Literary notes about Traumatic (AI summary)
In Freud's "A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis," the term "traumatic" is employed to capture the deep, often pathological impact of overwhelming emotional experiences on the psyche. It is used to describe an enduring fixation on a catastrophic moment, as seen in the discussion of neuroses anchored to a specific disaster ([1], [2]). Freud further conceptualizes "traumatic" in economic terms, suggesting that such disturbances disrupt the management of the individual's available energy ([3]). The term also extends to developmental disruptions—whether through incomplete explanations received before puberty that yield lasting negative repercussions ([4]), or through foundational experiences like the process of weaning ([5]). Moreover, some passages draw a parallel between traumatic experiences and diseases, arguing that they arise from an inability to cope with overpowering emotional strains ([6]), while also noting that a "traumatic fixation" itself functions as a key unconscious phenomenon ([7]).
- The traumatic neuroses show clear indications that they are grounded in a fixation upon the moment of the traumatic disaster.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - This analogy tempts us to classify as traumatic those experiences as well upon which our neurotics appear to be fixated.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - For the expression "traumatic" has no other than an economic meaning, and the disturbance permanently attacks the management of available energy.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - In the years prior to puberty he generally receives an incomplete, disparaging explanation which often causes traumatic consequences.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - In the meantime, to be sure, the traumatic experience of weaning has intervened.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - It would then be comparable to a traumatic disease, and would arise from the inability to meet an overpowering emotional experience.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - Traumatic Fixation—the Unconscious 236 XIX.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
