Therefore, this study aims to explore OCD and challenge self-stigma using concepts from psychoanalytic theory in Hanna Alkaf's The Weight of Our Sky. Additionally, this study also addresses the evaluation of the protagonist's ego strength to counter the self-stigma of her mental illness.
INTRODUCTION
- Overview of Chapter
- Background of the study
- Statement of problem
- Objectives of the study
- Research Questions
- Significance of the study
- Definition of terms
- Scope and Limitations of the Study
- Conclusion
According to Mukherjee et al. 2017) people use defense mechanisms to cope with their mental illness. Therefore, this study will discuss how a fictional character uses his ego strength to overcome the issue of self-stigma of his mental illness.
LITERATURE REVIEW
- Introduction
- Mental Illness vs Mental Disorder
- The Stigma of Mental Illness
- OCD vs OCPD
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
- Mental illness in Literature
- The Young Adult Literature (YA)
- Review of past studies
- Conclusion
This claim is also supported by the World Health Organization (2003), where they use the term "mental illness". In short, young adults will be able to understand the themes of mental illness through these YA novels.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Introduction
Theoretical Framework
- The Id
- The Ego
- The Superego
- The Defense Mechanisms
- Ego Strength
The Id is the most inaccessible and mysterious part of our identity and resides entirely in the unconscious part of the mind (Mambrol, 2016). Mario (2013) claims that the ego is a rational tool that will help a person make decisions based on the understanding of actual reality. According to Mcleod (2019), the role of the Superego is to control the demanding impulses of the Id, especially actions usually forbidden by society, such as sex and violence.
When the Superego is violated, a person may feel remorse or distress because they must atone for the actions of the Id. According to Strunk (1960), a person will have a negative impact if the influence of the Superego is lower than the Id and Ego. Freud's work mainly focused on how the ego deals with internal threats, especially the unbearable impulses of the ego.
According to Mcleod (2019), some examples of the defense mechanisms are sublimation, regression, denial and repression, rationalization and many more. Next, sublimation is one of the ways in which the ego eliminates the discomfort that can be caused by unwanted desires or feelings.
Conceptual Framework
Thus, this part of the current study will discover which personality concepts most overwhelm the protagonist because she suffers from OCD. To achieve the first research objective, Freud's theory of personality, which consists of the Id, Ego and Superego, will be applied to analyze the main character's OCD. To achieve the second research objective, which is to find out what defense mechanisms the main character uses to overcome her OCD, the most appropriate types of defense mechanisms will be applied.
Once we understand the protagonist's personality, we will evaluate the strength of her ego to explore how she counters self-stigma. But if she has a good ego, she will easily deal with obstacles. This study will therefore discuss the actions of the protagonist Melati on how she indirectly fights self-stigma as an individual suffering from mental illness in this novel.
This is due to the discriminatory attitudes of the society arising from the issue of stigma which contains prejudice and stereotypes towards OCD. Therefore, if OCD is not stigmatized, people will be more educated and much more open-minded about making a positive difference.
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
- Introduction
- The Id
- The Ego
- The Superego
- The Defense Mechanisms Used by Melati to Overcome her OCD
- Wishful Thinking
- Rituals & Undoing
- Rationalization
- Sublimation
- Suppression
- Melati’s Ego Strength to Counter Self-stigma
- Ego Strength to Speak up
- Ego Strength to Seek Help
- Ego Strength to be Self-Confident
- Conclusion
Melati's identification is also seen again when she gets the urge to check on her mother to make sure she is safe and well. She manages to satisfy a little of her desire to find her mother when she joins Vincent. Melati's ego first appeared when she was in the phone booth to talk to her mother to check on her.
Besides that, to meet the id's demands to protect her mother, Melati's ego manages to create a realistic plan when she was at the Rex cinema to look for her mother. She chooses to find her mother because she will feel better when she finds her. Melati's ego tries to ignore the voices of the Djinn in her head most of the time when she faces certain situations.
Melati's superego in the form of Genie appears at the beginning of the novel when it suddenly threatens her with horrific images of her mother's death. Throughout the novel, Ginny causes similarly violent thoughts and threats in Melati's head when she fails to protect her mother.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Introduction
Discussion on Melati’s Id, Ego and Superego
Throughout the story, this urge to protect people almost always dominates her thoughts. Therefore, she has to satisfy her id with the help of ego to protect the people she cares about to prevent her intrusive thoughts from becoming reality as she finds that she has the ability to control what happens in her circumstances . According to Freud, by temporarily halting the discharge of the id's energy until an appropriate time and location, the concept of reality requires one to consider threats, circumstances, and possible outcomes when making decisions.
This therefore supports Freud's claim that the ego is the rational part of the mind. This harsh superego is shown in the form of a genie, as it wants to represent Melati's inner voice, which indulges in negative self-evaluation. This Djinn always messes with the protagonist's mind by causing extreme feelings of guilt, shame and anxiety by insulting her decisions with constant death threats.
The superego in the form of the Djinn tries its best to evoke feelings of guilt and shame whenever it can, even though she has done good deeds such as contributing ideas to help Roslan. In other words, the superego tries to dominate her personality as it tries to control both her id and her ego.
Discussion on Melati’s Defense Mechanisms Based on their Adaptiveness
However, she is not twisting any facts, but rather trying to generalize that everyone has life issues to deal with, which is considered rational thinking. 2019) claims that rationalization is an adaptive defense mechanism because it allows a person to adjust their perceptions in certain circumstances to fit their situation. Wishful thinking is argued to be categorized as a maladaptive defense mechanism because it does not focus on reality and makes one optimistic about the here and now (Kappes . & Oettingen, 2012). Freud perceived sublimation as a mature defense mechanism because it encourages people to act in a civilized manner (Cherry, 2020).
In order to overcome her OCD, she also uses the defense mechanism of regret and rituals very frequently. This is categorized as an immature defense mechanism because this affects her social life and in certain serious situations. In addition, suppression is considered an adaptive defense mechanism because it allows a person to deal with these thoughts maturely at an appropriate time (Costa, 2020).
However, the findings of this study show that suppression can lead to a more destructive outcome, which is why it is considered a maladaptive defense mechanism. Based on the findings, Melati's defense mechanism takes its toll when it causes her to have severe anxiety attacks as she gets overwhelmed by uncomfortable feelings in her body, and this causes the thoughts to become an endless vicious circle.
Discussion on Melati’s Ego Strength as a Resilience Factor to Counter Self-stigma
Therefore, this suggests that Melatia's good ego to share her mental illness with a supportive friend is a feature of resilience against self-stigma. In addition, Melati shows her resilience in the fight against self-stigma when she tends to ask for help to get rid of her mental illness. This therefore suggests that asking for help is a form of resistance to self-stigma.
When an individual instills confidence in his abilities, he is known to have good self-esteem. In addition, self-confidence means that a person believes in his/her ability and abilities to overcome challenges. Therefore, being confident helps to overcome various challenges faced in life as it makes one brave to overcome them.
Based on the findings of this current study, Melati develops a good sense of self-confidence to become resilient and overcome self-stigma when she believes in herself. So this indirectly shows her resilience to bounce back from setbacks due to self-stigma and her mental illness.
Recommendations for further studies
This is shown when she decides to overcome her mental illness to live a peaceful life. Furthermore, the stigma of mental illness could also be addressed by using trauma theory to further educate people that mental illness could also stem from a traumatic event. However, a common limitation of using these concepts is that they are not able to clearly address the protagonist's past experiences.
Using trauma theory, the root cause of the protagonist's OCD can be explored by delving into her past experiences. Therefore, further studies may consider analyzing the root cause of the protagonist's mental illness by analyzing the traumatic events faced and how her personality is manipulated. The lack of using psychoanalytic concepts to analyze a literary character suffering from mental illness needs to be further elaborated, especially in terms of overcoming a type of mental illness.
Although the findings from this study may narrow the research gap on this topic, further research is required in the field of English Literature to analyze mental illness and stigma. On the other hand, the application of some protective mechanisms is limited in this study.
Conclusion
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