split self
Psyche at war
A split self is the psychological experience of feeling divided within oneself—as though different parts of one's identity are in conflict or operating independently.
The term appears in discussions of dissociation, trauma, and internal contradiction: She described a split self, one part functioning normally while another carried the grief.
It can also describe the sensation of inhabiting incompatible roles or identities: Living between two cultures gave him a split self.
- dividedSeparated into portions
- fragmentedBroken into pieces
- dualHaving two parts
- personaAssumed public identity
- shadowLight blocked by object
dark side · mirror · broken mirror · dissociation · fracture · identity · ego · alter · other half · mask · doppelganger · schism · torn · inner conflict · broken · Jekyll · Hyde · psyche