sigmund-freud

‘Defensiveness’ from Feminist Perspective on Resistance

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Today, I want to share a throwback to one of my Facebook posts from a few weeks ago, of course, more extensive, perhaps for a change, and because of this fascinating woman in the history of psychology.
Actually, I’ve also been considering writing about Sigmund Freud, the originator of psychoanalysis, and this might be a good starting point.

Honestly, I previously didn’t know much about Anna Freud, or rather, I didn’t think highly of her. However, after watching the film ‘Freud’s Last Session‘ about Sigmund Freud’s final days, her brief appearance still caught my attention.

Anna Freud was a trailblazing psychoanalyst who made significant contributions to child psychology. Born in Vienna in 1895, the youngest daughter of Sigmund Freud, she grew up in an intellectually stimulating environment. She was deeply interested in her father’s work and eventually became his close collaborator. Originally trained as a teacher, Anna developed a keen interest in children’s development. In the 1920s, she began psychoanalytic training and started working with children, establishing Vienna’s first child psychoanalysis clinic in 1927. At this clinic, she developed innovative observation and treatment methods. Her influential book, “The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence” (1936), built on her father’s theories by explaining how the ego defends against anxiety through mechanisms such as repression and denial. Fleeing the Nazis in 1938, she settled in London, where she co-founded the Hampstead Child Therapy Course and Clinic, a prominent centre for child psychoanalysis. Anna emphasised the importance of observing children in their natural settings and customising therapy to each child’s needs. Her contributions remain influential in psychoanalysis and child psychology, setting new standards through her research and clinical work.

Anna Freud with her father, Sigmund, 1928 near Berlin (picture alliance / Mary Evans Picture Library)
This photograph captures Sigmund Freud walking with his daughter Anna Freud, likely during a summer holiday on the Ritten plateau near Bolzano, Italy.

In her 1936 work “The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence,” Anna Freud identified defence mechanisms as unconscious protections employed by the ego. These mechanisms serve to shield individuals from anxiety, shame, and the instinctual urges of the id that the superego prohibits. Among the major defence mechanisms are repression, projection, reaction formation, regression, and sublimation.

In the film mentioned above, I noticed she had no relationships with men. There is no public or scholarly evidence regarding her sexuality. She never married but had close relationships with women, especially Dorothy Burlingham, her lifelong partner and collaborator. Some biographers speculate about their relationship, but Anna Freud never publicly discussed her sexuality, and no records confirm whether she was lesbian, bisexual, or otherwise. Her private life was discreet, centred on work and family. Any discussion of her sexuality is largely speculative, based on personal correspondence and life choices.

Children have an almost uncanny instinct for the teacher’s personal shortcomings.
They know the false from the true far better than one likes to admit.
Therefore, the teacher should monitor his own psychic condition so he can spot the source of trouble when anything goes wrong with the children entrusted to his care.
Civilisation in Transition (The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 10)

via Carl Jung DepthPsychology 🙏

Thank you all for your support and presence. Wishing you a peaceful weekend. 🙏🌹

Back to the Roots; for a Revision?!

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The longing to return to the womb — to the very origin of existence — reflects a deep, universal desire for renewal. It embodies a conscious wish to turn back time and retreat into the ultimate sanctuary where life’s struggles and regrets have not yet taken hold. Recently, I have noticed I often wake up with memories of scenes or songs from a TV series that Al and I enjoyed in our youth; for example, today I woke up with the theme song from the 60s Batman TV show, and I wonder how it entered my mind, since I haven’t heard it in ages! I then ask myself: Is this a desire to return to that joyful, simple time, or even more, to go back to the basics and start anew?

The womb symbolises comfort, safety, and innocence. The desire to return often signifies a wish to escape the burdens and complexities accumulated over a lifetime. In psychoanalysis, returning to the mother’s womb may sometimes be viewed as a sign of incest. However, it also reflects a longing for the simplicity and purity that existed before self-awareness and responsibilities—before choices and their consequences shape our identities. Nonetheless, this longing goes beyond mere escapism. It reflects the human yearning for change and a fresh start. Although we acknowledge that a literal return isn’t feasible, the desire reveals our profound wish to leave past mistakes behind and start anew. It acts as a cry for self-forgiveness and the bravery to reinvent ourselves—building on the wisdom gained from our experiences rather than erasing them.

Ultimately, the desire to return to the womb is not about going backwards but about renewal. It acts as a reminder that, although we can’t literally start over, we can seek personal rebirth—discovering new purpose and hope at each stage of life. This may also evoke memories of those days and the happiness I now long for.

Jung’s investigation of incest in Transformations and Symbols of the Libido (1912) caused a rift with Freud. He describes the archetype’s dual nature as both “spiritual” and rooted in the “organic–material substrate” (“On the Nature of the Psyche” par. 380), allowing him to formulate a concept of libido that combines Freud’s sexual perspective with a broader view. In Freud’s view, libido is fundamentally sexual; incest symbolises a link from Oedipal desire to the taboo and the formation of the superego. Although Jung does not deny the actual occurrence of incest (McGuire 505–506), he highlights its symbolic role in expressing libido creatively rather than focusing on its biological aspect. As he proceeds, the foundation of incest is thus:

The strange idea of becoming a child again, of returning to the parental shelter, and of entering the mother in order to be reborn through her. But the way to this goal lies through incest, i.e. the necessity of finding some way into the mother’s body. One of the simplest ways would be to impregnate the mother and beget oneself in identical form all over again. But here the incest prohibition intervenes; consequently [myths develop new mother–analogies] for the purpose of canalising the libido into new forms and preventing it from regressing to actual incest [. . .]. It is not incestuous cohabitation that is desired, but rebirth [. . .]. The effect of the incest taboo and of the attempts at canalisation is to stimulate the creative imagination, which gradually opens up possible avenues for the self–realisation of libido. In this way, the libido becomes imperceptibly spiritualised.
~Carl Jung, “Symbols of the Mother and of Rebirth” par. 332)

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