The expression Freud explains: meaning is linked to the fact that Freud always had interpretations for many facts of the mind, human behavior, culture and social life. Phenomena often "obvious" (from everyday life) or even complex phenomena (as in dreams) had a response from Freud .

Psychoanalysis

But before talking about the expression, it is necessary to know that psychoanalysis appeared in the year 1890 through the Austrian physician Sigmund Freud. It is necessary to make it clear that there are fundamental concepts in Freud's work that we will work on in this article, such as:

• the parts of the mind (especially the unconscious );
• the pulsions;
• and the Oedipus Complex .

It is also worth mentioning that his theory was innovative, because it was based on the idea that nervous diseases had psychological origins and not physiological ones, as many of the physicians of that time supposed.

Freud then proposed the conception that the psychic structure is formed by conscious and unconscious contents Thus, he focused his work on patients with neurotic and/or hysterical symptoms.

Freud explains: everything is related to desire and the unconscious

A expression "Freud explains". is present in the Portuguese language and in many other languages and cultures. Thus, this expression is used when there is some:

• error;
• lapse;
• thought;
• fixed idea;
• or behavior with some related theme to sexuality or desire .

It is as if the conscious tries to seek the rational and the normative, but the unconscious finds a loophole to claim an unmet or repressed desire.

For example, a boy falls in love with a girl who has the same name as his mother. "Freud explains": since the boy in childhood fell in love with his mother (because she was the person with whom he had most bodily and affective contact in his life), but this passion cannot be fully realized, he could be looking for a substitute for his mother in the girl.

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It is obvious that every interpretation of this nature must have a balance and not fall into a judgment, avoiding the psychoanalyst to behave as the owner of the truth.

Today, psychoanalysts consider that many cases may be just coincidences, although Freud considered that it would never (or almost never) be a coincidence.

That said, our text today explains "Freud explains" not only from the summary above, but also by other ways in which people use this expression.

Freud Explains: The Power of the Unconscious

In talking with his patients, Sigmund Freud discovered that most of their problems were caused by cultural conflicts, which caused them to have their sexual desires and fantasies repressed in their unconscious.

For psychoanalysis, the unconscious exerts pressure on the mind and expresses itself through, as said before:

• dream;
• manias;
• lapses of language;
• and symptoms.

Freud said that, many times, we are not aware of the real reasons for our behavior, so we are not always in control of our thinking or behavior.

The role of the psychoanalyst in interpretation

The main method of psychoanalysis is the interpretation of transference and resistance with analysis of the free association of ideas The analyzed, in a relaxed posture, begins to tell everything that comes to his mind. Thus, the psychoanalyst listens only making brief comments that lead the patient to self-knowledge and to know the source of his psychic ills.

In this way, the role of the psychoanalyst ends up being one of neutrality, a mere "mirror".

The origin of Freud's work

Freud was inspired by the work of physiologist Josef Breuer when he started his own work, but switched from Breuer's therapy to free association of ideas In addition, he also incorporated knowledge absorbed from the philosophers Plato and Schopenhauer into his theory.

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Freud became interested in emotional disturbances and endeavored, through Psychoanalysis, to find a cure for these mental maladjustments. That is, since then he has used the art of healing through speech, often through the interpretation of dreams to unveil the stage of the unconscious.

The treatment method used by psychoanalysis

The origin of the concept of the unconscious by the psychoanalytic physician Sigmund Freud was due to the proposition of a psychic reality, characteristic of processes unconscious .

Psychoanalysis is not a science, but an art, which aims at the investigation and understanding of the unconscious, and is considered a form of treatment for the psychoneuroses that affect human beings:

• Free association of ideas;
• Dream Interpretation;
• Failure Acts Analysis.

Five ways to understand the expression Freud Explains

Despite the social, cultural and technological transformations of the last 120 years, the method psychoanalytic Freud's discovery to deal with the malaise inherent to the human condition remains relevant today, and so humanity owes it to Sigmund Freud.

In creating this new field of knowledge, Freud developed different theoretical concepts to support his research. These four concepts have relation to what Freud explains :

So here are the essential terms of psychoanalysis:

1. unconscious

Freud has shown that most of the psychic life unfolds without one having access to it. There one finds, above all, repressed ideas Thus, when Freud interprets unconscious facts from clues accessible to consciousness, it is a way in which Freud explains.

2. the three parts of the mind

• Ego

The organized part of the psychic system that comes into direct contact with reality and has the ability to act upon it in an attempt to adapt. In other words, the ego mediates the instinctive impulses of the id and the demands of the superego.

b) Id

Source of psychic energy, it is formed by unconscious impulses and desires. Its interaction with the other instances usually generates conflict because the ego, under the imperatives of the superego and the demands of reality, has to evaluate and control the impulses of the id, allowing its satisfaction, either postponing it or totally inhibiting it

c) Superego

It is formed from the identifications with the parents, from whom it assimilates orders and prohibitions. The superego assumes the role of judge and watchdog, a kind of moral self-conscience In other words, it is the controller of the id's impulses and acts as a collaborator in the ego's functions. Moreover, it can become quite severe by nullifying the ego's possibilities of choice.

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3. drive and desire

A concept located on the border between the psychic and the somatic. The drive is the psychic representative of the stimuli that originate in the organism and reach the mind, which is different from the instinct, because it does not present a biologically determined purpose. Besides, it is insatiable, because it is related to a desire, and not to a need.

4. the interpretation of dreams

Golden Path to Accessing the Unconscious. In the book The interpretation of dreams Freud explains how dreams are doors to the unconscious and to uncover desires and perceptions that otherwise would not reach consciousness.

5. oedipus complex

Between the ages of two and five, the child develops intense feelings of love for the parent of the opposite sex and hostility towards the parent of his own sex. These feelings can be experienced with great ambivalence .

Also, the conflict usually diminishes around the age of five, but nothing in terms of age is a precise number. The example we gave at the beginning of the text is a case of Oedipus complex and is one way in which Freud explains our behaviors. When the superego (our moral mentality) prevents the fulfillment of a desire, it promotes the refusal in the unconscious.

This repressed content manifests itself in indirect ways, such as:

• symptoms;
• lapses;
• mistakes;
• jokes;
• dreams
• Failures (such as exchanges of words), etc.

Final considerations

In view of what we have said, we invite you to get to know our Psychoanalysis Training Course So, come study with us and deepen your knowledge in this very rich field.

To learn Psychoanalysis is to understand what Freud explains and to use the same tools Freud and other important psychoanalysts use to explain our mind, our behavior, our relationships, and even life in society, so don't waste any time and take advantage of this opportunity.