Repression

Repression is an attempt to block out unpleasant or distressing memories, thoughts, or desires, and is considered to be a psychoanalytic defense mechanism and a psychological phenomenon. Repression differs from suppression, which is intentionally trying to forget an experience. With repression, the memories are pushed into the subconscious, and the individual is unaware of their existence. Repression can negatively affect the human psyche, causing problems such as phobias, severe anxiety, and unacceptable behaviors. According to Daniel Weinberger, a psychologist at Stanford University, about one in six individuals is a repressor, or a person who represses.

Background

The famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) developed the theory of repression as part of his psychoanalytic theory, which aims to treat mental illness through dialogue. While modern concepts of repression have to do mainly with traumatic experiences, Freud associated repression with negative drives and impulses, such as those related to aggression or sex.

According to Freud, the human mind consists of three interacting agents: the id, ego, and superego. Present from birth, the id is the primitive, instinctual part of the mind that seeks pleasure and instant gratification. The id is responsible for sexual impulses and hidden desires.

The superego, which forms later in life, is the moral conscience that judges behavior based on what it has learned is acceptable from parents and society.

The role of the ego is to be realistic and mediate between the id and the superego. According to Freud, repression is the result of the ego’s efforts to subconsciously keep unacceptable desires and thoughts in the id away from the superego.

Freud contended that many psychological problems were the result of repression, and these problems could be reduced or eliminated by bringing unconscious thoughts into an individual’s awareness through psychoanalysis.

A young woman called “Anna O” was referred to in the context of repression in a landmark 1895 book Studies on Hysteria, authored by Freud and Josef Breuer. Anna O was the first patient Breuer treated for repression. Anna O displayed a myriad of strange symptoms that physicians had collectively called hysteria (reclassified as conversion disorder). At times, Anna O would go into a trance-like state and have hallucinations of snakes and other creatures. Her other symptoms included a loss of speech and temporary paralysis. Physicians found no physical cause for her condition.

After undergoing psychoanalysis, Breuer learned that Anna O had cared for her father while he was dying of tuberculosis. Once the experience was brought back into Anna’s consciousness, her symptoms reportedly disappeared. However, some historical records indicate that despite the initial conclusion that Anna O’s symptoms were cured, her condition worsened progressively, requiring institutionalization. She did eventually recover.

Overview

Repression is a defense mechanism, meaning individuals do this to protect themselves from having to repeatedly recall something painful. With repression, a traumatic experience, and the feelings associated with it, is pushed into the unconscious mind, where the individual is unaware of its existence. Less commonly, sexual and aggressive impulses are repressed to keep individuals from experiencing guilt or shame.

The feelings associated with repressed experiences or impulses do not disappear, however. They cause a myriad of problems for the individual who does not know why these problems are occurring.

Effects of Repression

Repressors may suffer from a host of mental health difficulties, including severe anxiety, anguish, or depression. Some individuals develop phobias or display neurotic symptoms such as compulsiveness.

Physical symptoms are manifestations of the stress caused by repression; they vary widely and include high blood pressure, gastrointestinal conditions, fatigue, skin conditions, chronic pain, and decreased immunity to sicknesses and diseases.

Repressors may also have problems maintaining healthy relationships. They may be overly concerned with meeting their partner’s needs or unable to emotionally involve themselves in a relationship.

Characteristics of Repressors

Those who repress tend to be successful and dependable. They present themselves as being calm under pressure and seek out prestigious careers as doctors and lawyers. However, underneath the façade, they suffer from severe anxiety and sadness.

Repressors are reluctant to seek help, perhaps because they do not want others to view them as vulnerable. They are also good at pretending that everything is normal, possibly because they did this to hide being abused as children.

Repressors may inadvertently reveal their repression through slips of the tongue called “Freudian slips.” Common examples include saying “I want to beat you” instead of “I want to meet you” or saying the name of an ex-spouse instead of the current one.

They may also reveal their repression in their dreams. Freud noted that repressors often have vivid dreams during which they experience the fear and anxiety of the repressed memory. Breuer’s patient Anna O had a recurring dream about a black snake that was in a person’s bed, and she was unable to protect the person from it. Breuer worked with Anna O to interpret that the black snake symbolized the disease that killed her father.

Examples of Repression

Examples of how repression interferes with the daily life of the repressor include the following:

• A child is bitten by a dog, represses the experience, and develops a fear of dogs as an adult but has no idea what caused the fear.
• An individual who has been in a terrible car accident represses the experience and is later afraid to drive but does not know why.
• A student vehemently dislikes a teacher but does not understand why. The student does not recall that the teacher looks and acts like a past abuser because they have repressed the experience.
• A woman whose childbirth is particularly painful continues to give birth, each time repressing the pain.

Treatment

Up until the late twentieth century, psychologists used hypnosis to attempt to bring repressed memories back into consciousness. This did not always work, however. Anna O was an extremely educated young woman from a wealthy family who was able to speak seven languages. Under hypnosis, her speech became garbled, and she spoke a combination of five languages.

In the twenty-first century, although there is no evidence-based technique available to uncover repressed memories and the American Psychological Association (APA) has consistently warned that the existence of this phenomenon is controversial, psychotherapy and other noninvasive therapeutic approaches have been used to treat repression. Extensive dialogue with a trained medical professional is considered to gradually bring repressed memories and feelings back into the level of consciousness.

Bibliography

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