Pondering Freud

My id has been popping up more, lately.

When I was an undergraduate at Radford University, I took Psych 101. Fascinating class. One of the things I really obtained from it was Freud's identification of the parts of the human psyche - the id, the superego, and the ego. The id is the impulse center for instant-gratification. The superego is your Mother/Jiminy Cricket sitting on your shoulder shaming you for anything you do wrong. The ego tries to make peace between the two and present a well-adjusted human being to society.

I wanted a slight refresher on the roles each play in our psyche, so I checked out the Wikipedia page that discusses each. Later yesterday afternoon, I received a phone call from a previous student/friend who wanted feedback on an idea for a novel. Odd thing is, his main characters are anti-heroes who live in the id. I pointed out that the anti-hero sympathy may be achieved simply by making his characters live out what everyone wishes they could do, but are refrained from doing so by the superego...

Last night, I was working on a project for my 12 AP students (shh! They'll find out soon enough what it is!) while the tv was on. It was showing Queen Latifah's Last Holiday. Cute movie. Wouldn't have paid to see it in a theater, but I enjoyed it in a 'brain candy' sort of way. The key, though is that the main character here thought she was dying and decided to blow every last cent she had and do whatever she pleased. Another instance of living in the id. Wiki research; former student; movie on tv. Funny how things work in threes...

Why can't I allow myself to do that more often? Why is my superego so developed that only a tiny window of 'wishes' exists in my personality? At times I feel torn between what I feel I need to do and must do, and with what I want to do. But what repercussions exist for those who 'live in the id?' What would society be if we all let loose and 'lived in the id?' Anarchy? Or would those members who still retained their superego and ego simply shake their heads at us 'ids' and mumble about the fall of society? When is it allowable to let the id sneak through the door? If any of you have stories from the id, let me know when you've let loose, and how it felt. I'd love to hear more.