they're baaaack

September (noun) : the month in the northern hemisphere when all the analysts who were on holiday during the month of August, return en masse to their analysands (who have now added 'separation anxiety' to their list of ailments)
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We in the Northern hemisphere know that our summer holidays are over when the last long weekend holiday (Labor Day) arrives in early September and the therapists return. The release of Cronenberg's new movie, "A Dangerous Method" about Freud and Jung in the early 1900s coincides with this return.

(And maybe the new FoxTV show, "I Hate My Teenage Daughter" set to begin just before the holiday season also is no coincidence - the number of therapy sessions increase over the holidays largely in part due to family stress.)

Some non-therapeutic factoids about September from Wikipedia (for what it's worth) -
(1) the beginning of the meteorological autumn is 1 September in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of spring in the Southern hemisphere;
(2) in Latin, septem means "seven" and septimus means "seventh" and September was the seventh month of the Roman calendar until 153 BC;
(3) September begins on the same day of the week as December every year, because there are 91 days separating September and December, which is a multiple of seven (the number of days in the week); and,
(4) no other month ends on the same day of the week as September in any year.

Joe Black's recent visits

death wish (noun) : in Freudian psychology, the desire for self-annihilation
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Two doctors' deaths are noted in the New York Times this weekend - Dr Death himself, Jack Kevorkian, who believed that people had the right to be helped to commit suicide if they were terminally ill, and Dr Leo Rangell, a noted Freudian psychoanalyst.

While neither really seemed to have a death wish per se (they died at age 83 and 97, repsectively), that seemed a more interesting opening than "obituary". Dr Rangell's obituary (which provides his and our friend Dr Freud's belief that talk therapy and not medication is the cure for most emotional issues) is worth the reprint here (from the New York Times):

'Dr. Leo Rangell, a leading psychoanalyst during the heyday of classical Freudian talk therapy in the 1960s and ’70s, and a relentless advocate for the slow approach to treating emotional distress even as antidepressants and managed care made short-term treatment the norm, died on May 28 in Los Angeles. He was 97.

His family said the cause was complications of a surgical procedure the day before at the U.C.L.A. Medical Center.
Dr. Rangell, a practicing psychoanalyst and emeritus clinical professor of psychiatry at the Los Angeles and San Francisco campuses of the University of California, remained active until the end of his life — teaching, writing for scholarly journals, seeing patients until a few days before he died and contributing articles about public affairs to The Huffington Post.

His stamina as a writer and teacher, and as a major player in the often contentious political world of the psychoanalytic profession, was legendary. He published 450 academic papers during his lifetime and nine books, the last at the age of 94. Dr. Rangell’s prominence in his field coincided with a sea change in American attitudes about psychological treatment during the late 1960s. The emerging availability of psychoactive prescription drugs, as well as competition from psychologists, social workers and even New Age practitioners, began to diminish the appeal of classic psychoanalytic treatment, with its arduous exploration of unconscious feelings in sessions two or three times a week that could span years.

In an interview with The New York Times in 1968, Dr. Rangell acknowledged the changes in the air but attributed them to a kind of cultural misunderstanding. In the can-do, post-World II American imagination, he said, psychoanalysis had become wrongly perceived as a cure-all. “The hopes of the general public exceeded all reasonable expectation,” he said. “There were hopes that a generation of children could be brought up free of problems, that psychoanalytic insight would rid the world of crime, divorce and learning problems. Now there’s a big letdown.”

Throughout the subsequent decades, as new forms of therapy continued to multiply — and managed care insurance limited mental health coverage for many people — Dr. Rangell remained an advocate for the fundamental insights laid down by Sigmund Freud at the beginning of the 20th century. “There are always fashions and fads and pendulum swings,” Dr. Rangell said, “but no explanatory system of human behavior has as yet supplanted the psychoanalytic one.”

Peter Loewenberg, a psychoanalyst and professor of the history of psychoanalysis at U.C.L.A., described Dr. Rangell as one of the profession’s “leading statesmen” and a voice for humanistic values in an age of quick-fix therapy. “Everyone today is led to believe that they will feel better if they take a pill, and that is sometimes true,” Dr. Loewenberg said. “What Leo Rangell promoted was the analytical tradition of understanding the self.”'

more psychobabble

psychobabble (noun) : what you say about what your therapist says, as opposed to what he or she says
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A repeated definition for those readers who are paying attention, but one worth repeating.

Several people I know often come up with "great titles for books" but no idea for the book itself (nor the desire to actually write a book). One suggested a coffee table book of great book titles, which I think could be a best seller with the right visuals and synopses. Another idea - an autobiography that only lists chapter titles for each period of your life (provided you've led an interesting and long life).

The blog called, "Things White People Like" (which more accurately should be called, "Things White Men Like") is part of this "listing" genre of writing (and it seemed to get the writer money, a book, some press and a tour over a list of things that for any other group of people would have been deemed prejudicial, racist, sexist, or some other -ist and gotten the author sued or banned or fired from his job at Aflac). Apparently you can get away with anything as long as you target white males.

Anyway, since 'listing' things seems to be a popular form of writing, perhaps a list of psychobabble terms to throw around in your everyday conversations would be of use? Here are a few of my favourites (that may or may not be topics for future posts):

disregard for boundaries
secondary compensation
passive aggressive
nether reaches of pathology
psychic rubble of the past
disowned desire
comfortable silence
intervention
projection

Let me know if you care to share of few of your own!

the end of resistance

gain from illness (noun) : the most convenient solution when one has a mental conflict
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For the neurotic (and hey, who among us has not been one at some point), getting or staying ill helps to avoid an unsatisfactory reality.

Translated, this means that you can't stay on a diet because being fat gives you reason for why you're not in a relationship. And if you lose the weight, you might discover another (far worse) reason for being unloved (like you're an asshole or something). (You can substitute "being fat" and "losing the weight" for a number of things, like "getting drunk" and "going on the wagon" or "taking drugs" and "getting clean". You get the idea.)

Freud would say that this type of resistance is a form of self-defense in the struggle to survive. Others call it a feeble excuse.

So put down the cookie and walk to your therapist's office for a session!

repetition compulsion

repetition compulsion (noun) : one's unconscious tendency to repeat traumatic events in order to deal with them; one's unconscious tendency to repeat traumatic events in order to deal with them; one's unconscious tendency to repeat traumatic events in order to deal with them; one's unconscious tenden
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This form of resistance apparently can take the form of dreams, storytelling, or hallucinations, and is closely tied up with the scarier concept of what's called, the "death drive" (which calls to mind that Long Island mother's drive going the wrong way on the New York Taconic Parkway in 2009). See http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536742,00.html
and my earlier promise of a post on denial.

But I digress.

Simply put, this is a coping mechanism where one apparently repeats trauma in the unconscious, and allow the conscious mind to remain ignorant of it. Kind of neat, IMO, but unless you want to keep having those nightmares or keep dating those same losers, it gets in the way.

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

Envy gives a bad name to green

envy (verb) : wishing one had been born with an unfair advantage, instead of having to try and acquire one
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I actually wasn't sure whether envy rated as a part of psychology. I mean, is it an actual disorder or merely a feeling?

No matter - psychiatrists and psychologists embrace it as one of their own! From penis envy to womb envy to ordinary, dyed-in-the-wool envy, it's there in books, magazine articles and, of course, Dr. Freud (for whom penis envy was the female counterpart to male castration anxiety).

There's tidbits on how to channel your envy into something healthy -

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article3128821.ece

- but in the end, maybe it's just healthy to feel envious and wish that you had whatever you envy that someone else has (their life, partner, money, brains, looks, home, job, book deal, movie deal, blog, children, etc.). What the hey - when you're down and feeling sorry for yourself, go for it full on.

Then get your head out of your ass and make some changes in your life. (Remember those new year's resolutions?)

Female empowerment or just another anxiety? A postscript on castration anxiety

castration anxiety (noun) : 1. a male’s conscious or subconscious fear of losing all or part of the sex organs, or the function of such; 2. one reason why females aren’t getting laid
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A little further research on this ailment brought out another Freudian term - vagina dentata, or teeth "down there". Apparently Freud used it only to depict his idea of castration anxiety (but it does raise the question of whether Freud hated all women or just his mother).

See: http://psychology.about.com/od/sigmundfreud/p/freud_women.htm

At least one filmmaker, saw vagina dentata as an expression of female empowerment, in probably one of the worst date movies ever, Teeth. The trailer alone had me cringing.

This means that if guys have castration anxiety, then women have (or should have) fear of being the castrators (either to our partners or - worse - to our sons).

Just when I thought I was clear on this one.

Finally, an anxiety that I don't have!

castration anxiety (noun) : 1. a male’s conscious or subconscious fear of losing all or part of the sex organs, or the function of such; 2. one reason why females aren’t getting laid
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According to Freud, when the infant male becomes aware of differences between male and female genitalia, he assumes that the female's penis has been removed and becomes anxious that his penis will be cut off by his rival, the father figure, as punishment for desiring the mother figure. (Remember that Freud also believed that the sexual development of a male child results in him wanting to have sex with with the mother and, as a result, kill the father - the Oedipus complex.)

Castration anxiety also can refer to being castrated symbolically - the fear of being degraded, dominated or made insignificant, fearing the loss of virility.

Jeez! Here I thought it was a male’s fear of teeth during a blow job.

Great Psychologists

Maybe it's just me, but when I see a father (Sigmund Freud), daughter (Anna Freud) and old guy (Carl Jung) arm-in-arm and advertised for sale as finger puppets with a couch, all sorts of psychological references come up. And not necessarily anything about which I want to think or blog.

I'll just leave it at that.

Daydream

daydream (noun) : the 24-hour period available for musing about the fulfillment of wishes rather than working on fulfilling them
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A daydream is a type of imagining, but when the dreamer begins to confuse the dreams with reality, it's called hallucinating. Which is why, I suppose, psychologists in the 1960s provided strategies to combat daydreams similar to those used in combating drug use. And Dr. Freud believed that only unfulfilled people created fantasies and that daydreaming was an early sign of mental illness.

Thankfully, by the late 1980s, psychologists considered daydreams a natural component of the mental process. Thus we dreamers are saved - at least this time - from the label "mental illness."

In daydreams, we form a mental image of a past experience or of a situation that we haven't actually experienced to escape from reality temporarily or to overcome a frustrating situation or to satisfy a hidden wish. My particular favourite (and I don't think I'm alone here) is the one about me winning the lottery. Daydreaming usually isn't harmful, unless it interferes with daily living. That means I can fantasize about what I'd do with my vast winnings as long as I continue to work.

And, as Shakespeare points out, there's the rub for all of us daydream believers.

Depression

anti-depressant (noun) : the pill that keeps one optimistic about one's life
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Of course, after common unhappiness comes depression. Some embrace it alone, simply as a fact of life; others drag everyone around down with them as a part of life.

Freud believed that depression involved loss and the guilt and self-criticism related to that loss, but that doesn't explain all types and forms of depression. (And since his goal was simply "common unhappiness" - a concept depressing in itself - I'm not sure how much weight I give to this.)

Speaking of depressing, I read a great quote about the unexamined life - although it might not be worth living, the examination itself might take the place of living.

Now if that's not enough to stop therapy, I don't know what is.

Common Unhappiness - part 2

common unhappiness (noun) : 1. ordinary sadness, as opposed to hysterical misery; 2. an acceptable level of misery; see also, Dante's first rung of hell
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According to Dr. Freud there is an acceptable level of unhappiness for humans. I think this is a therapist's way of justifying his/her inability to really "cure" someone through talk therapy. This idea goes back to my earliest posting and the reasons for ending my own therapy.

But Freud's assessment is a brilliant business model for psychotherapy. Like the elected official who says there is an "acceptable level of corruption" in politics or the oilman who says there is an "acceptable level of pollution" in drilling, this self-serving explanation prevents the examination (and therefore the possibility) of eliminating unhappiness by making it part of our DNA.

No wonder people drink!

The Super Ego

super ego (noun) : the part of one's psyche that is fitted with a cape and a complex
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Don't be fooled - in therapy, you really don't speak in terms of id, ego and super ego. These represent terms that the analyst knows and understands but rarely uses with the analysand (you). Instead, in therapy you talk about your feelings (after first actually letting yourself have those feelings) and it's the feelings that are associated with these terms.

So the poor, mis-named super ego really represents guilt. Nothing super about it. Sure, it may keep us all (or those of us who are not socio- or psychopaths) on the correct path within society's requirements, but it does so at a cost.

Freud apparently associated it with fathers, which is a bit confusing, since most guilt inevitably comes from mothers. But that's Freud for you. Not that he's kind to mothers; he associates them with feelings of fear (and mostly fear of castration). A bit too much in the way of 'feelings' for this post.

The Ego

ego (noun) : part of one's psyche that realizes there is an outside world is full of idiots; see also: id
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The ego gets a bad rap because of people like Donald Trump.

When in fact, the ego keeps us in check. It's not the ego existing on immediate self-gratification (see my last post), and it's not the ego existing on guilt. The problem with the ego is that the world is a tough place in which to mediate one's own existence with everyone else's existence.

That doesn't mean those whiners in my old group therapy sessions were right about the world (and it doesn't matter). It means that when trying to negotiate life in a world filled with other people who, for the most part, aren't aware of their own issues or the problems those issues cause for them or others, it takes a strong ego to get through it. And a strong ego is tough to develop when all that self awareness is lacking in those other people.

Which brings us right back to those unaware people who raised us, doesn't it? (I warned you that it always comes back to the parents.)

The Id

id (noun) : 1. part of the psyche that acts on pleasure and immediate gratification; 2. short for idiot
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Many times self-examination isn't a pleasant journey. If we're honest, we usually discover that we aren't such nice people after all. And we don't get to blame even half of our unpleasantness on our parents, unfortunately. (I've tried, believe me.)

I've been in group therapy where some members of the group never came to that realization. They believed (perhaps still do) that everyone else is mean to them, resentful and jealous of them, and bitter towards them. All about other people's faults and not so much about their own.

Perhaps it's true that others were resentful, jealous and bitter (or maybe that's just how I felt about them). But that doesn't mean that they weren't assholes hell-bent on succumbing to their urges and blaming other people for it. Like most of us.