A perspective on Freud's theories in relation to self-harming behaviour
Self-harming is intentional self-destructive behaviour, although it is not necessarily suicidal. It is common not only in the West, but also in oriental countries like Malaysia. Many people question why adolescents harm themselves intentionally nowadays? What actually motivates them to do so? This...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English English |
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Penerbit UMS
2019
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/28935/1/A%20Perspective%20on%20Freud%27s%20Theories%20in%20Relation%20to%20Self-harming%20Behaviour%20ABSTRACT.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/28935/2/A%20perspective%20on%20Freud%27s%20theories%20in%20relation%20to%20self-harming%20behaviour%20FULL%20TEXT.pdf |
| _version_ | 1796910707310067712 |
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| author | Guan, Teik Ee Poh, Li Lau |
| author_facet | Guan, Teik Ee Poh, Li Lau |
| author_sort | Guan, Teik Ee |
| collection | UMS |
| description | Self-harming is intentional self-destructive behaviour, although it is not necessarily suicidal. It is common not only in the West, but also in oriental countries like Malaysia. Many people question why adolescents harm themselves intentionally nowadays? What actually motivates them to do so? This conceptual paper explains the reasons behind such actions based on Freud’s theories. According to Freud, the constructs of id, ego and superego interact to form a person’s character. The id is our instinctual drive that ignores consequences when it acts, while the ego is our common sense faculty, responsible for working out proper plans that are acceptable to society. The superego is moralistic; its role is to prevent the id from prevailing when it thinks that it is wrong. In daily life, individuals strive to achieve homoeostasis whenever pain occurs through the distribution of these energies. As adolescence is a stage of overwhelming experience, in order to release the tension that arises, the id leads us into instinctual desire and problematic behaviour, such as self-harming. It is only through rigorous training that the ego can function well and overcome the driving force of the id to avoid any problematic behaviour. When the superego leads, adolescents will be seen as rigid and cannot tolerate any flaws in their life. In order to have a balanced and healthy personality, adolescents need to have a good blend of these three constructs. Thus, understanding what lies behind an action can enable us to have a deeper understanding of why adolescents engage in self-harming behaviour. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T03:08:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | ums.eprints-28935 |
| institution | Universiti Malaysia Sabah |
| language | English English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T03:08:16Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | Penerbit UMS |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ums.eprints-289352021-07-29T02:01:30Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/28935/ A perspective on Freud's theories in relation to self-harming behaviour Guan, Teik Ee Poh, Li Lau BF Psychology Self-harming is intentional self-destructive behaviour, although it is not necessarily suicidal. It is common not only in the West, but also in oriental countries like Malaysia. Many people question why adolescents harm themselves intentionally nowadays? What actually motivates them to do so? This conceptual paper explains the reasons behind such actions based on Freud’s theories. According to Freud, the constructs of id, ego and superego interact to form a person’s character. The id is our instinctual drive that ignores consequences when it acts, while the ego is our common sense faculty, responsible for working out proper plans that are acceptable to society. The superego is moralistic; its role is to prevent the id from prevailing when it thinks that it is wrong. In daily life, individuals strive to achieve homoeostasis whenever pain occurs through the distribution of these energies. As adolescence is a stage of overwhelming experience, in order to release the tension that arises, the id leads us into instinctual desire and problematic behaviour, such as self-harming. It is only through rigorous training that the ego can function well and overcome the driving force of the id to avoid any problematic behaviour. When the superego leads, adolescents will be seen as rigid and cannot tolerate any flaws in their life. In order to have a balanced and healthy personality, adolescents need to have a good blend of these three constructs. Thus, understanding what lies behind an action can enable us to have a deeper understanding of why adolescents engage in self-harming behaviour. Penerbit UMS 2019 Article PeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/28935/1/A%20Perspective%20on%20Freud%27s%20Theories%20in%20Relation%20to%20Self-harming%20Behaviour%20ABSTRACT.pdf text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/28935/2/A%20perspective%20on%20Freud%27s%20theories%20in%20relation%20to%20self-harming%20behaviour%20FULL%20TEXT.pdf Guan, Teik Ee and Poh, Li Lau (2019) A perspective on Freud's theories in relation to self-harming behaviour. Journal of Psychology and Social Health (JPsySH), 3. pp. 1-5. ISSN 2600-7819 (E-ISSN) http://jpsiks.cseap.edu.my/index.php/journal/search_journal?search_type=volume&searchj=Vol%203 |
| spellingShingle | BF Psychology Guan, Teik Ee Poh, Li Lau A perspective on Freud's theories in relation to self-harming behaviour |
| title | A perspective on Freud's theories in relation to self-harming behaviour |
| title_full | A perspective on Freud's theories in relation to self-harming behaviour |
| title_fullStr | A perspective on Freud's theories in relation to self-harming behaviour |
| title_full_unstemmed | A perspective on Freud's theories in relation to self-harming behaviour |
| title_short | A perspective on Freud's theories in relation to self-harming behaviour |
| title_sort | perspective on freud s theories in relation to self harming behaviour |
| topic | BF Psychology |
| url | https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/28935/1/A%20Perspective%20on%20Freud%27s%20Theories%20in%20Relation%20to%20Self-harming%20Behaviour%20ABSTRACT.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/28935/2/A%20perspective%20on%20Freud%27s%20theories%20in%20relation%20to%20self-harming%20behaviour%20FULL%20TEXT.pdf |
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