repression depression

repression (noun) : in psychology, where the unconscious kicks the shit out of the conscious mind to make it forget painful feelings, impulses, or desires
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Freud believed that repression is caused when an external force puts itself in contrast with an individual's desire or feeling or impulse, threatening to cause suffering if the desire or feeling or impulse is satisfied, thereby posing a conflict for the individual; the repressive response to the threat is to exclude the desire or feeling or impulse from one's consciousness and hold or subdue it in the unconscious.

Got that?

Basically, your unconscious uses repression as a defense mechanism and protects you from having that bad experience again, and you don't even know it. So you simply deny that you have that feeling (or desire or impulse) when you actually have (unknowingly) repressed it. And of course, in most cases it's going to be the parents who represent the threat of suffering thereby causing the conflict and the resulting repression.

But you knew I was going to say that.

transfer what?

transference (noun) : in psychoanalysis, the path of least resistance
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In delving into Freud’s five types of resistance, transference seems the most innocuous. It occurs when the analysand unconsciously shifts emotions associated with one person (yes, parents always are a good choice here) to another person, especially to the analyst.

The thing is, transference is a big part of therapy and gives your therapist tons of information about what you actually feel even if you're not aware of it. Nothing wrong with that!

But I’m thinking that Freud bucketed it with other forms of resistance because unless and until you recognize what you’re doing, you are resisting feeling the actual feeling (anger, for example) and you are resisting associating the feeling with the right person (who probably is your mother).

And of course, when done outside of therapy (or “off the couch” as I like to say), the result often is a misdirected, overly excessive expression of emotion that leads to dangerous consequences, especially in Las Vegas. (Think Brittany Spears and her quickie wedding or Mike Tyson’s bites of Evandor Holyfield’s ears.)

resistance

resistance (noun) : the phenomena that analysands will keep hidden aspects of themselves from the therapist in order to defend against worse feelings (aka the reason why therapy takes so long)
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We’ve all either been there or know someone there – holding onto something or someone that keeps us stuck in an unhealthy situation. And somehow the fear of NOT having that to hold onto, and the comfort of the known (albeit unhealthy), blocks movement from it. This “gain from illness” theory apparently is only one of five types of resistance, according to Freud.

BTW, did you know that our friend Dr Freud is all the rage in China? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/10/AR2010101004051.html

The other forms may be less clear as “resistance” but make a bit of sense if you associate them with folks you know. Like the person who misdirects anger or responsibility onto someone or something else – their friends, their therapist, their boss. This is the “transference” type of resistance. Outside of the therapist office, this usually results in the eventual loss of friends and jobs. (Blaming your mother doesn’t count here, because that’s truth as opposed to transference.)

Or perhaps you’ve encountered someone who doesn’t get angry or upset (or feel much of anything). This is the “repression” type of resistance and is a particularly fun one because it results in passive aggressive behaviour, always is a treasured experience.

Another form is the “repetition compulsion” type of resistance. You know, that person who keeps doing the same thing hoping that the result will change and who appears surprised when it doesn’t? Again, outside the therapist’s office (and maybe inside it if you don’t face your therapist during the session), this usually results in the rolling of eyes and the thought of ‘duh!’

And Freud's last form of resistance (apparently stemming from guilt) - “self sabotage”, the form that makes us cringe whether inside or outside the therapist’s office. When conducted outside of it, there will be immediate bad consequences, like contracting a disease; when conducted inside of it, it's almost the same - there will be years of more therapy.

blah, blah, blah

psychobabble (noun) : what you say about what your therapist says, as opposed to what he or she says
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Yeah, but what would Freud say?

Super ego in the Superbowl?

superbowl psychology (noun) : psychobabble around the championship game of the National Football League, the premier association of professional American football
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Since Freud wasn't around when the superbowl started in 1967, there's no complex or condition with a cool name associated with the frenzy around this game. From superbowl parties to the ratings of the television commercials played during the game, the field is ripe for psychoanalysts.

And Psychology Today doesn't disappoint: 'superbowl commercials and the castrating woman.' While the author tries to make her point using the television commercials from 2010, it’s worth a read before Sunday’s game to see whether you can spot a similar theme!

And on behalf of my brothers (and because I would hope that if the Jets had to lose, then they lose to the Superbowl champs), go Steelers!

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychoanalytic-excavation/201002/the-castrating-woman-rising-the-unconscious-the-superbowl