Nature and Significance of the Neurosis

Nature and significance of the neurosis. Escape from reality. The shelter in the disease. The regression. Relations between Pathological phenomena and various manifestations of normal life. Art. The transfer. Sublimation.

We see that when men become ill as a result of external obstacles or inadequate adaptation, the satisfaction of their erotic needs them is denied in reality. We then they took refuge in the disease, so that, through it, obtain the pleasures that life denied. We found that the morbid symptoms are a part of the loving activity of the individual, or even her love life entirely; and get away from the reality trend is the capital, but also the capital risk of the disease. Adding that the strength of our patients to heal is not subject to a single cause, but several reasons. It is not only the “me” of the patient who refuses to abandon vigorously repressions that help it evade its original provisions; but sexual instincts themselves does not like to give up the satisfaction they get from the substitute manufactured by the disease, and as if they ignore the reality will provide something better.

Escape from the painful reality is never without causing a certain well-being, even when it results in this condition we call disease because it is detrimental to the general conditions of existence. It is accomplished through regression, evoking outdated phases of sexual life, which were an opportunity for the individual, certain pleasures. The regression has two aspects: firstly, it postpones the individual in the past, resurrecting earlier periods of his libido, erotic needs;secondly, it raises expressions which are peculiar to these primitive times.

But these two aspects, chronological appearance and formal appearance, are reduced to a single formula which is: return to childhood and recovery of an infantile stage of sexual life.

The more we deepen the pathogenesis of neuroses, the more we see the relationships between the other phenomena of psychic life of man, even to those to which we attach the greatest value. And we see how little reality meets us despite our pretensions; also under the pressure of our internal repressions, maintain us inside us all a fancy life, realizing our desires, compensates the shortcomings of the real existence. The energetic and successful, the one who manages to transmute into reality the fantasies of desire. When this transmutation fails through the fault of external circumstances and the weakness of the individual, it turns away from reality; he retired in happier world of his dream;sickness he transforms content symptoms.

Under certain conditions it can find another way to spend his fantasies to reality, instead of permanently away from her infantile regression in the field; I hear that if he has the artistic gift, psychologically so mysterious, it can instead of symptoms, make his dreams come aesthetic creations. Thus he escapes the fate of neurosis and he found it by a detour from reality. When this precious faculty shortage or proves insufficient, it is inevitable that reaches libido, regression to the reappearance of infantile wishes, and therefore neurosis. Neurosis replaces, in our time, the cloister were accustomed to withdraw all those disappointed by life or too weak to bear it.

I would like to emphasize the main result we have achieved, thanks to the psychoanalytic investigation of neurotics: that neuroses have no own psychic content that is also found in healthy people, or, as stated CG Jung, that neurotics suffer from these same complexes against which we, healthy men, we fight. It depends on the quantitative proportions of the relationship of forces fighting them, the fight will lead to health, neurosis or surnormales productions compensation.

I have yet to mention the most important fact which confirms our hypothesis instinctive and sexual forces of neurosis.Whenever we treat a neurotic psychoanalytically, it undergoes the amazing phenomenon we call transfer. This means that the doctor pours an overflow of excitement affectionate, often mingled with hostility, which have their source or purpose in no real experience; how they appear, and their peculiarities, show that they derive from old unconscious desires become ill. This fragment of emotional life that he can not recall in his memory, the patient also saw him in his relations with the doctor; and it is only after such a revival of the “transfer” it is satisfied that as the strength of his unconscious sexual movements. Symptoms that, to borrow a comparison to chemistry, is the precipitate of old experiences of love (in the broadest sense), can dissolve and turn into other psychic products at the temperature highest of the event of “transfer”. In this reaction, the doctor plays, according to the excellent expression of Ferenczi, the role of a catalytic ferment, which temporarily attracts to itself the affects that have just been released.

The study of “transfer” can also give you the key to hypnotic suggestion, which we were served initially as technical means of exploration of the unconscious. Hypnosis was then we therapeutic assistance but also an obstacle to scientific knowledge of the facts, in that it was clearing psychological resistance a certain area, for these pile

resistors, the borders of the same region, an insurmountable wall. We must not believe, however, that the phenomenon of “transfer”, which I can not unfortunately say here that little or created by the psychoanalytic influence.“Transfer” is spontaneously established in all human relationships, as well as in the doctor to patient ratio; it transmits across the therapeutic influence and it is with all the more force that is less doubt of its existence. Psychoanalysis does not create it; it reveals the only and takes it to guide the patient to the desired goal. But I can not abandon the question of ‘transfer’ without emphasizing that this phenomenon contributes more than any other to persuade not only the patients but also the doctors, the value of psychoanalysis. I know that all my supporters have admitted the correctness of my assumptions about the pathology of the neuroses that through experiences of “transfer”, and I can very well imagine that we will not be satisfied until we n ‘ practiced no psychoanalysis nor seen the effects of “transfer”.

I think there are two main intellectual objections to oppose the psychoanalytic theories. First, it is not used to determine a rigorous mental life; Secondly, it is unclear by what traits the unconscious mental processes differ from conscious processes that are familiar. The most frequent criticism in patients as in healthy people are reduced to the second of these factors. trouble is feared to do with psychoanalysis was afraid to call to the conscience of the patient repressed sexual instincts, as if it were running the risk of a victory of the instincts of the highest moral aspirations.Note that the patient has in the minds of keen to injuries, but we fear to touch it, for fear of increasing her suffering.

Adopt this analogy. There are certainly more consideration not to touch the sick places if one knows worsen the pain.But the surgeon can not refuse to attack the disease in the same household, when he thinks that his intervention will bring healing. Nobody thinks to blame the surgeon suffering of an operation, provided it is successful. It must be the same for psychoanalysis, especially as unpleasant reactions it may temporarily cause are incomparably smaller than those that accompany surgery. Moreover, these annoyances are very little compared to the tortures of the disease.Needless to say that psychoanalysis should be exercised according to the rules of art. As for the instincts that were suppressed and that psychoanalysis releases, is it to be feared that reappearing on the scene they violate the moral and social trends acquired through education? Nothing, because our observations have shown us that somehow the mental and physical strength of a desire is greater when it is immersed in the unconscious that when it requires consciousness. Be understood if one considers that unconscious desire is exempt from any influence; opposing aspirations have no hold on him. Instead, a conscious desire can be influenced by all the other inner phenomena that oppose him. By correcting the results of faulty delivery, the psychoanalytic treatment meets the highest ambitions of the intellectual and moral life.

Now let us see what becomes unconscious desires released by psychoanalysis? By what means can we make them harmless? We know three.

It happens more often that those desires were simply suppressed by reflection, during treatment. Here repression is replaced by a kind of criticism or condemnation. This review is all the easier it covers products of an infantile period of “me.” Once the individual, then weak and incompletely developed, unable to fight effectively against a possible addiction to satisfy, that could not repress it.

Today, mature, he is able to master it.

The second means by which psychoanalysis opens a way to the instincts she discovers, is to bring them back to normal function that would have been theirs if the development of the individual had not been disturbed. It is, indeed, not in the interest of it to eradicate the infantile wishes. Neurosis, its repressions, has deprived many sources of psychic energy that would have been useful to the formation of his character and the deployment of its activities.

We still know a way out, perhaps better, by which infantile desires can manifest their energies and replace the unworkable inclination of the individual a higher purpose sometimes completely located outside of sexuality: the sublimation. The trends that make up the sexual instinct is precisely characterized by the ability to sublimation: to end sexual replaces a higher purpose and greater social value. It is the psychic enrichment resulting from this process of sublimation, which are due noblest acquisitions of the human spirit.

here is the third possible conclusions of psychoanalytic treatment: it is legitimate that some libidinal tendencies are repressed directly met and that satisfaction is achieved by ordinary means. Our civilization, which claims to another culture, actually makes life too difficult for most people, and the fear of reality, causing neuroses without having nothing to gain by this excess of sexual repression. Do not neglect entirely what is animal in our nature. Our ideal of civilization does not require that renounces the satisfaction of the individual. Undoubtedly, it is tempting to transfigure the sexuality elements by means of an ever more extensive sublimation, for the greater good of society. But, as in a machine can not transform into usable mechanical work the whole heat expended, and we can not hope fully transmute energy from the sexual instinct. This is impossible. And depriving the sexual instinct of his natural food, it causes unpleasant consequences.

Remember the story of the horse Schilda. The people of this town had a horse whose strength was their admiration.Unfortunately, maintenance of the beast was expensive; so we decided to get him used to going without food, decrease every day of his grain ration of oats.

This was done; but when the last grain was removed, the horse was dead. People from Schilda never knew why.

As for me, I am inclined to believe that he died of starvation, and no animal is not able to work if we do provides its ration of oats.