One of Fromm's existential dichotomies is automaton conformity. This conformity drives people to blend into their social surroundings. Fromm believed this would lead to even more discourse in themselves. When we practice conformity we give up our individuality which causes an unsettling feeling as we realize, deep down, that this is not freedom(Fromm, 1942). I am going to use traditions as an example. Let's say traditionally all of your city has closed their businesses on Monday. You start a new business and choose to be open every day except for Sunday. You stay open on Monday. But you quickly learn this is not the norm and no one is even expecting a business to be open let alone actually frequenting that business. You stay open but your sales suffer. Do you choose to remain open on Mondays or do you conform? Do you try to change the tradition or do you conform? I have seen this play out in my own small town. There has been a shift in tradition but only when society as a whole begins to shift. In my case this meant bigger businesses (ie, corporate businesses such as McDonald's and Casey's) came to town and people recognized their traditions and shifted their own traditions to match the bigger companies. So they weren't so much getting rid of conforming to traditions, the town just changed their traditions.

Fromm, E. 1942. Mechanisms for escape from freedom. https://www.panarchy.org/fromm/escapefreedom.html

Fromm's theory stated that freedom was a problem for humans due to the separation from nature it caused. Being separated from our basic instincts humans struggle to essentially find their identity. In doing so they encounter crisis which leads to mental un-wellness. As a society we have proven time and again that this disconnection from the natural order of things is beyond our scope of coping. Fromm uses STalin/Hitler as examples but more recently I think we can see this happening with former president Trump and his followers. We see this in members of cults. (I am not equating Trump supporters to cultists) I can see Fromm's theory playing out in many situations where humans feel powerless and seek power through connections with a belief or a person supporting certain beliefs.

Object relation theory - suggests relationships later in life were built on a foundation of early relationships. How we deal with out earliest relationships will have a direct impact on our relationships later in life. The most used example is an infants relationship to the mothers breast. The child reconciles their good and bad feelings by separating the breasts into good parts and bad parts. As a child experiences this good and bad, if the mother is good at meeting the childs needs the child will integrate the good and the bad and reconcile that with their own self. The problem comes when the needs aren't met satisfactorily and the child cannot resolve the good and bad in a mentally healthy way.

Splitting - this was a hard concept to understand. What do we lose when splitting occurs? Does splitting contribute to out self hatred?

Klein seems to asert that assimilation between good and bad self are a disator wating to happen. In her own words she stated, "It is impossible to split off a bad cruel part without splitting off something else as well. You cannot find yourself if you have split off part of yourself – even if it was the bad part."(Klein, 1963)

Klein, M. (1963) ‘On the sense of loneliness’ in Envy and Gratitude and Other Works: 1956-1963. London: Hogarth 1984. https://klein-archive.tumblr.com/post/649162839001628672/klein-on-the-value-of-splitting

Klein's object relation theory differs from Freud's psychoanalytical theory in several ways. While they seem to start at the same place, Klein's object relation theory diverges from the sexual concept Freud relied on and introduced the interpersonal connection all humans desire. This theory suggests the motivation of human behavior comes from connectedness and physical touch from others. Freuds theory relied heavily on a belief that the human sex drive was the prime motivator. How we reconcile our early experiences with the people in our lives carries a lot of weight in how we relate to people later in life. Fritscher, L. 23 Oct, 2023. What is object relation theory? VeryWellMind.com. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-object-relations-theory-2671995#:~:text=Object%20relations%20theory%20is%20all,significant%20people%20in%20your%20life.

Klein theorized that a child could both project and introject at a very young age in order to help them reconcile the idea of an object being both good and bad. During introjection a child fantasizes that an object is always there. While projection casts their most undesirable feelings onto another, most often the parent. Play therapy allowed a child to act out their aggressions but then also make reparations. When my husband and I divorced my youngest was 6. We took her to therapy. Her therapist incorporated play therapy. At the exact moment we, as a group of adults (mom, dad, and her therapist) told her mom and dad would no longer be living together she was playing with a plastic dog figure in a box of sand. She buried the dog and stepped on the sand. She then went across the room and drew a picture. She brought the picture back to the sandbox and dug up the dog and cleaned him up and started to show him the picture she drew for him The therapist explained that this was her way of reconciling her sadness over her families demise. It made a little sense to me at the time but after learning about Klein's theory it makes so much more sense.

https://www.integrativetherapy.com/en/articles-inc/article-figures/little-image003.gif

Introversion, the desire in ones personality to look inward for comfort and solace. Extroversion, the desire in ones personality to look outside of oneself for energy. An extroverted person will find themselves most comfortable in a social setting and will be most energized when surrounded by other people. An extrovert seeks out people in general to interact with and to exist with. They are often described as the 'life of the party.' While not always the case most extroverts find themselves in outward facing careers such as lawyer, teacher, flight attendant, performer, etc. In large companies this may be called customer facing jobs. In contrast, the introvert will find comfort when they are allowed to be alone and away from others. They are constantly looking to pull away from others and look inward. They are drained by others and their greatest peace is when they are at a distance where they can recharge. An introvert is not at all comfortable in social settings. They often seek jobs in research, graphic design, writing, or accounting. While growing up my family moved around a lot. The first thing my parents would do when we moved to a new town was to find a church to attend. I remember those first few sundays as torture for my little sister. We were 3 years apart and while I would be totally excited to meet new people and tell them all about my family and out travels she was completely panicked. She would cry and try to hide. I would stay with her, even if they tried to sperate us into different classes. I never understood until I got older why she had such a terrible time. She was and still is an introvert. I am an unapologetic extrovert.

Jung's theory on personality types and the identification of introversion and extroversion have been some of the most useful work he contributed. His identification of the two attitudes and four functions have been used to create some of the most well-known personality tests we still use today. Isabel Myers developed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the MBTI. According to an article in Forbes Health this test assists companies in developing leadership and creating team building exercises(Spann, 2024). The MBTI, based on Jung's theories, helps people understand not only themselves but the people around them. This is so important in society. Understanding the people you live with and work with is vital to harmony. Spann, R. T. 5 Jan. 2024. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): a beginners guide. Forbes Health. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/myers-briggs-personality-test/

The archetype 'self' is likely one of the more desirable archetypes. The mandala is used to center oneself. Mandala is an ancient Sanskrit word which means "magic circle." Mandala can be found in dreams, visions or can be created. I feel like this portion of Jung's theory may have come from his study of religions. Particularly eastern religions such as Buddhism. Mandala's are often found in monasteries and holy places. Slegelis, M. 3 May, 2002. *A study of Jung's Mandala and its relationship to art psychotherapy. * The Arts in Psychotherapy, Volume 14, Issue 4, 1987, Pages 301-311, ISSN 0197-4556, https://doi.org/10.1016/0197-4556(87)90018-9. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0197455687900189)

Our shadow self is an important part of our personality. As the part of our psyche that houses all undesirable behaviors and thoughts it acts as a balance to the moral good in our psyche. We able to compile this mass of knowledge of bad courtesy of our caregivers and authority figures as we grow. It is from them that we literally form our shadow.

Perry, C. 12 Aug, 2015. The Jungian shadow. https://www.thesap.org.uk/articles-on-jungian-psychology-2/about-analysis-and-therapy/the-shadow/