The psyche, the human mind, spirit or mind, is very much the catalyst for our behaviour traits.

How the psyche works

The psyche is split in two. The part that we don’t want to see or feel, is called the ‘shadow’ and the part that we accept is called the ‘persona.’ The shadow is the bad or dark side of our personality. In reality, neither the shadow, nor the persona are an accurate representation of who we are underneath.

The 'shadow'

They are both exaggerations, and distortions of us, as each only conveys a part. The shadow includes early childhood experiences that we haven’t dealt with that were too traumatic for us to process consciously. The shadow includes all our fears and demons that run our lives on an unconscious level.

The 'persona'

The persona is the part of us that we allow others to see that we’re comfortable with. The parts we’re not comfortable with, we will hide. Over a period of time we will develop our persona in order to win the acceptance and approval of others. That if we make ourselves lovable, we will receive love. The persona is often a mask that we wear in an attempt to hide our pain.

The 'facade'

We believe that if we hide our pain, then we won’t have to deal with the pain. The mask, however, tells a different story. It’s a facade. Wearing the mask is an attempt to hide what we really feel inside. For others, it is hard to find or understand the person behind the mask, unless the mask comes off.

When the mask wears thin

Some relationships between people are relationships between their masks. In the beginning what we deal with isn’t often disclosed, but it is only a matter of time before the mask wears thin and the person behind the mask reveals his or her true self, how they are through a damaged psyche. Sadly, when the psyche is damaged, it splits in two and as a result they begin to feel mentally challenged.

The psyche can heal

For those who believe people are broken, being broken doesn’t just happen. But it starts with the past, with our families. Once we begin to see and understand our experiences, deal with and put those behind us, the psyche will have a chance to heal. When the psyche is affected, mental capacities become a challenge and personalities will change.

When we deal with our past, both parts of the psyche will return to completeness, the psyche will heal, and we will begin to get a realistic sense of who we are.