according to Freud—the child tastes for the first time independence from his or her mother and begins to explore that independence.

Show More
Related

  • Case History of Eric B.

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Eric Erikson, a student of Freud, his psychosocial theory states that you have to move through stages of development to have your needs met. One needs to be psychologically ready to move on to the next stage. This depends on the social environment they are in Eric, being six years old ...

    Read More

  • Dr. Seuss: The Most Favorite Children's Author

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    Theodor Seuss Geisel or as known as Dr.seuss is famous cartoonist , writer and author who was born 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is one of the most favorite children’s authors of the twentieth century. Although he is well known of children’s books like “The cat in the hat “and Green Eggs and Ham”. Theodor also has sold many copies of political cartoons, poems, and even film scripts not only in the united states but also worldwide. Poems, Political cartoons, and film scripts were some of his work as well. The power of writing he used brought joy and happiness to all people, especially kids. There is No doubt of a successful writer is he, brought such morals and lessons to real life. Whether he was drawing or writing, his work was

    Read More

  • Eric Erikson's Theory Of Human Phychosocial Development

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first stage of Erik Erikson 's theory of psychosocial development takes place between birth and one year of age. It is the most important stage in life. He named this stage, Trust vs. Mistrust. At this important time in a child’s development, the child is completely dependent on an adult for everything; food, love, warmness, protection, and nurturing. If the caregiver fails to be successful in providing acceptable care and love, the young child will feel that they cannot trust or depend on the adults in their life. When a young child develops trust, the child will feel safe and protected in the world. If a child fails to develop trust,

    Read More

  • Psychosocial Development Theory Essay

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of this paper I mentioned that there are eight stages in the psychosocial development theory starting with trust vs. mistrust. This stage begins at birth to one year of age. This is when I should have formed a trust with my primary caregiver or caregivers. My dad was absent most of this stage, so my mother was my primary caregiver. Since she never taught me good behavior, right from wrong, and was uncaring when I was born, I did not feel safe or secure around her. I was told through family members that she was unable to hold me without me screaming all the time, and that the doctor said I suffered from anxiety at infancy because I could feel the tension of my mother’s stress, anger, and anxiety towards me. The beginning of me learning to mistrust, and feeling

    Read More

  • Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first stage is infancy and it covers the first year of life. The issue in this stage is trust versus mistrust. This is a stage where an infant is completely dependent on their caregiver. Trust is built by the actions of the caregiver taking care of the child by feeding, bathing, changing diapers, showing affection, etc. If a child is not well taken care of then that child will not learn to trust others. New parents struggle with this stage a lot because of the loss of freedom and the diversion of some attention from spouse to newborn child. It is known as the oral-sensory stage because infants use their mouth to explore their new world. Parents must meet the

    Read More

  • Personality Theory And Erikson's Eight Stages Of Psychological Development

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    Erikson believes a person’s personality changes throughout their lifespan and primarily focuses on ego. Furthermore, ego is a person’s sense of self-importance or self- acceptance. This is a major factor when discussing personality because how we perceive ourselves, reflects onto others. Erikson’s eight stages of psychological development consist of infancy, early childhood, preschool, middle school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age and old age. He indicates that during each stage of life a person experiences a psychological crisis, which could aid in a negative or positive result. During the infancy stage, the psychological crisis is trust vs. mistrust, meaning total dependence on the mother or father. If either or both parents show love and attention, then the child will develop trust, or otherwise mistrust if neglected. Early childhood, around the ages two to three years old a child becomes more mobile and shows signs of independence. The caregivers will either assist the child in all their needs or wait patiently as they figure them out on their own. Erikson distinguishes the importance of allowing children to face their own challenges with the tolerance of failure. This will provide the willingness to push through hard times and overcome adversity. Stage 3, initiative vs. guilt describes the interaction between other children and their ability to make decisions. A child will initiate activity with others continuously when he or she feels secure. Nevertheless, when children are told ‘no’ they react with feelings of guilt. The fourth stage of Erikson’s theory begins to explain inferiority. In this stage, a student will be introduced to teachers who become a major part of a child’s psychological development. With encouragement, children will feel confident in themselves, whereas negative reinforcement may cause self-doubt. Identity vs.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Freud And Erikson's Theory

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the state that Freud considers the oral stage, Erikson says that babies learn to trust or mistrust someone to care for their needs. Erikson next stage which is paralell to Freud’s anal stage called the autonomy vesus shame and doubt. During this particular time, children either learn to become self sufficent or lack confidence in their own abilities. Next stage is the initiative versus guilt stage. In my opinion, this stage determines the maturity and influence of a person’s parents. With Freuds and Erikson ideas both in mind, the industy vs inferiority stage is similar to the latency. During adolescenes, according to Erikson adolescents try to figure out who they are sexually, politicall and vocationally. The next stages of itimacy versus isolation is a build on from the previous stage. During this time, a person has pretty much accepted who they are and accepted or isolated from others. The next two stages reaches beyond the depth of Freud’s ideas. According to Erikson, generativity versus stagnation develops which occurs during the middle age of adulthood. While in this stage, a person with find a way to be productive or contribute to others or become complacent and stagnate with their lives. The final state in Erikson idea is the integrity versus depair stage. It is in the time that a person

    Read More

  • Middle Childhood to Adolescents

    1935 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory labeled this period of life the latency stage, a time when sexual and aggressive urges are repressed. Freud suggested that no significant contributions to personality development were made during this period; therefore, middle childhood was not considered an important stage in human development according to Freud’s analytical theory. However, more recent theorists have recognized the importance of middle childhood for the development of cognitive skills, personality, motivation, and inter-personal relationships. Erikson's conception of middle childhood is the industry/inferiority stage were children begin to develop an attitude about themselves, develop self-esteem, internalize society's standards, and develop an evaluation of socially relevant emotions of shame and pride.

    Read More

  • Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Erikson’s first stage of psychosocial development occurs between birth and one year of age and is the most fundamental stage in life. Piaget’s theory is similar his first stage (sensorimotor) happens between birth and two years of age. They both believe that infants start to get an understanding of life during their first two years of life. In these stages infants began to learn to trust and mistrust. Piaget and Erikson first stages can impact the infant's life for a lifetime. Both Theorists express their stages in a similar manner, Cognitive development also takes place with language being understood in the first few years of life. Psychosocial development is when security and safety at younger ages lead to a better view on the surroundings of a

    Read More

  • Structural Family Therapy

    1748 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...is with an illustration of his personal family dynamic. Meanwhile, Mrs. Davis will be encourage to communicate her truly feelings on how she has felt about being mistreated and feeling alone.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis of Dr. Seuss

    1670 Words  | 4 Pages

    Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, is perhaps one of the most beloved children’s authors of the twentieth century. Although he is most famous as an author of children’s books, Geisel was also a political cartoonist, advertisement designer, and film director (Kaplan). He used the power of imagination to produce unforgettable children’s books and helped solve the problem of illiteracy among America’s children. By using his experiences in life as a foundation for most of his books, Theodor Geisel created a unique writing style that incorporated various elements and techniques, enabling his books to appeal to people of all ages.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Freud And Erikson

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sigmund Freud proposed a theory of psychoanalytic development; he stated that early childhood experiences and practices affect later development in adulthood. Freud’s stages of psychosexual development comprised of five stages: the oral stage (0 – 1 year), the anal stage (1 – 3 years), the phallic stage (3 – 6 years), the latency period (6 – puberty) and the genital stage (puberty –

    Read More

  • Erickson: The Stages of Development

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stage one of Erickson development is trust vs. mistrust. This stage happens at 0-18 months. this stage infants develops a sense of trust and learns that to depend on others. Mistrust will form if the parents don't show they care or affection (Funder, 1997). Stage two is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. This stage begins when the child is 18 months through 3 years of age. In this stage the child needs to learn how to control skills such as physical skills, self control and independence. By doing this the child feels a sense of autonomy feeling as if they have control over their life. If the child feels like he/she has not achieve these skills, they feel a sense of shame and doubt (Funder, 1997). A good example of this is stage is a child mastering potty training.Stage three is intuitive and guilt. This stage begins at age 3 through 5 years of age. The child begins to explore, and began to from initiative ideas, they also begin school. the child because to play with others and gain a sense of power and control over things. If the child feels as if the parents support this and feel successful, they feel a sense of purpose. If the c...

    Read More

  • Literature Supports Children’s Personality Development

    1914 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the first stage, the first or second year of life, the major emphasis is on the whether the child develops trust. Children learn to trust or mistrust their environment and their caregivers. Trust develops when children’s needs are met consistently, predictable, and lovingly (Morrison, 2007, p. 126); therefor...

    Read More

  • Oral Stage Essay

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Oral Stage: This is the beginning process from birth where we use our mouth as our main source of interaction we use it for feeding and comfort such as savoring. If there is an error in this process dependency and aggression problems develops resulting in drinking, eating and smoking problems in the future. (Cherry (n.d))

    Read More

More about Reopening Old Wounds

Open Document