About how people decide to change their name, and what this says from a psychological point of view
Olga Arkhangelskaya, Gestalt therapist, full member of the Guild of Psychotherapy and Training, specialist in self-development and interpersonal communication:
“We introduce ourselves to people and the world by our name; this is a way to start communication, make acquaintances, and take the first step in opening up to others. Under the desire to change the name there may be a hidden feeling of uncertainty, insecurity, and fear of interacting with others. This can be a kind of defense, “to hide your real self and show, present yourself to others.”
We are given a name at birth, we do not choose it, for most people it is our parents who do it. The decision to change your name can be a teenage rebellion, a protest, or a desire to make your own choice. As a rule, this happens to people whose freedom of choice at this age was strictly limited by parents or significant others. Moreover, you can remain a rebellious teenager at any age.
You can officially and independently change your name only upon reaching adulthood, which means that a significant part of your life has already been lived with this name. Most likely, in this part of life there was something unpleasant associated with the name, and the desire to get rid of it may be a subconscious desire to get away from negative experiences, “cut off the bad,” “start life from scratch” with a new name. The cause may be traumatic events associated with misunderstanding, rejection, violence, humiliation from significant adults and the environment.
These are just some of the reasons why a person might decide to change their name. Each person and his story is a phenomenon that should be considered individually in order to understand the current state of affairs. A name change is an external change, after which a person expects internal changes. Maybe you should start with them right away and ask yourself the question: “What is really behind the desire to change something external, what do I want to get, what do I lack, what worries me?” If you find the answer on your own or with the help of a specialist, it may not come to the point of changing your name.”
So, almost all of us had thoughts about changing our name as teenagers.
But not everyone brings this idea to life. Let's assume that there is no paperwork, no state fees, no perplexed environment - what name would you choose for yourself? … Photos: www.kakprosto.ru, www.spletnik.ru, f1-vkontakte.ru spletnicam.ru sovetclub.ru
