PSYCHOLOGICAL REPRESSION Meaning and
Definition
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Psychological repression refers to a defense mechanism used by the mind to protect itself from anxiety-inducing or disturbing thoughts, feelings, memories, or impulses. It involves the unconscious process of restricting or blocking the conscious awareness of these unwanted mental contents. By repressing them, the individual avoids having to directly confront unpleasant or threatening experiences, thereby minimizing their potential psychological distress.
This mechanism operates on the premise that burying distressing thoughts or emotions in the unconscious mind prevents them from surfacing into consciousness. It acts as a protective barrier to shield the individual from the potentially overwhelming effects of these repressed contents. Freudian psychoanalytic theory suggests that repression frequently occurs during childhood when traumatic or socially unacceptable experiences arise.
Psychological repression often leads to a lack of conscious awareness or memory of the repressed material. However, despite being pushed into the unconscious, the repressed thoughts or emotions may continue to influence an individual's thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and relationships, albeit in an indirect or unconscious manner. These buried contents may resurface in symptoms such as anxiety, depression, phobias, or irrational thoughts.
It is essential to note that psychological repression is a controversial concept, as empirical evidence for the mechanism is difficult to obtain. Additionally, modern psychodynamic theories suggest that repression may be better understood as a form of motivated forgetting rather than a purely unconscious process.
Etymology of PSYCHOLOGICAL REPRESSION
The term "psychological repression" is derived from two main sources:
1. "Psychological": This word originates from the Greek word "psukhē" meaning "breath", "spirit", or "soul", and the word "logos" meaning "study" or "knowledge". In combination, "psukhēlogia" refers to the study or knowledge of the soul. Over time, this term evolved to "psyche" in Latin and eventually "psychology" in English, which refers to the scientific study of the mind, behavior, and mental processes.
2. "Repression": This word comes from the Latin word "reprimere", a combination of "re-" meaning "back" or "again", and "primere" meaning "press" or "suppress". Thus, "reprimere" means to press or suppress back.
