Repression
Repression is a defense mechanism that pushes painful, unacceptable thoughts and memories into the unconscious. According to Freud, repressed content returns in dreams in symbolic disguises.
Related Terms
Unconscious
The deep layer of the mind beyond conscious awareness, harboring repressed memories, impulses, and desires. According to Freud, dreams are the royal road to the unconscious.
Id (Primal Self)
In Freud's structural model, the most primitive layer of personality. Operating on the pleasure principle, it houses basic drives like hunger, sexuality, and aggression. In dreams, the id's desires manifest symbolically.
Sigmund Freud
Pioneer of modern dream analysis. With 'The Interpretation of Dreams' (1900), he defined dreams as symbolic expressions of unconscious desires. Developed the free association method.
Dream Censor
Freud's concept: a mental mechanism that masks unconscious desires with symbols instead of showing them directly in dreams. Creates the filter between manifest and latent dream content.
Anima and Animus
According to Jung, the feminine archetype within men (Anima) and the masculine archetype within women (Animus). They appear in dreams as mysterious figures of the opposite sex, symbolizing the quest for inner balance.
Projection
Attributing one's own feelings and thoughts to others. In dreams, others being angry at us, loving us, or judging us is often projective content.