Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, created several theories that make up the therapy of psychoanalysis. Among them is the concept of the unconscious. Do you know what this means? No? Then read on and learn all about this element of psychoanalysis!

To understand What is Unconscious It is necessary, first of all, to understand its double meaning. This word defines all those mental processes that occur without the individual being aware of them. Without the individual being conscious of them. This is the broadest, - or generic - meaning attributed to the term.

Most researchers in psychology and psychoanalysis defend the existence of these processes. However, when this term is appropriated by psychoanalysis, it becomes a concept. Therefore, within this field of research and work, it takes on a more specific meaning.

What is Unconscious in Psychoanalysis

A common metaphor for understanding the psychoanalytic meaning of the unconscious is that of the iceberg. As we know, the part of the iceberg that is visible on the surface is only a small part of its true size. Most of it remains submerged, hidden underwater. So is the human mind. What we easily understand in our mind is only the tip of the iceberg, theWhile the unconscious is that submerged and unfathomable piece.

In addition, it can be defined as the set of psychic processes that are mysterious to ourselves. It would explain our failures, our forgetfulness, our dreams and even our passions. An explanation, however, that is not accessible to ourselves. Repressed desires or memories, emotions banished from our conscious - because they are painful or difficult to control - are found in theunconscious, with almost no access for reason.

This definition can vary within psychoanalysis itself, because different authors have identified different aspects of this part of our mind, so let's look at the main distinctions.

What is the Freudian Unconscious

The basic definition given above is in line with Freud's psychoanalytic theory. For him, the unconscious is like a person's black box. It is not the deepest part of consciousness, nor the one that has the least logic, but another structure that is distinct from consciousness. The issue of the unconscious is addressed by Freud mainly in the books "Psychopathology of Everyday Life" and "TheInterpretation of Dreams", which are respectively from the years 1901 and 1899.

Freud often uses this term to refer to any content that is outside consciousness, and at other times he refers to the unconscious not as such, but as a mental state: it is where the forces sublimated by some repressive agent are found, which prevents them from reaching the level of consciousness.

For him, it is in the little mistakes that happen in our daily lives that the unconscious is expressed. Aunts like:

• confusions;
• forgetfulness;
• or omissions.

These small errors are a way of expressing opinions or truths that conscious reason does not allow. In this way, the individual's intention wears the guise of an accident.

What is Unconscious for Jung

For Carl Gustav Jung, the unconscious is where we find all those thoughts, memories or knowledge that were once conscious, but which we do not think about at the moment.

Furthermore, this author points out the difference between his concept of the unconscious and Freud's concept of the preconscious, which are:

• In the preconscious would be those contents that are about to emerge to consciousness, about to become clear to the individual.
• The unconscious, on the other hand, is deeper, with spheres almost beyond the reach of human reason.

Jung also differentiated two types of unconscious, the collective and the individual:

• the personal unconscious would be the one formed from individual experiences,
• while the collective unconscious is formed from conceptions inherited from human history, which is fed by the collectivity.

It is important to point out that there is no consensus as to the existence of a collective unconscious, although studies of mythology or comparative religion strengthen the thesis.

What is unconscious for Lacan

The Frenchman Jacques Lacan promoted in the middle of the 20th century a retaking of the Freudian perspective, retaken because it had been left aside by the psychoanalysis of that time. To the conception of his predecessor he adds language as a fundamental aspect for the existence of the unconscious.

His contribution is based mainly on the work of Ferdinand de Saussure, a French linguist and philosopher whose main advance was the idea of the linguistic sign. According to him, this sign was composed of two independent elements: the signifier and the signified.According to Lacan, this is how the unconscious would also work.

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The author also states that in the so-called lacunar phenomena - which are dreams or those confusions of daily life already mentioned - the conscious subject feels run over by the subject of the unconscious, which imposes itself.

Examples

These are examples of expressions of the unconscious:

• the dreams;
• change one's name;
• to drop some decontextualized word;
• things we do without realizing it;
• when we do something that seems out of character or not in line with our way of acting

But why do we repress these forces?

It is not up to today's post to deepen this question, but, just to complement the exposed content, I point out that suffering is what represses some content. Our mind always aims to keep.

This is why it removes from consciousness any content that leads to deep, life-threatening pain. These contents, however, cannot be kept super-repressed by expressing themselves through those actions already mentioned.

The importance is undeniable

Understanding what the unconscious is has always been a challenge in psychoanalysis. Every author and great psychoanalyst has contributed to this question with their theories and thoughts.

Certainly, there are some divergences among the main theorists in their ways of understanding and studying this element, but it is correct to say that understanding the unconscious and its unfoldings are the initial basis of psychoanalytic study.

The World Behind the Unconscious

Our knowledge about our own unconscious is very vague. Although he to be able to influence and determine actions, thoughts and other attitudes .

Everything, or a good part, of what is stored in this part to which we do not have access, in this secret world, can be reached through psychoanalysis and the study of it.

Understanding what happens in the unconscious allows the patient to treat it:

• problems;
• traumas;
• defenses that he might not even know he possessed.

An invitation to study

Do you agree that the human being is divided? We are not "individuals", in the sense that we are not full masters of our wills.

Would you like to study more about what is unconscious, to get involved in the wonderful study of Freudian work? Would you like to work with it and help people better understand themselves and others?

We would like to invite you to our Psychoanalysis Training Course It is a complete course that will provide you with the necessary knowledge to enter the psychoanalytic knowledge. online and We will meet you there!

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