Insight or “realizing”: what does it consist of?

Insight is an English term used in psychology to define the moment in which we become aware or realize something; of our problems (or a solution for one), of our mood, of our emotions, of our thoughts, etc.

On many occasions, we experience a series of moods without knowing it, only noticing sensations of discomfort or well-being but without being very clear about how we feel. It is at the moment in which we are able to understand those emotions or what has led us to feel the way we do when we are ready to continue moving forward.

So, Through the insight, the person grasps or understands a revealed “truth”. It can occur suddenly, after deep work or through adjusted techniques.

Definitions of insight along the history

Gestalt psychology

From Gestalt psychology, it would be that ability to grasp how all the parts of the problem fit together to satisfy the demands of the objective. This involves reorganizing the elements of the problematic situation and, as a consequence, solving the problem (R. Mayer, 1986).

Psychodynamic psychology

From a psychodynamic perspective, the insight it would be the awareness of unconscious conflicts and adequate understanding of these the bases of self-knowledge. He insight would name the process within the analytical treatment by which the person manages to penetrate the nature of the automatic conflict.

This connection produces a new vision, a new relationship with mental contents. that until then had been intelligible, thus producing a significant change in experience. With insight we would achieve a more sophisticated understanding of our reality in light of a new context. In the words of Sigmund Freud, it would be conscious recoveryentity of repressed (unconscious) memories (E. Erikson, 1979).

From cognitive-behavioral psychology

He insight, as a cognitive phenomenon and within this current, appears in people suddenly or suddenly as a response to a certain situation. It would be about coping styles or cognitive schemes different from those we already had and that were not sufficient to solve our problems. Thanks to insightwe would discover a new way of addressing our conflicts.

Types and characteristics of insight

We can talk about three types:

Insight intellectual. It is given in the form rational. It shows intellectual understanding of something, but not emotional and operational knowledge of a situation.Insight emotional or visceral. He would be the one who brings clear awareness, compression and feeling in the deepest part of the being, regarding the meaning of personal behaviors. In addition, it would allow positive changes in personality to occur.Insight structural. Is he conscious or unconscious knowledge of the person who acquires, employs and projects through the union of structures.

Regarding its characteristics:

Much of the process is carried out not conscious.It usually occurs in a way suddenProvides the comprehension of a previously unresolved or non-existent situation, problem or learning. The person feels, with the insight, that raises your level of consciousnessunderstanding, regarding the situation.

Insight: the eureka of Psychology

Have the capacity of insight or ease for insight is to discover that what happens to us has a name and we can do something about it.

Arrive to insight allows us to acquire a feeling of control which directly affects our confidence. The feeling of control it gives us is an adequate explanation for our problem. In addition, it gives us relief and guides us to find a solution and opens the door to hope to get out of the rut in which we find ourselves.

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