Alter Ego... Some thoughts...
We all have many sides to ourselves. According to a particular situation we may act a certain way as it is needed. And in another situation act very differently. We may have many different personas. It can be exhausting.
There is the child at home, then there is the child at school, or then the child with friends or even the child alone in his room.
The husband in the office, at home with his wife and children or out playing golf with his buddies. Different aspects of our personalities manifest according to the situations.
The judge in the courtroom is the horsey on the living room floor with his five-year old riding him around the room. It is the same person. Just appearing differently.
There is nothing strange or distorted about it. It is just how we adapt to situations.
But there can be an extreme. If someone is unbalanced and out of touch with their own emotions and mental state. They can think they are more than one person. That there is a good person and there is a bad person. Even have conversations between the two. A kind of madness. The bad person tells them to do bad things. It is not really them. They are the good person. It is the other person. They are just a victim of the bad person. It can get quite complicated. And the person's behavior can be unpredictable and dangerous.
There is some debate about whether there really is another person, a bad person. That maybe there is a ghost or an evil spirit. An actual other entity causing some problems. It can't really be ruled out and religions talk about these things. Science has yet to prove anything one way or another about unseen beings, ghosts or spirits inhabiting a person.
Personally I'm not so flexible in social settings. I get tired out pretty quickly with playing a lot of different parts. I'm happy just to keep it as simple as possible even if it means spending a lot of time alone. Alter egos take a lot of energy and I have so much to do already. Alter egos are a luxury I really can't afford.
These are just some of my thoughts about "alter ego".
Perhaps it's just an adaptation to current life circumstances? Our survival instinct passed down to us from ancestors who were able to survive thanks to it and genetically passed it on to us.
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Looks like it comes down to the old question, "Who am I?" add to it. "when?" And then going a little deeper... "What am I?"
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Oh, the existential triad! But let's not stop there — add "Why?" for sharpness, "Where?" for a sense of direction, and "How?" to finally deprive yourself of sleep. Bonus level: "Does it even matter?"
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Ha. Ha. You read my mind...
Upvoted! Thank you for supporting witness @jswit.
Of course I also have different sides, but I don't see them as so contradictory that they deserve the name alter ego. They complement each other. They have intersections (Heike the businesswoman also likes to be silly and cheeky and unconventional, Heike the horsewoman remains calm and relaxed when the horse has other plans, Heike the mum still enjoys rustling fallen leaves...). That's all me. I don't like to play different roles in different situations. You said it: too exhausting - and completely unnecessary!
@alexanderkass may have hit on it in his comment. For some it may be a survival technique. Like the chameleon who changes colors to blend in.
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