I want to get out of my interview stories about patients and experiences while my interviewee was in school. I need to get a real life feel for my topic and become more attached to it. I think this way, I'll want to do it more and put more love and effort into the final outcome.
possible interviewees;
keith coppage
psychologist from hospital
dcc counselers
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
033: update
I converted my powerpoint digitally. So I am going to post that soon.
I posted everything else. I am very pleased with how things turned out ^^ So, I hope everyone else is too.
it's been a long quarter, and I couldn't be happier with the results of my project :D
I posted everything else. I am very pleased with how things turned out ^^ So, I hope everyone else is too.
it's been a long quarter, and I couldn't be happier with the results of my project :D
Sunday, May 23, 2010
032: Essay
In this adventure I call my Senior Thesis, I have found out some interesting things about a man named Sigmund Freud, one of the many fathers of psychoanalysis. He was one to add sexuality into his theories and research. It's very apparent in his Narcissism, Oedipal, Anxiety and Eros theories, which I studied in depth. Freud had survived the Holocaust, was addicted to Cocaine and had most of his theories disproved. I never thought this man would be so controversial. His ideas pulled me in as I read those words of that “Oedipus Complex” essay. “...Incestuous desires and murderous intent.” ( “Oedipal Complex” A DARKLING PLAIN, pg.102) Wouldn't you be fascinated to know what that means too? I guess it was just me, then. My head wrapped around these words, these theories with a strong fascination my Junior year that I knew EXACTLY what I was going to do my thesis on: Freudian Psychoanalysis. Easy right? Well, I thought so too.
I read the essays with an intent to educate the world (or my classroom) of things they never knew about the human mind. I read the award winning papers with a new found mind, open and porous like a sponge. Did you know Haitian Zombies were related to Freud's theory of Mourning and Melancholia? Neither did I. I surfed the internet, day after day and hour after hour, reading others' thoughts and feelings on Dr. Sigmund Freud. I could go on for weeks, but won't. You'll just have to find out for yourself.
Freud's theories base from the idea of infantile sexuality& unconscious desire as a child. He believed life and human unconscious is just sexual tension dammed up by either repression or a mental wall we set up ourselves or are traumatized to do such. Once humans learn of their unconscious desires and unconscious thoughts, we act on them and find out what they are. As humans, we're curious creatures. We thrive on our impulses to eat, sleep and fornicate to continue our line. Also to continue the cycle of thought. Freud also mentioned our impulses ran on “incestuous desire and murderous impulses” ( “Oedipal Complex” A DARKLING PLAIN, pg.102) against or towards other humans.
Psychoanalysis
The process of psychoanalysis is taking apart a person's unconscious and figure out their needs in personal definition. Textbook wise, psychoanalysis is “a method of investigation of the mind and the way one thinks; a systematized set of theories about human behavior; a method of treatment of psychological or mental illness.” (Psychoanalysis Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoanalysis) This is true. Freud was a neurologist experimenting on patients with cerebral palsy or psychotic problems of their mental health. He turned to the psychoanalysis field of psychiatry. Psychoanalysts' interventions with their patients consist of comforting and piecing together the patient's guilt, fears, tearing apart dreams that seem odd and clarifying them. There are various approaches to psychoanalysis. Possibly twenty-two different variations of probing the human mentality, one of them being childhood development. Freudian psychoanalysis is another variation of this field.
Narcissism
Narcissism is a unconscious, unnoticeable attraction to oneself. Another form of narcissism is as simple as a parent praising and loving their child, showing them affirmation of their actions. Child and Parent are the most apparent form of narcissism. As a child, humans strive to show our parents everything and to gain acceptance from them as we grow older. Jeremy Holmes, author of a “Narcissism” essay found in “On A Darkling Plain” had written “narcissism starts from mirrors- from the mirroring mother, whose gleaming eye and responsive smile reflects delight in her child.” (“Narcissism”,pg173) The main idea behind Freud's theory was a human's self-centered desire, love and lust for itself stems from the over-affectionate parents or overbearing parents.
If one loves themselves too much, the affectionate fans of that person become led on and hurt. This is the honey-sweet face of a narcissist. These humans seduce, lure and “love at a distance” the fans or love object that wants them. Holmes mentioned that narcissists are “withdrawn from the external world and reinvested in themselves.” They form object relationships with others who love them for their looks, talents or other afflictions of lust or adoration. Though, the narcissist pushes the object away, in rejection for it not being enough, and loves himself.
Eros/Thanatos
Eros and Thanatos are Freud's theories of 'Life' and 'Death'. They tend to work together, Eros being the driving force to be alive while Thanatos creeps up snipping at the heels of man closer to death. Eros is known as the drive that is libido, survival, sex and thirst. To push the humans to live and thrive. Eros is the drive that pushed to preserve and create. Thanatos was the exact opposite.
Freud realized that life instincts are the base of human life and that death was some part of it. Even though sex and libido provided continuation and creation, the cycle didn't seem complete. Death completes the cycle of struggle, libidimal desire and life. There are struggles along the road of living, Freud thought, and so death (or thanatos) ends the challenge.
Oedipal Complex
The Oedipal Complex, and Electra Complex for female children, is a unconscious attraction to the opposite sex parent and murderous or jealous intent for the other, same sex parent. Oedipus Rex was the main example. But he was unknowing of his killing his father and marrying his mother until it had all happened. It is one of the most known cases in myth and reality, as well as Electra. In the case of Oedipus Rex, his family hears from a prophet that their new born child was going to grow up and kill the king, Oedpius' father, and marry the queen, his mother. Even though the parents tried to turn fate, Oedipus did end up following through the prophecy and marrying, even birthing a family, with his mother and destroying his father, at a crossroad.
Mama's Boy/Daddy's Girl
The terms “Mama's Boy” and “Daddy's Girl” are stemmed from the Electra and Oedipal complex. In these, the child is in unconscious romantic inclinations and lustful intentions for the opposite sex parent and murderous feelings toward the same sexed parent. The complex stemmed from the mythological story of Oedipus Rex who killed his father and married his mother, unknowingly, as he fulfilled a prophecy that was heard when he was first born. The female equivalent to this is the Electra story/Electra complex.
Incestuous Desire & Infantile Love Objects
Through each level of developing as a human, the stages of psycho-sexuality also come into play.
While aging the first three years of life a child becomes fixated on its' oral and anal zones. This is the time of a child's life where it becomes knowledgeable of its' mouth pleasure zone and sucking, along with its' intestinal zone as they become knowledgeable of its' fecal matter. During the ages of three to five for the child, the phallic stages. Five years of age into its' puberty, the child is in its' latency phase. This is the phase where the child has dormant sexual feelings unconsciously. From here, a child becomes into its' genital stage, where in this time of a human's life, its' sexual interests and urges mature while it grows.
Anxiety
Anxiety is the product of fear. In Freudian terms, there are three types of anxiety and a multitude of defense mechanisms that follow. One form of anxiety is Reality Anxiety. This form stems from rational fears of something like a dog bite happening or a physical accident. One of the ways these fears can be put to bed is by being removed from the the situation that causes the anxiety. Another form of anxiety is Moral Anxiety. This form stems from violating moral codes or societal guidelines. This outlet of fear can also be seen as guilt or shame. The last form of anxiety is Neurotic Anxiety. This form of Anxiety arises from an unconscious phobia that the libido of the ID (ego) will take control at the most convenient time. This form of anxiety is driven by a fear of consequence that will result from expressing the ID's desires without proper sublimation (the spirit of libido formed).
With anxiety, the brain goes a few ways to respond and distract oneself from the fear. The brain tries to problem solve, and this mechanism works harder or the full on defense mechanisms come into play. Defense mechanisms react in two parts: they operate unconsciously and they can shift, distort, or change reality in some way or form. The several types of defense mechanisms are:
Repression, also known as Defensiveness. This can be conscious but is mostly unconscious to the person at hand. This type of mechanism can help stifle memories and the like.
-Denial. This type practically makes the event or events that took place seem like they never took place.
(these are the two main used defense mechanisms)
-Projection. In this form of defense, the anxiety is reduced by attributing repressed or fearful thoughts to someone else.
-Rationalization, an after the face defense mechanism. This mechanism allows for a logical seeing or reasons for actions that aren't as logical or excusable.
-Intellectualization is the type of mechanism where one thinks about events in hard, cold, rational terms.
-Regression is when all mature logical reasoning skills disappear and one uses child-like tactics to fix a problem.
-Displacement is when one shifts targets, especially when the main target is threatening.
Dream Theory
Freud's dream theory was based on unconscious sexuality in dream objects such as caves, snakes, and rhythmic activities. He said certain objects represented different parts of the human body and different parts of human life. Dancing and moving in a rhythmical way is associated with sexual reproduction or masturbation. Snakes, reptiles, canes and cannons represent phallic symbols of male genitalia. Caves or anything empty that can be used as a holding vessel represents the female genitalia. Falling into water represents birthing. Most of Freud's theories on dreams revolved around objects.
The Future for Psychoanalysis
Since the 1900's, psychoanalysis has become an ever-growing psychological field and research topics. Through out the 1900-1920's, Freud had founded a few theories and achieved a few things with them. One being his publishing of his theory of sexuality. Another involved finding that in Narcissism, the question of energy verses self directed at others is called carthexis. Carthexis is the process of investment of emotional or mental energy in a person, object, or idea.
Also, in the late 1940's-2000's, people have challenged most of Freud's theories. There are approximately 35 psychoanalysis training institutes in the U.S.A accredited by the A.P.A (American Psychoanalytic Association). About 3000 graduates are practicing in the States. The IPA (International Psychoanalytical Association, the mother association to APA, also accredits training centers throughout other worldly places such as Germany, Italy, and Serbia. The future for psychoanalysis seems to be taking a turn for the better. The big boom in interest during the 1950's after Freud's death paved the way to others now.
Personal Experience
I chose Freudian Psychoanalysis due to finding a book of essays called On A Darkling Plain: Journeys into the Unconscious. I read the book my junior year and I was hooked. I enjoyed the ideas and opinions the authors of these essays said and elaborated on about Freud's theories on his Oedipal Complex, Eros, Narcissism and Anxiety. I wanted to know more about why or how the ideas bounced around inside of some of the authors. In example Jeremy Holmes mentioned in his “Narcissism” essay that it “starts with mirrors”. I wanted to know what he meant, and kept reading. He began to explain that this “mirror” was a mother admiring her child too much or too less, causing them to turn into something that thrives on the admiring attention of a thousand fans when he really just destroys their hearts in the end. Trippy, right?
During this project, I thought I had a Freudian awakening. Turned out to be me being paranoid. After I read into Freud's head more and more, I started to notice bits and pieces of his ideas coming into my head and mind's eye. It got a little bit scary. I felt like I was going crazy. Thank the self-reality checks.
I read the essays with an intent to educate the world (or my classroom) of things they never knew about the human mind. I read the award winning papers with a new found mind, open and porous like a sponge. Did you know Haitian Zombies were related to Freud's theory of Mourning and Melancholia? Neither did I. I surfed the internet, day after day and hour after hour, reading others' thoughts and feelings on Dr. Sigmund Freud. I could go on for weeks, but won't. You'll just have to find out for yourself.
Freud's theories base from the idea of infantile sexuality& unconscious desire as a child. He believed life and human unconscious is just sexual tension dammed up by either repression or a mental wall we set up ourselves or are traumatized to do such. Once humans learn of their unconscious desires and unconscious thoughts, we act on them and find out what they are. As humans, we're curious creatures. We thrive on our impulses to eat, sleep and fornicate to continue our line. Also to continue the cycle of thought. Freud also mentioned our impulses ran on “incestuous desire and murderous impulses” ( “Oedipal Complex” A DARKLING PLAIN, pg.102) against or towards other humans.
Psychoanalysis
The process of psychoanalysis is taking apart a person's unconscious and figure out their needs in personal definition. Textbook wise, psychoanalysis is “a method of investigation of the mind and the way one thinks; a systematized set of theories about human behavior; a method of treatment of psychological or mental illness.” (Psychoanalysis Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoanalysis) This is true. Freud was a neurologist experimenting on patients with cerebral palsy or psychotic problems of their mental health. He turned to the psychoanalysis field of psychiatry. Psychoanalysts' interventions with their patients consist of comforting and piecing together the patient's guilt, fears, tearing apart dreams that seem odd and clarifying them. There are various approaches to psychoanalysis. Possibly twenty-two different variations of probing the human mentality, one of them being childhood development. Freudian psychoanalysis is another variation of this field.
Narcissism
Narcissism is a unconscious, unnoticeable attraction to oneself. Another form of narcissism is as simple as a parent praising and loving their child, showing them affirmation of their actions. Child and Parent are the most apparent form of narcissism. As a child, humans strive to show our parents everything and to gain acceptance from them as we grow older. Jeremy Holmes, author of a “Narcissism” essay found in “On A Darkling Plain” had written “narcissism starts from mirrors- from the mirroring mother, whose gleaming eye and responsive smile reflects delight in her child.” (“Narcissism”,pg173) The main idea behind Freud's theory was a human's self-centered desire, love and lust for itself stems from the over-affectionate parents or overbearing parents.
If one loves themselves too much, the affectionate fans of that person become led on and hurt. This is the honey-sweet face of a narcissist. These humans seduce, lure and “love at a distance” the fans or love object that wants them. Holmes mentioned that narcissists are “withdrawn from the external world and reinvested in themselves.” They form object relationships with others who love them for their looks, talents or other afflictions of lust or adoration. Though, the narcissist pushes the object away, in rejection for it not being enough, and loves himself.
Eros/Thanatos
Eros and Thanatos are Freud's theories of 'Life' and 'Death'. They tend to work together, Eros being the driving force to be alive while Thanatos creeps up snipping at the heels of man closer to death. Eros is known as the drive that is libido, survival, sex and thirst. To push the humans to live and thrive. Eros is the drive that pushed to preserve and create. Thanatos was the exact opposite.
Freud realized that life instincts are the base of human life and that death was some part of it. Even though sex and libido provided continuation and creation, the cycle didn't seem complete. Death completes the cycle of struggle, libidimal desire and life. There are struggles along the road of living, Freud thought, and so death (or thanatos) ends the challenge.
Oedipal Complex
The Oedipal Complex, and Electra Complex for female children, is a unconscious attraction to the opposite sex parent and murderous or jealous intent for the other, same sex parent. Oedipus Rex was the main example. But he was unknowing of his killing his father and marrying his mother until it had all happened. It is one of the most known cases in myth and reality, as well as Electra. In the case of Oedipus Rex, his family hears from a prophet that their new born child was going to grow up and kill the king, Oedpius' father, and marry the queen, his mother. Even though the parents tried to turn fate, Oedipus did end up following through the prophecy and marrying, even birthing a family, with his mother and destroying his father, at a crossroad.
Mama's Boy/Daddy's Girl
The terms “Mama's Boy” and “Daddy's Girl” are stemmed from the Electra and Oedipal complex. In these, the child is in unconscious romantic inclinations and lustful intentions for the opposite sex parent and murderous feelings toward the same sexed parent. The complex stemmed from the mythological story of Oedipus Rex who killed his father and married his mother, unknowingly, as he fulfilled a prophecy that was heard when he was first born. The female equivalent to this is the Electra story/Electra complex.
Incestuous Desire & Infantile Love Objects
Through each level of developing as a human, the stages of psycho-sexuality also come into play.
While aging the first three years of life a child becomes fixated on its' oral and anal zones. This is the time of a child's life where it becomes knowledgeable of its' mouth pleasure zone and sucking, along with its' intestinal zone as they become knowledgeable of its' fecal matter. During the ages of three to five for the child, the phallic stages. Five years of age into its' puberty, the child is in its' latency phase. This is the phase where the child has dormant sexual feelings unconsciously. From here, a child becomes into its' genital stage, where in this time of a human's life, its' sexual interests and urges mature while it grows.
Anxiety
Anxiety is the product of fear. In Freudian terms, there are three types of anxiety and a multitude of defense mechanisms that follow. One form of anxiety is Reality Anxiety. This form stems from rational fears of something like a dog bite happening or a physical accident. One of the ways these fears can be put to bed is by being removed from the the situation that causes the anxiety. Another form of anxiety is Moral Anxiety. This form stems from violating moral codes or societal guidelines. This outlet of fear can also be seen as guilt or shame. The last form of anxiety is Neurotic Anxiety. This form of Anxiety arises from an unconscious phobia that the libido of the ID (ego) will take control at the most convenient time. This form of anxiety is driven by a fear of consequence that will result from expressing the ID's desires without proper sublimation (the spirit of libido formed).
With anxiety, the brain goes a few ways to respond and distract oneself from the fear. The brain tries to problem solve, and this mechanism works harder or the full on defense mechanisms come into play. Defense mechanisms react in two parts: they operate unconsciously and they can shift, distort, or change reality in some way or form. The several types of defense mechanisms are:
Repression, also known as Defensiveness. This can be conscious but is mostly unconscious to the person at hand. This type of mechanism can help stifle memories and the like.
-Denial. This type practically makes the event or events that took place seem like they never took place.
(these are the two main used defense mechanisms)
-Projection. In this form of defense, the anxiety is reduced by attributing repressed or fearful thoughts to someone else.
-Rationalization, an after the face defense mechanism. This mechanism allows for a logical seeing or reasons for actions that aren't as logical or excusable.
-Intellectualization is the type of mechanism where one thinks about events in hard, cold, rational terms.
-Regression is when all mature logical reasoning skills disappear and one uses child-like tactics to fix a problem.
-Displacement is when one shifts targets, especially when the main target is threatening.
Dream Theory
Freud's dream theory was based on unconscious sexuality in dream objects such as caves, snakes, and rhythmic activities. He said certain objects represented different parts of the human body and different parts of human life. Dancing and moving in a rhythmical way is associated with sexual reproduction or masturbation. Snakes, reptiles, canes and cannons represent phallic symbols of male genitalia. Caves or anything empty that can be used as a holding vessel represents the female genitalia. Falling into water represents birthing. Most of Freud's theories on dreams revolved around objects.
The Future for Psychoanalysis
Since the 1900's, psychoanalysis has become an ever-growing psychological field and research topics. Through out the 1900-1920's, Freud had founded a few theories and achieved a few things with them. One being his publishing of his theory of sexuality. Another involved finding that in Narcissism, the question of energy verses self directed at others is called carthexis. Carthexis is the process of investment of emotional or mental energy in a person, object, or idea.
Also, in the late 1940's-2000's, people have challenged most of Freud's theories. There are approximately 35 psychoanalysis training institutes in the U.S.A accredited by the A.P.A (American Psychoanalytic Association). About 3000 graduates are practicing in the States. The IPA (International Psychoanalytical Association, the mother association to APA, also accredits training centers throughout other worldly places such as Germany, Italy, and Serbia. The future for psychoanalysis seems to be taking a turn for the better. The big boom in interest during the 1950's after Freud's death paved the way to others now.
Personal Experience
I chose Freudian Psychoanalysis due to finding a book of essays called On A Darkling Plain: Journeys into the Unconscious. I read the book my junior year and I was hooked. I enjoyed the ideas and opinions the authors of these essays said and elaborated on about Freud's theories on his Oedipal Complex, Eros, Narcissism and Anxiety. I wanted to know more about why or how the ideas bounced around inside of some of the authors. In example Jeremy Holmes mentioned in his “Narcissism” essay that it “starts with mirrors”. I wanted to know what he meant, and kept reading. He began to explain that this “mirror” was a mother admiring her child too much or too less, causing them to turn into something that thrives on the admiring attention of a thousand fans when he really just destroys their hearts in the end. Trippy, right?
During this project, I thought I had a Freudian awakening. Turned out to be me being paranoid. After I read into Freud's head more and more, I started to notice bits and pieces of his ideas coming into my head and mind's eye. It got a little bit scary. I felt like I was going crazy. Thank the self-reality checks.
031: Mini Interview with M.T.S
5/23/10; 12:57PM; His Home
what were your experiences with psychoanalysis or anything involving the field.
MS: uhm...(thinks) the counselors seemed to ask questions of vague importance. nothing that seemed to get into how your feeling...uhm. so the counselors themselves were really superficial. and the tests I've taken uhm, they seemed too easy to break apart. you can lie basically on them to make it seem you are or are not crazy intentionally.
what did your therapists/doctors/psychoanalyst say about your brain?
MS: One said if I ever made a movie about the inner workings of my mind that it would cause temporary insanity. one quack told me I was chronically depressed, that i was bipolar, that i was schizophrenic and none of them seemed to agree.
how was your experience with therapy or psychoanalysis.
MS: they seemed like a waste of time. I mean, you can look at yourself and say hey I'm depressed. you don't have to go to counseling sessions or bullshit like that. Now thinking about it, having a counselor telling you what to think about yourself is kind of angering (did I tell you that I seen 19 psychiatrists?)
what were your experiences with psychoanalysis or anything involving the field.
MS: uhm...(thinks) the counselors seemed to ask questions of vague importance. nothing that seemed to get into how your feeling...uhm. so the counselors themselves were really superficial. and the tests I've taken uhm, they seemed too easy to break apart. you can lie basically on them to make it seem you are or are not crazy intentionally.
what did your therapists/doctors/psychoanalyst say about your brain?
MS: One said if I ever made a movie about the inner workings of my mind that it would cause temporary insanity. one quack told me I was chronically depressed, that i was bipolar, that i was schizophrenic and none of them seemed to agree.
how was your experience with therapy or psychoanalysis.
MS: they seemed like a waste of time. I mean, you can look at yourself and say hey I'm depressed. you don't have to go to counseling sessions or bullshit like that. Now thinking about it, having a counselor telling you what to think about yourself is kind of angering (did I tell you that I seen 19 psychiatrists?)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
030: Works Cited
Mon, May 17, 2010 8:50 am
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Death_instinct
(life/death drive)
http://nosubject.com/Desire
(desire, look for incestuous desire)
http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=ijp.086.1661a
(infantile sexuality)
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Oedipus_Complex
(oedipal complex)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety
(anxiety)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eros_(Freud)#Eros_and_Sigmund_Freud
(eros [concept])
http://www.faqs.org/childhood/In-Ke/Infant-Sexuality.html
infantile sexuality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosexual_development
stages of psychosexual deveolpment
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/78543/theories_of_human_development_freudian.html
theories of human development
5/20/10
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-daddys-girl.htm
oedipus section
http://www.rpi.edu/~verwyc/defmech.htm
anxiety (freud)
March 22, 2010
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud#Freud.27s_legacy
(wiki page, obviously)
- 'on a darkling plain: journeys into the unconscious' edited by ivan ward
(book of essays)
- http://www.anthro.uci.edu/forms/2009%20Benedict%20Award%20Winning%20Paper.pdf
March 25, 2010
Psychoanalytic Theory, University of New Mexico Psychology Course (http://www.unm.edu/~jka/courses/archive/freud.pdf)
April 1, 2010
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/psychoanalysis/concepts/life_death_drives.htm
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Death_instinct
(life/death drive)
http://nosubject.com/Desire
(desire, look for incestuous desire)
http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=ijp.086.1661a
(infantile sexuality)
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Oedipus_Complex
(oedipal complex)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety
(anxiety)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eros_(Freud)#Eros_and_Sigmund_Freud
(eros [concept])
http://www.faqs.org/childhood/In-Ke/Infant-Sexuality.html
infantile sexuality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosexual_development
stages of psychosexual deveolpment
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/78543/theories_of_human_development_freudian.html
theories of human development
5/20/10
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-daddys-girl.htm
oedipus section
http://www.rpi.edu/~verwyc/defmech.htm
anxiety (freud)
March 22, 2010
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud#Freud.27s_legacy
(wiki page, obviously)
- 'on a darkling plain: journeys into the unconscious' edited by ivan ward
(book of essays)
- http://www.anthro.uci.edu/forms/2009%20Benedict%20Award%20Winning%20Paper.pdf
March 25, 2010
Psychoanalytic Theory, University of New Mexico Psychology Course (http://www.unm.edu/~jka/courses/archive/freud.pdf)
April 1, 2010
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/psychoanalysis/concepts/life_death_drives.htm
029: Interview With A Pro.
Drama Room, Keith Coppage & I, 3:32PM, (DATE FORGOTTEN)
1)So tell me your experiences with your schooling in this field, such psychoanalysis or psychology.
KC: “Well, when I was at Cal I went back and forth between English and Psychology. I ended up with both, mostly English. In Psych, I ended up loving it because of the experiments. In the lower division courses, all you do is experiments… on PEOPLE (Hysterical laughter). I took a bunch of courses, and they all dealt with what is normal, what is abnormal, and in a way it was like, who’s to judge? There weren’t a lot of answers, so it was fun.”
2)(Giggles) Do you have any interesting stories involving what you did after schooling such as with patients, or others, such as other students, in your field?
KC: “Well, since I ended up doing English as a major and Psych as my minor, essentially, I left the field. But we had a couple of situations where things had to be dealt with after school, a problem that I heard about when we were doing hypnosis. There was a problem with someone from Cal who had a post-hypnotic suggestion that made the news. At first I laughed it off. But then I got a call from this girl who was in on the project with me, and there were things that came up in that session, things neither one of us will discuss to this day. And we realized that this person was exhibiting, or like showing off, behaviors and stuff that were a direct result of the hypnosis session. So we had to call up the professor and get in touch with other people to remember what was said and done. Eventually some professionals had to be brought in… and what it told me was, woah, you can really be traumatized by the smallest stuff. Hypnosis, that was cool, and the most fun. The longest lasting memories of my psych period was from that.”
3)Please elaborate on if you agree or disagree with Freud’s theories, why or why not. Do you think they can be proven again.
KC: Well, as someone who had a difficult relationship with his mom, I can say that I paid close attention to his Oedipal theories, and while the sexual tension that he thinks is everywhere isn’t always present in THAT kind of relationship, I can say that yeah, some of his points were valid, but then it was stressed to me in college and elsewhere that Freud himself wasn’t always meant to be taken literally. That’s why there’s so much discrediting of him today. I don’t know how much of it still hangs. But this is true: it’s all about the mom. I agree. Word for word, no. But your relationship with your mom has more potential to damage. And its regardless of sex, although they find that moms screw up their sons more than their daughters, and dads screw up their daughters more than their sons, HAHAHAHA. Where his theories are difficult, again, is what’s normal. Is it normal to live with your mom til you’re 35. He had definite timelines, ages where you should do this or that. Now, ordinary, no. You want to talk about loving your mom, well, I think it’s among that’s the most complex relationships, sure. Erotic, well, God, I man you want to stop a conversation go right up to someone and ask how often they think about their mom in a sexual way! No, I don’t believe that to be universal at all. If you wanna talk normalcy, there’s nothing really wrong with living with your mom til your 35, but he doesn’t allow that kind of flexibility. The other guys who came after him were, well, they were hella open-minded by comparison. Jung was that way. Adler too.
4)Can you (laughs) tell me your thoughts toward studying Freud in depth, if you did in depth.
KC: Okay the thing about that is, sometime in the 1970’s, people began sort of dissing him right and left. Attaching everything to sex and all that. So when I got to college it was kind of at the end of that kind of thinking. He wasn’t the father of modern psychology anymore… maybe the stepfather HAHAHAHA. But my professors were starting to look at his theories and felt that maybe he had good stuff, but that the sexuality ruined him, or at least ruined him for modern audiences. I believe that the sexual emphasis became kind of disproved in the 70’s and early 80’s. I remember my professor saying one time, “we’re in an age where one has sex with everything that moves, so how can we know what is right and wrong or normal and abnormal.” And then also homosexuality kind of came out too. “Came out” HAHHAHA. Anyway, Freud would cite these case studies of how the reason Mr. Smith acted this way was that he was secretly having fantasies about his priest. And now… well, hell it seems like everyone has fantasies, including the priests HAHAHAHA.. but yeah. It was more Jung then, I mean he was seen as the successor, but the theorist that I related to the most, and the one that I sort of clung to then and now was Gestalt.
Okay here it is in a nutshell. In Freud, everything means something but only because it represents something. And it’s pretty iron clad. Red means this, and birds mean that. In Gestalt he took Freud’s theories and kind of opened them up. And then existentialism too kinda made it seem like who are we to have absolutes. I kind of think modern psychology is more influenced by Jean Paul Sarte and guys like that than Freud.
5)So let’s talk about his partner Jung. Did you study and or research him at all. (sighs) If not, why not.
Well, poor Jung… when they threw out Freud… and by the way, he’s back in style, I have a friend who teaches at Stanford and she says there’s books and classes on him once again… but at the time, no, and since Freud was being de-emphasized when I was in college, Jung was kind of… well, tainted. We didn’t deal with him much at all.
6)Have you ever considered being seen by a psychoanalyst? (Giggles) Why or why not?
KC: Jeez, probing kinda deep aren’t we? HAHAHAHAHA Well no, I never did it nor did I consider it… now, what I’ll say is that I was in counseling for ten years. Didn’t do a bit of good, I’m still a mess huh? HAHAHAHAHAHA Anyway I learned a great deal about myself and my counselor because one of the best buds I’ve ever had. He became a high school principal in the district. Psychiatry or analysis you know is often when there’s some real trouble, something that won’t fly. And you know what? It’s more expensive! People don’t talk about it but there’s a major difference between a counselor and a shrink, and that’s that the counselor can’t prescribe drugs and they charge more!
Plus a shrink couldn’t do a damn thing for me. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, Too late!
7)What are you feelings toward psychoanalysis, positive, negative, or neutral.
KC: Oh, positive, all the way. And its vital, and we need to not be afraid of it. Conservative people are scared spit-less but who cares. In class I did some experiments and, well, I learned more about myself and the world around me, or like, how I, you know, how I perceive it.. Changed my perspective.
8)What makes you a qualified person to answer my questions?
KC. K. I was a psychology major at the University of California Berkeley, and while I did leave the major, the kind of questions you’re asking, well, most psych people can answer them. So there. HAHAHAHAHAH
9)I did some reading on his Eros Theory and his Thanatos theory. Do you agree with his ideas?
KC: Eh. Again you’re dealing with absolutes. In Eros, you’re dealing with absolutes, that we all have the desire to construct and be creative. I can buy that to a degree but again are you talking every single human being? But I’d go with that. Less for Thanatos, which is, well, the theory is that they war against each other, Eros and Thanatos. That I don’t believe at all. Eros, when you kinda look at it coldly, isn’t really that revolutionary a thought. It’s actually kind of Judeo-Christian an idea. Being from that tradition it makes sense to me, but I think it goes beyond psychology.
10)I also did reading on his narcissism, Oedipal complexes as well. How do you feel about them, or your opinions on them.
KC I think I kinda answered the Oedipal idea… and his theory on narcissism… that is something that, no, I don’t buy. Again with Freud there’s an awful lot that seems cause and effect, no questions asked. Maybe it was the cocaine that influenced him HAHAHAHAHA but while I think we’re always dealing with our moms, it’s not that cut and dry. Now you know a lot of people think Freud wrote his On Narcissism to kind of go up against Jung, you know he takes Freud’s theorys and de-sexes them. That’s probably another research paper on your part huh? HAHAHAHAHAHAH/
1)So tell me your experiences with your schooling in this field, such psychoanalysis or psychology.
KC: “Well, when I was at Cal I went back and forth between English and Psychology. I ended up with both, mostly English. In Psych, I ended up loving it because of the experiments. In the lower division courses, all you do is experiments… on PEOPLE (Hysterical laughter). I took a bunch of courses, and they all dealt with what is normal, what is abnormal, and in a way it was like, who’s to judge? There weren’t a lot of answers, so it was fun.”
2)(Giggles) Do you have any interesting stories involving what you did after schooling such as with patients, or others, such as other students, in your field?
KC: “Well, since I ended up doing English as a major and Psych as my minor, essentially, I left the field. But we had a couple of situations where things had to be dealt with after school, a problem that I heard about when we were doing hypnosis. There was a problem with someone from Cal who had a post-hypnotic suggestion that made the news. At first I laughed it off. But then I got a call from this girl who was in on the project with me, and there were things that came up in that session, things neither one of us will discuss to this day. And we realized that this person was exhibiting, or like showing off, behaviors and stuff that were a direct result of the hypnosis session. So we had to call up the professor and get in touch with other people to remember what was said and done. Eventually some professionals had to be brought in… and what it told me was, woah, you can really be traumatized by the smallest stuff. Hypnosis, that was cool, and the most fun. The longest lasting memories of my psych period was from that.”
3)Please elaborate on if you agree or disagree with Freud’s theories, why or why not. Do you think they can be proven again.
KC: Well, as someone who had a difficult relationship with his mom, I can say that I paid close attention to his Oedipal theories, and while the sexual tension that he thinks is everywhere isn’t always present in THAT kind of relationship, I can say that yeah, some of his points were valid, but then it was stressed to me in college and elsewhere that Freud himself wasn’t always meant to be taken literally. That’s why there’s so much discrediting of him today. I don’t know how much of it still hangs. But this is true: it’s all about the mom. I agree. Word for word, no. But your relationship with your mom has more potential to damage. And its regardless of sex, although they find that moms screw up their sons more than their daughters, and dads screw up their daughters more than their sons, HAHAHAHA. Where his theories are difficult, again, is what’s normal. Is it normal to live with your mom til you’re 35. He had definite timelines, ages where you should do this or that. Now, ordinary, no. You want to talk about loving your mom, well, I think it’s among that’s the most complex relationships, sure. Erotic, well, God, I man you want to stop a conversation go right up to someone and ask how often they think about their mom in a sexual way! No, I don’t believe that to be universal at all. If you wanna talk normalcy, there’s nothing really wrong with living with your mom til your 35, but he doesn’t allow that kind of flexibility. The other guys who came after him were, well, they were hella open-minded by comparison. Jung was that way. Adler too.
4)Can you (laughs) tell me your thoughts toward studying Freud in depth, if you did in depth.
KC: Okay the thing about that is, sometime in the 1970’s, people began sort of dissing him right and left. Attaching everything to sex and all that. So when I got to college it was kind of at the end of that kind of thinking. He wasn’t the father of modern psychology anymore… maybe the stepfather HAHAHAHA. But my professors were starting to look at his theories and felt that maybe he had good stuff, but that the sexuality ruined him, or at least ruined him for modern audiences. I believe that the sexual emphasis became kind of disproved in the 70’s and early 80’s. I remember my professor saying one time, “we’re in an age where one has sex with everything that moves, so how can we know what is right and wrong or normal and abnormal.” And then also homosexuality kind of came out too. “Came out” HAHHAHA. Anyway, Freud would cite these case studies of how the reason Mr. Smith acted this way was that he was secretly having fantasies about his priest. And now… well, hell it seems like everyone has fantasies, including the priests HAHAHAHA.. but yeah. It was more Jung then, I mean he was seen as the successor, but the theorist that I related to the most, and the one that I sort of clung to then and now was Gestalt.
Okay here it is in a nutshell. In Freud, everything means something but only because it represents something. And it’s pretty iron clad. Red means this, and birds mean that. In Gestalt he took Freud’s theories and kind of opened them up. And then existentialism too kinda made it seem like who are we to have absolutes. I kind of think modern psychology is more influenced by Jean Paul Sarte and guys like that than Freud.
5)So let’s talk about his partner Jung. Did you study and or research him at all. (sighs) If not, why not.
Well, poor Jung… when they threw out Freud… and by the way, he’s back in style, I have a friend who teaches at Stanford and she says there’s books and classes on him once again… but at the time, no, and since Freud was being de-emphasized when I was in college, Jung was kind of… well, tainted. We didn’t deal with him much at all.
6)Have you ever considered being seen by a psychoanalyst? (Giggles) Why or why not?
KC: Jeez, probing kinda deep aren’t we? HAHAHAHAHA Well no, I never did it nor did I consider it… now, what I’ll say is that I was in counseling for ten years. Didn’t do a bit of good, I’m still a mess huh? HAHAHAHAHAHA Anyway I learned a great deal about myself and my counselor because one of the best buds I’ve ever had. He became a high school principal in the district. Psychiatry or analysis you know is often when there’s some real trouble, something that won’t fly. And you know what? It’s more expensive! People don’t talk about it but there’s a major difference between a counselor and a shrink, and that’s that the counselor can’t prescribe drugs and they charge more!
Plus a shrink couldn’t do a damn thing for me. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, Too late!
7)What are you feelings toward psychoanalysis, positive, negative, or neutral.
KC: Oh, positive, all the way. And its vital, and we need to not be afraid of it. Conservative people are scared spit-less but who cares. In class I did some experiments and, well, I learned more about myself and the world around me, or like, how I, you know, how I perceive it.. Changed my perspective.
8)What makes you a qualified person to answer my questions?
KC. K. I was a psychology major at the University of California Berkeley, and while I did leave the major, the kind of questions you’re asking, well, most psych people can answer them. So there. HAHAHAHAHAH
9)I did some reading on his Eros Theory and his Thanatos theory. Do you agree with his ideas?
KC: Eh. Again you’re dealing with absolutes. In Eros, you’re dealing with absolutes, that we all have the desire to construct and be creative. I can buy that to a degree but again are you talking every single human being? But I’d go with that. Less for Thanatos, which is, well, the theory is that they war against each other, Eros and Thanatos. That I don’t believe at all. Eros, when you kinda look at it coldly, isn’t really that revolutionary a thought. It’s actually kind of Judeo-Christian an idea. Being from that tradition it makes sense to me, but I think it goes beyond psychology.
10)I also did reading on his narcissism, Oedipal complexes as well. How do you feel about them, or your opinions on them.
KC I think I kinda answered the Oedipal idea… and his theory on narcissism… that is something that, no, I don’t buy. Again with Freud there’s an awful lot that seems cause and effect, no questions asked. Maybe it was the cocaine that influenced him HAHAHAHAHA but while I think we’re always dealing with our moms, it’s not that cut and dry. Now you know a lot of people think Freud wrote his On Narcissism to kind of go up against Jung, you know he takes Freud’s theorys and de-sexes them. That’s probably another research paper on your part huh? HAHAHAHAHAHAH/
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