Yesterday's news sent me looking for a quick and dirty discussion of vertical splitting. Here, Jeffrey Stern discusses the adaptive function of the vertical split in the psychic life of a TV mobster, but his observations could apply to anyone who seems to live with two contradictory, irreconcilable minds:
maintaining the vertical split is necessary for [him] to function effectively within his contradictory worlds so that the competing elements of his personality remain unintegrated rather than exposing him to conflict, anxiety and psychic pain...
[But] more than merely dividing the dual aspects of his nature so that he can function effectively in his contradictory worlds, the vertical split allows [him] to use behavior that's acceptable in one reality to protect him from the affects that may be generated in the other. Read More...
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