Childhood Experiences and Psychosexual Development
Your personality isn't just formed randomly - according to Freud, it's heavily influenced by what happens to you as a child. He believed we all progress through specific psychosexual stages where our sexual energy (called libido) focuses on different parts of the body.
Here's the crucial bit: if things go wrong during any of these stages, you can become fixated at that particular stage. This happens in two ways - either through frustration (when your needs aren't met) or overindulgence (when your needs are more than satisfied, making you too comfortable to move forward).
Getting stuck at any stage doesn't just affect you temporarily - it shapes your entire adult personality. For instance, problems during the oral stage might lead to issues with dependency or aggression later in life, while anal stage fixations could result in obsessive or messy personality traits.
Quick Tip: Think about how some adults still bite their nails or smoke when stressed - Freud would say this shows oral stage fixation from childhood.
