Inner Duality: The Battle Between Life and Destruction
The internal conflict arising between a profound drive for life and a parallel pull toward destruction creates a dual impulse within the human soul, where the desire to live and enjoy existence coexists with an urge toward self-annihilation. This conflict is mirrored in the subconscious struggle between contradictory psychic forces; when the destructive drive becomes overpowering, it can lead to self-destructive behaviors, including suicide attempts.For example, one source clearly describes the nature of this contradiction, stating: "Suicide is, first and foremost, a terrifying narrowing of consciousness; the unconscious floods the field of consciousness. In the unconscious, not only does a powerful life instinct reside, but also a death instinct. It is mistaken to think that a person seeks only life and self-preservation; they also strive for death and self-annihilation." (source: link txt, page: 3).Another text emphasizes that "any internal conflict is a rupture between what is desired and what is real," indicating that if inner aspirations and the actual possibilities for living diverge, the unresolved conflict can develop into neurosis or psychosis and pave the way for self-destructive behavior (source: link txt, page: 1).It is also noted that the negative, destructive psychic impulse, symbolically denoted by the name Thanatos, functions as an equally primary driving force alongside the life impulse. This duality – the struggle between life and death – reflects how an internal conflict can push a person toward actions that harm themselves and hinder normal existence (source: link txt, page: 1).Such a contradiction, in which the destructive impulse begins to dominate over the desire to live, can lead individuals to feel incapable of finding satisfaction in life. In response, they may seek equally pathological and self-destructive ways of compensating, ultimately succumbing to the pressure of an internal crisis.