Psychoanalysis relies on what is recorded in childhood within the subconscious. Every situation we were exposed to stored blended feelings of sadness, anger, and fear—feelings that, upon maturity, give rise to sets of behaviors.

We often label these behaviors with phrases like “This is my nature,” “This is my personality,” or “I got used to it.” When psychology intervenes (a person’s knowledge of their true self), the masks of the subconscious fall, revealing what we actually feel.

Anger, for example, may lead to labeling someone as “hot-tempered,” and the person may believe that for long periods. Yet the journey of tracing the roots of this anger often leads to its reduction, regulation, or better control.

The keys to human psyche lie in the subconscious, with two primary keys often focused on in healing childhood wounds: guilt and self-esteem.

A human being spends seven to nine months in the mother’s womb under ideal conditions; then, after the shock of separation at birth, the struggle begins: when hungry, the infant cries; when the mother moves away, the infant cries…

As learning and upbringing begin, parents strive to teach what is right, healthy, beneficial, and socially, morally, and religiously acceptable. We then face choices between right and wrong, permissible and forbidden, success and failure, strength and weakness. Being human, we naturally err, and when we do and are punished, guilt takes hold.

At many times, upbringing may emphasize correction over encouragement. As a result, we may not receive enough rewards or appreciation, which inevitably weakens our self-esteem. The more guilt we feel, the less self-esteem we have.

People often confuse self-esteem with arrogance or selfishness, and they also confuse guilt with conscience awakening.

When guilt is excessive (a person constantly self-flagellating, always blaming themselves first, always making excuses for others), the outcomes can be destructive—fueling feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. Psychoanalysis searches the unconscious for the roots of such excessive guilt to address them.

One of the most powerful cinematic depictions of the tight link between excessive guilt and low self-esteem appears in Good Will Hunting (1997), directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Robin Williams.

While ordinary students were in the classroom, the most brilliant of them was mopping floors outside. Such is life—opportunity isn’t always given. Robin Williams’ line in one scene sums it up as he tells Will: “It’s not your fault.”

The film centers on a meeting between a 20-year-old prodigy and a psychotherapist experiencing a midlife crisis. It also reflects the philosophical orientation of Martin Buber, who viewed dialogue as a form of human existence—capturing what it takes to break free from constraining fears, take the first difficult step inward, and clear the fog from our eyes.

Reference note: inspired in part by a critical essay on the film. If adding an external source