Analysis Of The Divided Self

The Divided self was a book written in attempt for ordinary people like ourselves to understand the issues regarding mental health and the stigma around it. The book is separated into three parts. Laing expresses the fact that psychosis is not a medical condition but there is a self-divide between two personalities. Laing also states that how we exist in the world is based on the perceptions of others.

Laing opens up the first part of the book discussing the term ‘schizoid’ a common term known for having different personality types due to emotional habits. Laing expresses that ‘schizoid’; refers to an individual who is split in two ways, firstly being a relationship with the world and second a disruption of his relations with himself and

This begins during childhood, this is due to the lack of bonding between a new born and their mother. This is a case of a mother molding the infant around her needs and what she wants, rather than responding to the needs of the infants or their feelings. As a result, the infant is only than declared by the mother when and if it adopts into a ‘false self’. If this is ongoing, the child may grow up, in a certain sense, by not being acknowledged by others due to the fact they may be identified as good. It does not matter how good the child is, they’re still troubled by different feelings and emotions such as feeling worthless, empty, sad and being disconnected from others. Which then feed into isolation. If a child lacks in having a genuine self-belief or feel of any existence which is vital in a person. Laing states that it becomes ‘schizoid’. Subsequently in due course the child’s ‘false self’ becomes detached from a person’s real self in which they never had experienced. The more the real self is isolated the individual becomes less capable to continue with reality and continue with normal development processes. The ‘false self’ becomes more predominate and the real self becomes invisible. Furthermore, the real self becomes more unstable and

Them being engulfment, implosion and petrifaction. Engulfment which is when there is a loss of identify. Implosion is due to self-loneliness or feeling isolated and extremely empty. Petrifaction is when an individual can view you as they wish and can take you for your own real-self and turn you into whatever they want. To prevent this is a person to begin to view people as