Why would a young boy develop a devastating fear of horses, or a grown man unconsciously try to choke his wife in his sleep? These perplexing situations may appear unrelated, but Sigmund Freud believed they both reveal the hidden influence of the unconscious mind.
As the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud enlightened
that the human mind operates on three levels: the conscious, the
subconscious, and the unconscious. While the conscious mind deals with
everyday awareness, the subconscious stores memories just below the surface,
and the unconscious conceals suppressed emotions and desires that often shape behaviour
in surprising ways.
To illustrate this, Freud analysed real cases—such as Little
Hans, a child whose phobia uncovered deep family conflicts, and an adult whose
dangerous unconscious behaviour was traced back to hidden desires. Together,
these cases illustrate the profound impact of the unconscious mind and the
therapeutic process, which can bring these buried conflicts into awareness and
help resolve them.
Case Study 1: Little Hans
There was a 5-year-old boy named Hans, who was living in
Vienna with his parents. They noticed that Hans had developed a phobia of
horses. He was terrified that the horse might bite him or fall on the street
and hurt him. After observing repeated episodes of fear, his father consulted
Sigmund Freud, the most famous psychologist and father of the Psychoanalytic
Theory of Personality. His parents met Freud to diagnose and provide successful
treatment.
After analysing his condition, Freud diagnosed the levels of
Hans’s mind as follows:
- Conscious
Mind: The
little child said, “I am terrified of horses,” and he was
completely aware of his fear.
- Subconscious
Mind: When
questioned further, Hans replied that he had once seen a horse fall in the
street. Consequently, he started fearing horses, though this memory was
not always in his conscious awareness.
- Unconscious
Mind: After
several meetings, Freud concluded that Hans’s fear was actually about an
unconscious conflict. According to Freud’s Oedipus complex, Hans
had developed unconscious jealousy toward his father because of his
attachment to his mother. He feared losing his parents’ love and
suppressed these feelings, which unconsciously surfaced symbolically as a
fear of horses (which Freud interpreted as a symbol of his father).
What is the Oedipus Complex?
According to Freud’s Psychosexual Theory of Personality,
the Oedipus complex occurs in the phallic stage of development (ages
3–6). At this stage, a child unconsciously feels sexual desire for the parent
of the opposite sex and rivalry toward the parent of the same sex.
Case Study 2: Unconscious Behaviour in an Adult
In another case, a woman told her son-in-law, “You kill
your wife (my daughter), I will kill my husband (your father-in-law), and then
we will marry.” While the conversation was going on, her daughter (the
son-in-law’s wife) suddenly entered the room, and the discussion was
interrupted. Both became silent and continued with their daily lives.
A few months later, the wife complained to her husband: “If
you want to kill me, then kill me, but why are you pressing my throat at
night?” The husband, unaware of his actions, always replied: “Why would
I do that? I love you more than anyone.”
After repeated complaints, the couple consulted a
psychologist. Following several sessions, the psychologist also spoke with
family members and requested permission to observe the couple directly. During
his observation, he found the wife’s complaint to be true. At night, while
sleeping, the husband unconsciously tried to strangle his wife.
The psychologist suggested that the wife place a dummy in her
place and hide a pistol inside the dummy once the husband was asleep. After a
few hours, the husband woke up, began strangling the dummy, and then fired the
pistol at it. On hearing the gunshot, he regained awareness from his
unconscious state and was shocked, believing he had killed his wife. However,
he was then informed that a dummy had been placed instead of his wife so that
his unconscious desire could be acted out safely and the problem could be
addressed.
Finally, the psychologist explained to the couple the earlier
conversation between the mother-in-law and the son-in-law. He further clarified
that the destructive desire originally belonged to the mother-in-law but had
unknowingly been transferred into the husband’s unconscious mind. When it
surfaced into consciousness, the disturbing episodes occurred. With the
reenactment and realisation, the conflict was resolved, and the psychologist
assured them that they could now live happily together.
✅ Final Thought
Sigmund Freud’s case studies remind us that
human behaviour is not always guided by logic or conscious choice. Hidden
fears, suppressed desires, and unresolved conflicts often shape the way we
think, feel, and act—sometimes in ways we don’t even recognise. By exploring
the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious layers of the mind, psychotherapy enables
these buried forces to emerge, bringing clarity, healing, and freedom from
patterns that would otherwise remain mysterious.
1 Comments