... there were two main causes of abnormality in general. One of these was childhood traumas and the idea that a bad memory from our childhood is so traumatic that it buries itself in our subconscious. This is what is believed to cause problems later on in our adult life. The second cause was the concept that our mind has not learned to rationalise our id and our superego, and that our ego is undergoing unconscious conflict which causes us anxiety, and excessive use of defence mechanisms. Defence mechanisms are powerful, unconscious influences on our behaviour which are used as coping strategies. These distort or deny reality allowing us to cope with any problems in our lives. Without them the anxiety would become a threat to our mental health. It is believed that a psychologically healthy person is able to develop a capability to balance the id and the superego without ...

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