People are conditioned daily by the society and culture in which we live. We feel that our ideas, tastes, needs are being repressed almost constantly… However, thanks to the knowledge of the rules, we accept that there are a series of actions that must be repressed in one way or another.
For this, escape was defined as what is known as sublimation, a defense mechanism innate to each of us, which allows us to act in accordance with what society imposes on us. From Psychology-Online, we want to explain to you in more detail what is sublimation in psychology with examples.
What does the concept of sublimation mean in psychology?
The sublimation It is considered by psychology as a mature defense mechanism which allows individuals to channel all those drives (stimuli or impulses, normally of sexual or aggressive content) and direct them towards behaviors considered acceptable in our society.
This term was coined by the famous , since a large part of his theories are explained from the sexuality of individuals. According to the author, a person’s sexuality is considered the driving force and fundamental pillar of his activity. Without it we would not be able to develop, communicate or evolve as a culture.
However, in different cultures there are certain sexual behaviors which are not accepted or seen well, so people who want to perform them have to repress those impulses and give them up. This reluctance is what gives people the ability to live and interact in a civilized way.
What is sublimation in psychology
According to the Larousee psychology dictionary, the term sublimation refers to a defense mechanism against the drives of instincts that basically consists of replacing the original purpose pursued by a sexual desire with an associated non-sexual and socially acceptable (and even good) goal. seen), according to the main psychoanalytic doctrines.
As Freud pointed out, some of these sublimation activities are artistic activity and intellectual research. For Freud, sublimation is nothing more than a protective mechanism of the psyche whose main function is relieve tension internal that the individual lives.
Sublimation as a defense mechanism
As we have indicated previously, people have to repress certain behaviors in order to live in a manner consistent with what is imposed by the culture in which they reside. However, while it is true that in some behaviors this repression is acceptable, there are times when the The ties imposed by society can exceed the limits necessary for good development. That is why it is considered that people who are constantly repressed become ill.
To avoid reaching this point, people resort to sublimation as an escape mechanism from this constant bondage of their sexual freedom. This process is considered unconscious, which is carried out spontaneously and without intervention of the will. For its appearance, it is necessary to create favorable conditions where the individual has intellectual and creative options within reach.
Everyday Sublimation Examples
The two most observed forms of sublimation are art and education. Regarding the first of them, Freud recognizes that it is capable of giving individuals the dose of pleasure and enjoyment necessary to repress their drives. However, within this defense mechanism we find a disadvantage, which is that the artistic experience is restricted to a certain group of privileged people, so not everyone can make use of it. However, those who can resort to it, use it as self release methodwhere they express all their most internal and retained desires.
But for those people who cannot make use of this defense mechanism, Freud affirms that education is the most appropriate way to solve all the problems of neuroses caused by repression of drives imposed by society on the individual.
Millot (1990) describes education as that organization that must help the individual to reorganize his drives so that these are not repressed but can be oriented towards socially accepted outlets.
However, on a daily basis we find people who adapt their lives to be able to satisfy the impulses they feel in an appropriate way and that favors their interaction with the rest of society. For example:
- People with a high degree of aggressiveness practice sports as boxing, karate or kick boxingwhere hitting the other person is the main objective.
- Apart from the case previously described for aggressive people, the sport It is a sublimation mechanism widely used by people to release the stress generated by having to repress drives, since it improves our mood.
- People with obsessive-compulsive disorders may find relief and satisfaction working on tasks that require thoroughness and precision.
- A defense resource used very recurrently to satisfy many different drives is technologysince from the different devices we can see those things that would be unacceptable in the real world, such as killing.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Larrouse Dictionary. (2003). Saint Saviour. SPES Editorial SL. Barcelona.
- Millot, Catherine (1990). Freud anti-pedagogue, Paidós, Mexico.
- Palacios, L. (2007). Sublimation, art and education in Freud’s work. Intercontinental Journal of Psychology and Education, 9(2), 13-24.