Human Development
Psychic integration
Description:
Psychic integration comprises the harmonious and balanced growth of the personality as opposed to the extreme cases where one aspect is cultivated to the exclusion of others and the detriment of the whole. Thus, psychic integration avoids hedonism (search for instinctual pleasure by following every passing impulse and restraining reason), which in the end can lead only to a chaotic or aimless life lacking fulfilment. It also avoids over austerity or puritanism, when the suppression of the unconscious desires by the super ego can lead to eccentric behaviour and psychic disturbance. Finally, it avoids spiritual development at the expense of contact with basics, or "down-to-earthness". By reconciling impulse and reason, the basic unity of existence is perceived, and one is able to come to terms with the self and society.[[Claim]] The personality develops through education and social interaction. It thinks to itself and imagines that it is in control of life, but is intrinsically fragmented. In contrast, both spiritual and psychological investigators have said that there is a deeper self, hidden in the psyche, which can be a source of wholeness and hence of healing. A meaningful life is one in which the personality is completed by what lies within. This is what we mean by 'psyche integration' (Anthony Blake, Duversity).