The Self, The Logic, and The Mask
This framework includes:
3.1 The Real Self Before the Split3.2 The Logic: The Rules We Built to Feel Safe3.3 The Mask: The Performance That Protects Us3.4 When the Mask Becomes the Identity3.5 The Self: Who We Really Are Before Survival Took Over3.6 The War Between the Layers3.7 Healing the Split: Coming Back to the Real Self3.5 When Self-Improvement Is Just a Role Upgrade⌗ Comparative Framework Chart
Our Three Inner Layers × Core Theories of Mind, Society & Brain
Inner-Layer (Paretas) | Functional Question | Key Psychological Parallels | Key Sociological Parallels | Key Neuroscientific Parallels |
1 Raw Emotion<br>“Real Self / unfiltered affect” | “What am I feeling?” | • Primary-process affect (Freud, Winnicott true-self)<br>• Rogers’ organismic valuing<br>• Attachment security before defenses (Bowlby)<br>• Emotional-processing theory of trauma (Foa & Rothbaum) | • Symbolic-interaction “back-stage” self (Goffman) <br>• Eyerman’s cultural-trauma: collective wounds imprint identity | • Limbic system & right-hemisphere dominance in early childhood<br>• Polyvagal ‘safe/ventral’ state regulating social engagement |
2 Protective Response<br>“Logic Layer / defense mechanisms” | “How do I stay safe?” | • Classical defenses (Freud) & Anna Freud<br>• Cognitive–appraisal loops in PTSD models (Brewin Dual-Representation) <br>• Internal working models that over-predict threat | • Social-trauma bridging model—societal danger → personal coping rules | • HPA-axis & amygdala hyper-vigilance under chronic stress <br>• dlPFC top-down suppression = “logic narrator” |
3 Performed Persona<br>“Mask / social role” | “How do I stay loved?” | • Jung’s Persona; false-self vs true-self<br>• Social-identity theory (Tajfel–Turner) | • Dramaturgical performance & impression-management (Goffman)<br>• Role-theory: rewards cement the mask | • mPFC & temporo-parietal ToM network for perspective-taking<br>• Mirror-neuron system—learning scripted social moves |
Layer Collision | Internal war of affect × logic × mask → anxiety, derealisation, burnout | PTSD symptom clusters as part-dominance cycles | Cultural-trauma amplifies identity dissonance | Threat circuitry overwhelms integration (amygdala ↔ hippocampus) |
Healing / Re-Integration | Safety → emotion tolerance → role flexibility | • Phase-oriented trauma therapy, EMDR, parts-work | • Collective meaning-making rituals after group trauma | • Neuroplasticity & vagal toning restore Self–other synchrony |
This space is for the ones who don't gatekeep. Who learn out loud. Who value emotional safety over performance. We’re not here to be perfect— we’re here to grow, together.
The Emotional Gradient Blueprint (TEG-Blue™) © 2025 by Anna Paretas
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