Editing Character structure (section)

=== Reich ===

For [[Wilhelm Reich]], character structures are based upon blocks—chronic, unconsciously held muscular contractions—against awareness of feelings. The blocks result from trauma: the child learns to limit their awareness of strong feelings as their needs are thwarted by parents who meet cries for fulfillment with neglect or punishment. Reich argued for five basic character structures, each with its own body type developed as a result of the particular blocks created due to deprivation or frustration of the child's stage-specific needs:

# The [[schizoid]] structure, which could result in full blown [[schizophrenia]]: this is the result of not feeling wanted by hostile parents, even in the womb. There is a fragmentation of both body and mind with this structure.
# The oral structure is an adaptation to an early wound of deprivation around the basic need for nourishment from birth to approx. 18 months. The oral structure as an adult will sometimes adopt an attitude of "you do it for me," as a reaction to not having been nurtured when young. At other times the defense is one of compensation where the individual denies their own needs in the belief that needing will result in abandonment. The person loses touch with their healthy natural assertion and aggression and energy tends to collapse and be difficult to sustain. The body adopts a posture where shoulders are usually hunched which contracts the chest and limits breath and therefore the amount of energy the body takes in. The head juts forward,  This posture limits energy flow to the arms which then feel weak. The body of the oral structure defends against receiving and thus confirms the belief that they cannot get their needs met, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy unless the defense can be challenged in both mind and body and the individual can mobilize their energy, stand on their own two feet and own the right to need and to receive.
# The [[psychopath]] or upwardly displaced structure: this wound, around the age of 3, is around the parent manipulating, emotionally molesting the child by seducing them into feeling "special" for the parent's own narcissistic needs. The child resolves to never again permit themselves to be vulnerable, and so decides to instead manipulate and overpower others with their will. The body is well developed above, weak below, as the psychopath pulls away from the ground and attempts to overpower from above. This structure has variations, depending on the admixture with prior wounds: the overbearing is the pure type, the submissive is mixed with oral, the withdrawing, with schizoid.
# The [[Sadistic personality disorder|masochist]] structure: this wound occurs when the parent refuses to allow the child to say "no," the first step in [[setting boundaries]]. The child seeks relief from the rage that builds up underneath bounded muscle and fat, by provoking punishment from others.
# The rigid: this wound occurs around the time of the first puberty, the age of 4. The child's sexuality is not affirmed by the parent, but instead shamed or denied. This structure seeks to prove to the parents and others that the child is worthy of love. The rigid structure is often beautifully harmonious, but there is a physical split around the diaphragm between heart and pelvis: [[love]] and [[sex]]. This person has trouble with being aware of their emotions, which are strong, yet buried. The rigid structure has many substructures, depending on the exact nature of the wound, the admixture with other pre-rigid (oedipal) structures, and the [[gender]]: in women, the masculine aggressive, hysterical, and the alternating; in men, the phallic narcissist, the compulsive, and the passive feminine.

While each of these structures has blocks, and these blocks to some degree resemble "armour", it is only the rigid structure that truly has what Reich called "character armour": a system of blocks all over the body. Depending on which version of rigid one is, the rigid character possesses either 'plate' (i.e. clanky) or 'mesh' (much more flexible) character armour.