Sigmund Freud

Why Psychiatrist Patients and their Friends Should Care About Sigmund Freud


Throughout history, many different theories and new ideas were developed that greatly evolved society. For these ideas to advance there must have been advocates to instill them into society. Sigmund Freud was one of these advocates, who developed several theories that greatly affected the world. His most famous theories that everyone should care about are the unconscious mind, Hypnosis Theory, and the Theory of Dreams.
In Frieberg, Moravia, 1856, a wool merchant and his third wife gave birth to their first child, Sigmund. Following him were six younger siblings, and also two older half brothers from his father’s previous marriage. Four years after his birth the Freud family relocated to Vienna. In 1873 Freud started attending the University of Vienna, a medical school. He studied biology and physiology as his main subjects, and specialized in neurology with the guidance of Ernst Brucke (Thornton). In 1881 Freud received a medical degree. Engaged the year after, Sigmund Freud half-heartedly took up a more financially stable job as a doctor at the Vienna General Hospital. He and his wife had six children together in their very content marriage. Anna, his youngest, eventually became a psychoanalyst, taking after her father. Freud ultimately established a practice of his own in the treatment of psychological disorders, inspiring many of his theories (Thornton). Near the end of Sigmund Freud’s life, the Nazi’s joined Austria in 1937, causing many problems for the Jewish population, which included Freud. He was allowed to flee to England where he died of mouth and jaw cancer shortly after (Boeree).
Sigmund Freud considered the “ID” the base of an individual’s personality. The ID focuses on notifying the ego of what it wants, and does not care how it gets the desire met. Once the ego is aware of what the ID wants, it goes through what Freud called the secondary process. This process is the ego examining the want of the ID, and seeing if there is a realistic and practical way to meet the desire. The ego is looking to problem solve, while seeing the reality of the situation. For example, it controls impulses. When the ID feels the need to hit someone, the ego controls the urge. It struggles to satisfy both needs, and to keep the brain in check with reality and to address matters in a rational way. The ego also keeps track of the different rewards and consequences, and how to achieve or avoid them. The ego passes this information on to the superego. One characteristic of the superego is the conscience. The conscience is “an internalization of punishments and warnings” (Boeree). It communicates what is considered unethical and the possible penalties if the unmoral action is carried out. The superego also consists of the ego ideal. The ego ideal is developed by rewards and constructive representations presented to the individual. These separate parts of the superego communicate their standards to the superego as a whole through feelings such as shame, guilt, and pride (AROPA). This theory is important because it has helped further develop the psychiatry industry, by helping psychiatrists understand the thought process of everyone, especially their patients.
Dr. Breuer was the leader in the research of hysteria studying “Anna O.” or Bertha Pappenheim, her real name, alongside Sigmund Freud. Anna suffered from what Breuer called hysteria, which means having symptoms that seemed to be physically derived, but are the result of an emotional trauma that has not been addressed. While she was aiding her sick father, she started having a terrible cough, which they could not find a cause for. Speech problems ensued after this. When Anna’s father died, Anna suffered severe symptoms; she developed tunnel vision, some paralysis, and began to lose the feeling in her hands and feet as well as experiencing spasms (Boeree). As well as the physical symptoms, Anna had hallucinations, polar mood swings, intense day dreams and attempted suicide multiple times. Anna also experienced “spontaneous hypnosis” which entailed a confession of sorts, her explaining her day dreams and other events. On certain occasions she would reveal certain emotional ordeals that would relate to a particular symptom. In reliving it the symptom would be eradicated. An example of this is if someone were afraid of dogs because they got knocked down by one. If they relived that situation, and all the emotions associated with it, they would no longer have a fear of dogs. In these hypnosis sessions, Anna also confessed she was in love with Dr. Breuer, which is the next component of the hypnosis theory, and part of the Interpretation of Dreams, suppressed or repressed desires vocalize themselves through hypnosis as well as dreams. (Boeree). Freud’s study of hypnosis and hysteria has advanced the mental health industry greatly. Without Freud’s studies, many mental diseases such as A.D.D. and depression would not have treatment options.
Sigmund Freud had a great interest in the science of interpreting dreams, seeing as he co-wrote a 300 page novel on it. “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind” (Brainy Quote). When Sigmund Freud said this, he is referring to ego in some ways. His whole theory on the Interpretation of Dreams is that a dream is an unconscious wish, the unconscious communicating what it wants to the dreamer’s conscious. However, one can only understand what the unconscious is saying if they can interpret the dream. The unconscious does not know a vernacular so it communicates through symbolism. Someone could not be understood unless it is interpreted. Therefore if a car is featured in a dream, it could have nothing to do with a car, the car might symbolize moving forward in life. If a dream is an unconscious wish, then what is a nightmare? Nightmares or bad dreams are the unconscious reacting to trauma. Trauma is when the brain has to process something it has seen or heard, but was not prepared to process. The unconscious is trying to mend the damage the mind has received by getting the individual accustomed to the image or message they were not ready to receive (AROPA). All the effort Freud put delving into the unconscious influence on dreams has helped psychiatrists help their patients come to realizations about their life, and even furthered the understanding of how the unconscious mind works.
Sigmund Freud happened to be among the Jewish population during the Nazi reign. (The Evening Independent). As most people know, many Jewish citizens were forced into concentration camps, or just killed immediately. Freud was quite close to death when the Nazi’s began to gain power, so he missed the brute of the Nazis. However, Freud did not escape them unscathed. Freud and his family were allowed to move to London after the Nazis invaded Austria (Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team), but for a large ransom. Freud was forced to leave his practice, and his home of about 60 years. Like many other Jewish authors, Freud’s works were burned publicly. Somehow, much of his work has been saved, but probably salvaged because he was already quite famous for his theories on sexual desires and his book, The Interpretation of Dreams, had spread farther than his home town (Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team). It is incredible that Freud’s ideas managed to spread during a very controversial time, and because of this, psychiatric disease is more understood, therefore specialists can help treat those with mental disorders.
Among all of the influential characters, Sigmund Freud has made the most significant contribution in the mental health region. He was a remarkable figure not only because of his incredible theories, but how his ideas endured a World War, against his fellow Jewish citizens. All psychiatrists, psychiatry patients, and friends of those with a mental disorder should appreciate Freud for his remarkable work in the mental science field, for his theories on the unconscious, the theory of dreams, and hypnosis.






























Works Cited
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Weeks, L. (1998). Sigmund Freud On the Couch: A Classic Case Of Ambivalence . Retrieved from Washington Post Online.