Foreclosed Identities

Norcal_Sun

Have been doing some enlightening reading today about what the psychological community dubs as "foreclosed identities." This is where you never reach the identity creation phase due to another's (usually your parents) beliefs being forcefully imposed upon you.

This is a very interesting article from a psychologist's point of view. His example is a highly religious person. I encourage you all to comment on the article and give your testimony. He seems to be dubious about how religion can impose a foreclosed identity on someone. As we all know this is a very real phenomenon.

A good quote from the article:

Being a 'foreclosed' person means that there is a real discrepancy between one's organism-values and believed-to-be-true values. Such people must continually exert effort towards keeping their commitments to their believed-to-be-true values alive, or else their organismic-values may threaten to overwhelm them. A foreclosed person is like a mermaid trying to bail water out of a leaky boat. The water is the mermaid's natural element, but she doesn't know that in her foreclosed state (having been raised by land-dwelling humans who convinced her of the badness of her hydrophillia -- yes, I know it's a stretch, but just go with me for a minute...). She expends enormous energy trying to maintain her precarious state of floating on the water (she bails and pumps to the point of exhaustion). The moment she stops bailing, however, the water level in the leaky boat will rise and ultimately she will become submerged. The tragedy (or comedy) here is that she won't drown at all. She just thinks she will.

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=3631

Disillusioned Lost-Lamb

True dat! True dat!

I think witlesses have foreclosed identities.

Babies are born with no conceptual ideas and are shaped by the influences and world surrounding them. The notion of God or religion (and right or wrong within) is unknown until implanted.

Individuals can have their psychological identities manipulated, and although the concept they are fighting will not harm them, their constant physical fear/wear to keep up the twisted perception will.

So ironic and yet so sad.

bigmouth

" This is where you never reach the identity creation phase due to another's (usually your parents) beliefs being forcefully imposed upon you."

One could say, broadly speaking, that this phase is never fully reached by anyone. We are all products of our upbringing and our world view will forever be coloured by our life experience.

And I couldn't say that having beliefs 'forcefully imposed' on you by your parents is necessarily bad. Many of these things will keep you healthy, happy and alive.

(...and now I'll read the article)

nugget

It is true that religion can make good people do bad things. I think the idea of a foreclosed identity becomes most identifiable in specific circumstances such as in the practice of shunning where a person has to dismiss their natural affections and pursue a course that is repellant and cruel. In normal circumstances the idea of a parent cutting off all contact with a child merely because of opposing religious views would be seen as extreme. Certainly shunning when seen from the outside is akin to bullying. The religious person sees it as a loving act but in order to maintain the position they often lapse into the language of hate in order to depersonalise the df'd individual. They will also state that the shunning is their own fault and that the witness parents are the real victims here.

However by belonging to a religion a person may not be subsuming their authentic personality since for some the religious paradigm is a good fit. Some oft he values and codes that the religion imposes may be natural for them. In fact some people are attracted to the religion because they feel comfortable within it. People who are troubled by the religion may never be fully subverted by it and may maintain a degree of authenticity in their viewpoints and actions.This is why many born ins do not progress to baptism. For example not all parents shun and not all strongly religious people are intolerant of others. As has been said we are a combination of nature and nurture.

scotoma

Foreclosed Identities is a useless concept because that subject has been dealt with for ages. We are all born with certain dimensional traits/temperament. The reason there is a psychological industry is that everyone is maladapted. Religion is just one of the causes of maladaptation. This is why the statement is repeated so often "Know thyself".

There is your real self and then there is your persona or the character you create as a tool to get on with life. The greater the incongruence the greater the disturbances that manifest themselves in all sorts of conflicts.