Can someone’s neurotic personality structure be revealed by the type of work he or she does? What role does culture or societal norms play in analyzing one’s decision to become a lawyer, teacher or doctor? While our culture is filled with those seeking power, privilege and possessions, these three factors are not enough to determine or conclude why somebody chose a certain profession. Instead, in the neurotic, we need to analyze the meaning and symbolism of the work itself to begin to understand one’s conflicts.
If you follow the news, especially domestic affairs, you will notice the rise in coverage of police-involved shootings and altercations. When we think of police officers, we are told to assume their job is to serve and protect. But, in many cases, this is not what is happening. Routinely, police officers act aggressively and become combative when civilians question them. Sometimes, violence ensues. This has led me to wonder, what type of person might become a cop? In many cases I would argue, the person’s passion for justice and community service is lacking and the need for power, aggression and control are the dominant factors. If an individual is inclined to help others, why not become a firefighter, a social worker or a teacher?
Let me outline a few job descriptions to make my case:
-Dentists: rip out teeth, drill, extract, break, realign and scrape.
-Architects: Build, create and design
-Anesthesiologists: Numb and silence a patient
-Preacher: command an audience, talk, piety
These are just four professions that can provide insight into one’s character structure. The descriptions of these professions should not be viewed solely as a means to express aggression. They should be looked at it holistically to begin to understand how the profession relates to the person’s conflicts, idealized self and interpersonal demands.
Let’s use a preacher as an example. On the surface (conscious and manifest), this is someone who is pious, committed to God and his community. He is a servant to God and the representative of his congregation. If we were to dig a little deeper, we might find a character structure of self-righteuousness that is a defense against a competitive and ego-centric character. A self-righteous individual might also present with very narcissistic tendencies and yearn for power. His position as the gatekeeper to God is masked by his conscious statements that he is acting out of the benefit of the community, but really, he is placing himself in the presence of a higher power.
In American culture, the quest for power, possession and privilege is ubiquitous. However, this is not enough to explain why people choose a career. For some, there can be a sense of undoing, something I wrote about in a previous post. I’ll use the anesthesiologist as the example. Somebody who grew up in an abusive, chaotic household might have experienced a feeling of isolation and a lack of importance. Unconsciously, he took this to mean he is of little value and his opinions are worthless. One route is a compromise formation, in which he becomes someone who fosters self-expression and listens to others. Or, there is unconscious hostility, rooted in the childhood experience. As a means to express the hostility, he symbolically and literally silences people and takes control. This is his profession.
These unconscious conflicts are completely out of awareness to the individual. The decision to become a certain professional are rationalized and intellectualized in the context of helping others. The uncovering of neurotic conflicts takes years to uncover, as these conflicts, usually of anger or anxiety, run counter to the idealized self.
Modernfreud.com 