How Anger, Shame, and the Superego Influence the Instincts
The Enneagram’s three instinctual drives—self-preservation, social, and sexual—are fundamental survival strategies that shape our lives. They are not inherently psychological; they are biological currents of life. Yet, in human beings, these drives rarely manifest in a straightforward manner. They unfold across three levels of expression. At the animal or biological level, they are raw, impulsive survival energies, what Freud described as the id or the beast. Here, the instincts are self-serving and self-protecting, powerful but blind. At the psychological or conditioned level, once entangled with anger, fear, shame, and the superego, the instincts become distorted into reactivity, projection, and fixation. At the essential or aware level, when integrated with presence, the instincts are transmuted into life-giving intelligences that serve connection, vitality, and transformation.
In every man there lies a beast, a fire that devours itself unless the spirit gives it form. – Jakob Böhme
Self-Preservation Instinct and Anger
Self-preservation is the drive to secure food, warmth, and shelter. At the animal level, the beast seeks safety and will hoard, fight, or flee to survive. At the psychological level, anger projects threat outward, fear projects catastrophe forward, and shame projects deficiency inward. The superego then reinforces with its constant refrain: be responsible, do not fail, do not let your guard down. At a fundamental level, self-preservation evolves into sufficiency. The hearth fire returns, not as a fortress of control, but as a grounded vitality that sustains life without grasping.
Social Instinct and Shame
The social instinct is the drive to find our place in the group, to resonate and belong. At the animal level, the beast craves tribal safety, a role within the pack, and the security of belonging. It conforms or submits to maintain the herd. At the psychological level, anger projects judgment onto others, fear projects exclusion, and shame projects exposure. The superego amplifies with its whisper: fit in, stand out, do not embarrass yourself. At the essential level, the web becomes resonance—authentic participation in the larger whole, belonging without losing one’s soul.
Sexual Instinct and the Superego’s Dual Edge
The sexual instinct is the drive for intensity, transformation, and merging. At the animal level, it is the mating drive, the urge to propagate, compete, and fuse. The beast lunges for intensity and pairing to secure survival through reproduction. At the psychological level, anger projects demand, fear projects abandonment, and shame projects unworthiness. The superego accuses both ways, insisting on being irresistible but not wanting too much. At the essential level, the lighthouse beam becomes luminous eros, passion that reveals rather than devours.
The Triad of Distortion
When the instincts are driven by pure anger, their energy becomes forceful, defensive, or controlling. When steeped in shame, they shrink, hide, or twist themselves into inauthentic shapes. And always, the superego sits in the background, amplifying both: “You must… You should… You’re not enough…” What could be simple expressions of life—eating, belonging, mating—become entangled in emotion and judgment, giving rise to the habitual patterns we call personality.
There is within the soul a place untouched by grief or fear, a light that shines without shadow. – Plotinus (Enneads V.1)
Three Levels of Instinct
| Animal / Biological | Psychological / Conditioned | Essential / Aware | |
| Self-Preservation | Raw drive for food, warmth, shelter. The beast hoards, fights, flees. Instinct is blind survival. | Anger projects threat → control and fortress. Fear projects catastrophe → hoarding and vigilance. Shame hides need → stoicism, self-neglect. Superego: ‘Be responsible, don’t fail.’ | Anger projects threat → control, and fortress. Fear projects catastrophe → hoarding and vigilance. Shame hides need → stoicism, self-neglect. Superego: ‘Be responsible, don’t fail.’ |
| Social | Tribal safety. The beast conforms, submits, seeks herd protection. Instinct is pack-oriented. | Anger judges → policing others. Fear projects exclusion → conforming or disappearing. Shame projects exposure → image-management, erasure. Superego: ‘Fit in or be rejected.’ | Web becomes resonance. Authentic belonging, mutual recognition. Community without entrapment. |
| Sexual | Mating drive. The beast competes, fuses, reproduces. Instinct seeks intensity and propagation. | Anger demands → possessive, consuming. Fear projects abandonment → push-pull bonding. Shame splits desire → inhibition or seduction. Superego: ‘Be irresistible, but not too much.’ | Lighthouse beam becomes luminous eros. Passion that reveals, not devours. Intensity transformed into radiance. |
Nine Instinctual Patterns and Superego
We have already explored some of these dynamics in our book The Enneagram World of the Child. What follows are not definitive portraits but possibilities to contemplate. The soul encompasses all nine points of the Enneagram, and every human being embodies all three instincts, as well as the three primary emotions of anger, fear, and shame, and the superego that binds them together. What varies is how these forces combine and crystallize in our lived experience.
These examples are not intended to define us as personality types, but rather to serve as invitations for inquiry. Each sketch illustrates how instincts become entangled with emotions and the superego’s demands, shaping reactive patterns that can manifest differently in each person. The point is not to fix ourselves within a box, but to notice: do I recognize something in me here? Do I sense a familiar pattern of projection or reactivity? In that recognition lies the opening—the possibility of stepping out of identification and discovering the essential vitality beneath the distortion.
Type One: The Reformer
- Self-Preservation: Anger projects into rigidity around routines and health; fear anticipates mistakes; shame whispers “you’re never disciplined enough.” Superego drives relentless improvement.
- Social: Anger polices group standards; fear of exclusion creates over-conformity; shame projects exposure if rules are broken. Superego insists on setting the example.
- Sexual: Anger demands purity in intimacy; fear of rejection drives perfection in bonding; shame hides desire. Superego whispers, “Be beyond reproach.”
Type Two: The Helper
- Self-Preservation: Anger suppresses needs, appearing selfless; fear projects catastrophe if support is withdrawn; shame hides neediness. Superego says, “Never be selfish.”
- Social: Anger judges lack of appreciation; fear of exclusion fuels constant giving; shame projects deficiency if unneeded. Superego demands indispensability.
- Sexual: Anger demands closeness; fear anticipates abandonment; shame twists desire into seduction or inhibition. Superego whispers, “Be irresistible by giving.”
Type Three: The Achiever
- Self-Preservation: Anger drives workaholism; fear projects failure; shame masks inadequacy. Superego insists “succeed to survive.”
- Social: Anger polices image; fear of exclusion fuels performance; shame projects exposure if flaws are visible. The superego enforces the idea of “always excel in the group.”
- Sexual: Anger demands admiration; fear anticipates being outshone; shame inhibits vulnerability. Superego whispers, “Be attractive, never ordinary.”
Type Four: The Individualist
- Self-Preservation: Anger fuels resentment over unmet needs; fear anticipates scarcity; shame amplifies deficiency. Superego insists, “You must be authentic.”
- Social: Anger projects elitism or envy; fear anticipates rejection; shame projects inadequacy in comparison. Superego demands uniqueness.
- Sexual: Anger demands fusion; fear anticipates abandonment; shame distorts desire into dramatic push-pull. Superego whispers, “Be special or you are nothing.”
Type Five: The Investigator
- Self-Preservation: Anger withdraws into control of resources; fear projects depletion; shame hides incompetence. Superego demands “don’t need too much.”
- Social: Anger judges intrusions; fear projects being overwhelmed; shame inhibits participation. Superego insists, “Be knowledgeable or withdraw.”
- Sexual: Anger demands total privacy or intensity; fear anticipates engulfment; shame hides desire. Superego whispers, “Don’t reveal until safe.”
Type Six: The Loyalist
- Self-Preservation: Anger turns inward as self-doubt; fear projects catastrophe; shame masks dependence. Superego demands hyper-vigilance.
- Social: Anger polices loyalty; fear anticipates betrayal; shame projects deficiency if out of sync. Superego insists, “Stay loyal or be unsafe.”
- Sexual: Anger demands intensity; fear anticipates abandonment; shame twists desire into suspicion or neediness. Superego whispers, “Prove fidelity.”
Type Seven: The Enthusiast
- Self-Preservation: Anger suppresses limits; fear projects deprivation; shame hides neediness. Superego demands, “Stay upbeat, never stuck.”
- Social: Anger judges boredom; fear anticipates exclusion; shame projects exposure if seen as ordinary. Superego insists, “Be fun for the group.”
- Sexual: Anger demands stimulation; fear anticipates abandonment if dull; shame inhibits vulnerability. Superego whispers, “Be exciting, never needy.”
Type Eight: The Challenger
- Self-Preservation: Anger fuels territorial control; fear projects threat; shame hides vulnerability. Superego insists, “Be strong, never weak.”
- Social: Anger polices injustice; fear anticipates betrayal; shame projects exposure of weakness. Superego demands dominance.
- Sexual: Anger demands fusion through force; fear anticipates rejection; shame twists desire into control. Superego whispers, “Never yield.”
Type Nine: The Peacemaker
- Self-Preservation: Anger numbed into inertia; fear projects conflict; shame hides self-assertion. Superego insists, “Don’t disturb peace.”
- Social: Anger judges discord; fear anticipates exclusion; shame erases self to blend in. Superego demands harmony.
- Sexual: Anger suppresses demand; fear anticipates abandonment; shame hides desire. Superego whispers, “Merge, don’t stand out.”
The Spinning Wheel of Fixation, Projection, and Reactivity
Imagine you are in a conversation with a close friend. The moment contains all nine points, the three instincts, all three primary emotions, and the superego. AND, in this moment, life spins the lens.
- The first layer clicks into place: you find yourself perceiving through the Four slice of the Enneagram, sensitive to authenticity, difference, and the possibility of rejection. Already, the view is tinged with longing and comparison.
- The second layer turns: the self-preservation instinct overlays the perception. Now your concern is not only about authenticity, but also about security and whether your needs will be met. The question of “Do they really see me?” becomes fused with “Will I be safe here if they don’t?”
- The third layer slides into place: shame colors the whole image. The moment now feels heavy with exposure, a sense that something about you is too much, or not enough, or fundamentally flawed.
- And before you can rest in awareness, the superego leans in with its familiar commentary: “You’re making this all about yourself. Stop being so needy. Get it together.”
What was a simple human exchange is now filtered through three layers of distortion, then amplified by an internal critic. The result is not reality as it is, but reality refracted, bent, and hardened into reactivity.
Man is a machine, but a machine that can know it is a machine. And in that knowing, the wheel begins to turn the other way. – Gurdjieff
Returning to Essence
Beneath the overlays of anger, shame, and the superego lies the untouched vitality of the instincts. Presence is the key: noticing when anger hardens, when shame contracts, when the superego judges. In that awareness, the instincts soften and reveal their deeper intelligence. Self-preservation becomes grounded sufficiency, social instinct becomes authentic resonance, and sexual instinct becomes radiant eros. Freed from distortion, the instincts are no longer traps of personality but gateways to embodied presence.
John Harper is a Diamond Approach® teacher, Enneagram guide, and a student of human development whose work bridges psychology, spirituality, and deep experiential inquiry. He is the author of The Enneagram World of the Child: Nurturing Resilience and Self-Compassion in Early Life and Good Vibrations: Primordial Sounds of Existence, available on Amazon.