The True and the False Self

A good life is one in which we can dare to show our True Self and do not mind too much occasionally having to wear the mask of a False Self. But for this to be possible, we need a certain sort of childhood - as the masterful British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott helped to explain in his theory of the true and the false self, outlined here. For gifts and more from The School of Life, visit our online shop: https://bit.ly/2ERsogk Join our mailing list: http://bit.ly/2e0TQNJ Our website has classes, articles and products to help you think and grow: https://bit.ly/2H4Mc1r Download our App: https://bit.ly/2H4YtHd FURTHER READING “One of the most surprising but powerful explanations for why we may, as adults, be in trouble mentally is that we were, in our earliest years, denied the opportunity to be fully ourselves, that is, we were not allowed to be wilful and difficult, we could not be as demanding, aggressive, intolerant, and unrestrictedly selfish as we needed to be. Because our caregivers were preoccupied or fragile, we had to be preternaturally attuned to their demands, sensing that we had to comply in order to be loved and tolerated; we had to be false before we had the chance to feel properly alive. And as a result, many years later, without quite understanding the process, we risk feeling unanchored, inwardly dead and somehow not entirely present…” You can read more on this and other subjects on our blog, here: https://bit.ly/2qEJiJZ MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Visit us in person at our London HQ: https://bit.ly/2HqFpTn Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself You can submit translations and transcripts on all of our videos here: https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?c=UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog&tab=2 Find out how more here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6054623?hl=en-GB SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Download our App: https://bit.ly/2H4YtHd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Katherine Blanchin https://vimeo.com/katebalchin

DescriptionThe School of Life is a global organisation dedicated to fostering emotional well-being, both through our YouTube channel and our real-life schools in 10 locations around the world. We apply psychology, philosophy, and culture to everyday life, addressing the questions we're never taught enough about at regular school or college: How can relationships go well? What is meaningful work? How can love last? How can one find calm? What has gone wrong (and right) with capitalism? We love the humanities, especially philosophy, psychotherapy, literature and art - always going to them in search of ideas that are thought-provoking, useful and consoling.   We're about wisdom, emotional intelligence and self-understanding.   We publish two films a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 14.00hrs GMT.

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