a-general-introduction-to-psychoanalysis-sigmund-freud

e to withstand the hindrances that stand in the way of its exercise.
Remember that if a people in its wandering has left large groups at certain
way-stations, it is natural for those who have gone on to return to these
stations if they are beaten or encounter a mighty foe. The more they have left
on the way, however, the greater is their chance of defeat.
For your comprehension of the neuroses it is necessary to keep in mind this
connection between fixation and regression. This will give you a secure hold
upon the question of the cause of neuroses—of the etiology of neuroses—
which we shall soon consider.
For the present we have still to discuss various aspects of regression. With
the knowledge you have gained concerning the development of the function
of libido, you must expect two kinds of regression: incestuous return to the
first libidinous objects and return of the entire sexual organization to an
earlier stage of development. Both occur in the transference neuroses and
play an important part in its mechanism. Especially is the return to the first
incestuous objects of libido a feature that the neurotic exhibits with positively
tiresome regularity. We could say far more about regression of libido if we
took into consideration another group of neuroses: neurotic narcism. But we
cannot do this now. These conditions give us a clue to other stages of
development of the function of libido, which have not been mentioned
previously, and correspondingly show new kinds of regression. But I think the
most important task before me at this point is to warn you not to confuse
regression and suppression, and aid you to see clearly the connection
between the two processes. Suppression, as you know, is the process by
which an act capable of becoming conscious, in other words, an act that
belongs to the fore-conscious system, is rendered unconscious and
accordingly is thrust back into the unconscious system. Similarly we speak of
suppression when the unconscious psychic act never has been admitted into
the adjoining fore-conscious system but is arrested by the censor at the
threshold. Kindly observe that the conception of suppression has nothing to
do with sexuality. It describes a purely psychological process, which could
better be characterized by terming it localized. By that we mean that it is
concerned with the spatial relationships within the psyche, or if we drop this
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