| The self is the focus of all psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy. Psychoanalysis was founded upon a single study of the interaction between trauma and psyche, a single study. The interaction between intimacy and the self plays a major role in identity development. This thesis differentiates between the Self, Carl Gustav Jung's terminology, and the self as defined by the author in the introduction of this thesis. This thesis also explores heuristically and through narrative experience those interactions, contextual meanings, and how re-authoring trauma experiences can permanently change both selves. The term intimacy, nearly indefinable, is then discussed with focus remaining on self-intimacy, which promotes overall well-being. By examining cultural, historical, and psychological aspects of the author's narrative and recovery from the problem of misdiagnosis, loss of intimacy, stigmatization, and the ongoing process of recovering from trauma, parallels are drawn to core components of depth, Jungian, and narrative psychologies. |
