Neurosis
I have been reflecting a bit on Jung’s first Neurosis.
If memory serves me well, when Jung was a boy, he was badly pushed by an older boy. This lead to Jung developing a sort of weakness and fainting spells. However, he noticed something, that he could now get away with attending school, or doing his homework. So he kept up the act for months. Secretly knowing deep down that he was not impaired, but his unconscious saw an opportunity to fulfil a need. Perhaps it was freedom? Idk I am not Jung.
We can all smile and see something of ourselves in this situation. We too have lied to ourselves to meet an end, especially in childhood, when we want to preserve our dwindling freedom and halt any impending responsibility. And perhaps, we have continued with a neurosis for so long, that it appears to be real.
Honesty to oneself is the antidote to most neuroses.
The neurosis thrives on fabrication. And it usually meets a need. It can also be a great source of self discovery, and growth. Many of our inner chains have come from the trauma associated with a neurosis. The reality of the psyche is real, a neurosis can be traumatizing in that it disconnects us from core (or archetypal) experiences.
Jung never wanted us to be perfect, only to be whole, to have the potential of all experiences accessible to the self. And to eventually honour the transcendent function of the psyche.
I know this to be true through direct experience. When the jig is up for the neurosis, the relief that comes usually brings in a wealth of potential experiences. Avenues open up. Which leads me to a question:
How honest are you to yourself?