Psychoanalysis for Normal People , livre ebook

Read Books Ltd. - Geraldine Coster

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

69 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

“Psychoanalysis for Normal People” is a vintage book on personal psychology and psychoanalysis by Geraldine Coster. Within it, Coster explains the basic principles of psychoanalysis and offers the reader simple instructions on how psychology and psychoanalysis can help in their day-to-day life, from the little things to the seemingly big and insurmountable. This fantastic volume will appeal to those with an interest in self improvement and psychology, and it is is not to be missed by collectors of vintage literature of this ilk. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this classic volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition for the enjoyment of readers now and for years to come.

Sujets

Santé et bien-être

Confiance en soi et estime de soi

Bien-être émotionnel

Brain Training

Cognitive psychology

Informations

Publié par	Read Books Ltd.
Date de parution	26 avril 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781473382459
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

PSYCHO- ANALYSIS
FOR NORMAL PEOPLE
BY
GERALDINE COSTER
B.L ITT . O XON . PRINCIPAL OF WYCHWOOD SCHOOL OXFORD
PREFACE
T HIS little book on a big subject was begun at the suggestion of the matron of a public hospital, who deplored the lack of a manual of practical psychology on modern lines entertaining enough and brief enough for nurses to read in their rare moments of leisure. It is also in some degree the outcome of the remark of a well-known examiner in psychology, to the effect that the papers of candidates for the teaching profession seldom show any realization of the practical bearing of psychology on the work of educating and training children.
This is not surprising when one considers the small amount of attention paid in available text-books on psychology to the practical everyday bearings of the subject; and yet, unless the practical link is made, the time devoted by teachers to the study of the subject is more or less wasted.
An attempt has been made in the following pages to supply the need for a practical treatment, and to set forth in the simplest possible way the main principles of psycho-therapy in its application not to the insane or abnormal, but to the ordinary people whom we meet every day, both children and adults.
A word of explanation is perhaps needed as to the use of the term psycho-analysis in a book which makes no pretence of following exclusively the Freudian School. The psychological expert to-day has admitted the claim of the followers of Freud to the exclusive use of this term, and in a technical treatise it would be an inexcusable error to use it in the wider sense. But to the general public the aspect of psychology here dealt with is still known as psycho-analysis , and it seems better in a popular hand-book to employ, at least on the title-page, the popular phraseology. In the body of the book an effort has been made to explain the more correct usage.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
M Y grateful acknowledgements are due to Dr. Thomas Saxty Good, O.B.E., M.A. Oxon., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., Medical Superintendent of Littlemore Mental Hospital, near Oxford, Hon. Physician in charge of Nervous Disorders Clinic, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, to whose patient and generous teaching I owe such understanding as I possess of the theory and practice of psychotherapy; to Michael and Joan Good, on whose advice I have substituted a simple for a polysyllabic title; and to my friend Margaret Lee, without whose encouragement and valuable contributions this book would probably never have been begun, and failing whose help it would certainly never have attained completion.
G. C.
CONTENTS
I.
INTRODUCTION
II.
TERMINOLOGY
III.
INSTINCTIVE ENERGY
IV.
FEAR IN CHILDHOOD
V.
ADULT FEARS
VI.
THE SENSE OF POWER IN CHILDHOOD
VII.
THE SENSE OF POWER IN ADULT LIFE
VIII.
THE SEX INSTINCT
IX.
DREAMS
X.
SUBLIMATION AND RELIGION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
P ERHAPS the greatest difference between present-day psychology and the psychology of twenty years ago is that in its old form the subject was purely academic and theoretical, while to-day it is nothing if not practical and experimental.
I can remember learning, though with infinite difficulty, that older form of psychology which was considered suitable as a preparation for the career I was about to enter. Nevertheless, I can truly say that from that day to this I have never made the slightest use of all those wearisome abstractions about Volition, Cognition, and Emotion. They seem to be entirely unrelated to the business of daily life, and to afford little clue to one s own inner problems or to the motives and acts of other people with whom one is called upon to live in amity and tolerant understanding.
Until a few years ago the general public took as little interest in psychology as in bacteriology. As early as 1899 Dr. Sigmund Freud of Vienna had propounded and published his theories and his practical experiments in psycho-analysis, but his name was almost unknown outside the medical profession. 1 Then came the Great War, filling the hospitals of Europe with shattered minds as well as shattered bodies, and in a few months psycho-therapy, the healing of the diseased mind, became the topic of the hour. The names of Freud, Jung, and Adler sprang into fame, and psycho-analysis, already the valued instrument of the psychiatrist, became the rather dangerous plaything of society. From that time onward the subject of psychology ceased to be an academic one, and became of interest to a vast number of ordinary people with no pretensions to learning. It was found to be as practically useful as a telephone or a motor in conducting the affairs of life.
Every one whose daily work brings him into contact with human beings is confronted with psychological problems with which he must endeavour to deal. Why is it that A , who is in some respects a most valued assistant, lives under a perpetual cloud of imaginary slights and grievances, and so fails to get on with his colleagues? What is the reason that B , who is socially a pleasant and amiable person, metes out a species of petty cruelty to his subordinates? Why do I always irritate C , and bring out his worst side? Why does this child who is in my care suffer from alternate fits of sulkiness and excited showing off , with no apparent cause? Why does that woman, who ought to be perfectly strong and well, live the life of a nervous invalid, always tired, always with a headache, cold, or indigestion-fussy, anxious, undecided, and full of self-pity?
These are the questions that daily life brings forward, sometimes about oneself, sometimes about one s associates or fellow workers; and the happiness of a family or of a whole community may depend on whether one has the tact, skill, and knowledge to enable one to deal with them wisely. The reason why it is worth while to know something about modern psychology is that it gives at least a clue to the best way of coping with the everyday problems of clashing personalities.
Moreover, we are living at a time when the civilized world, as full as ever it was of disease and neurosis, is losing faith in bottles of medicine. The layman is beginning to realize what many a physician has long known, viz. that drugs are frequently but a means of tinkering with symptoms whose real cause is beyond his reach, and often beyond his power to diagnose. But if we have nothing to substitute for the discredited bottle of medicine, are we not worse off than when simple faith in drugs worked healing?
There are, however, several substitutes gradually making themselves known and felt. The scientific study of food values and of diet in general, and experimental work in the curative power of relaxation, are beginning to have a marked effect in modifying physical therapy. The remarkable work of Monsieur Cou at Nancy has led to a world-wide interest in self-healing by various methods of auto-suggestion; and similarly the healing power which lies in self-knowledge and self-understanding has been proved beyond dispute by the various schools of psycho-therapy.
The idea of the supreme value of self-knowledge is as old as humanity, and is one of the basic ideas in all the great religions. The extreme difficulty of reaching any useful understanding of the inner workings of one s own mind has always been recognized, and many methods of attaining it have been taught in days of old as well as in modern times. The difficulty consists very largely in the rather surprising fact that introspection as ordinarily practised does not lead to self-understanding. On the contrary, introspective people are as a rule more entirely without that capacity than their lighter-hearted brethren, for their aimless brooding upon self is so strongly tinged with emotion that it does not amount to consecutive thought. What the new school of psychotherapy has discovered is a theory and a practical technique which leads directly to real self-knowledge, and through it to self-healing. Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
It is obviously outside the scope of a small book to discuss the relative merits of various schools of analytical psychology, or to go deeply into their origins and technicaliti s. The question that concerns us is the one so often asked by people who have seen analysis used successfully for healing purposes, but who know little of its principles, viz. How can a search into the motives, thoughts, impulses, and emotions of a patient cure him of everyday physical symptoms and obscure mental disabilities?
Every human being is familiar with the fact that there is nothing more exhausting than mental or emotional conflict, the feeling of being pulled in two directions at once ; and similarly every one recognizes the feeling of relief and relaxation that comes when such conflict is resolved and ceases. We say longingly, I don t mind which I do, so long as I can definitely act in one way or the other. When such conflict is conscious, we generally do arrive at some kind of final decision, which brings it to an end. But psychologists have discovered that the vast majority of us are constantly being pulled in two directions without being aware of the fact.
Human consciousness is a complicated thing. It has been compared to a vast sea in which the glittering surface represents what we commonly call the conscious mind, while the unseen and much larger body of water beneath represents the unconscious. As the under layers of water are constantly mingling with the surface water and changing its content and temperature, so the under layers of unconsciousness are for ever altering and modifying our conscious thoughts and actions.
The things that we do consciously are the outcome of a mass of impulses rising from the unconscious. We consciously wash ourselves, and eat, and prepare ourselves for sleep, often when we would much rather not be bothered to perform these actions. W