The Return Of The Repressed

Sigmund Freud was an Austrain neurologist who founded the psychoanalytic (a body of ideas that Freud developed and continued to be used by others) school of psychiatry. Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of repression. From this Freud hoped that his research would help bring repressed thoughts and feelings into consciousness in order to free the patient from suffering repetitive distorted emotions. The bringing of the unconscious thoughts and feelings to consciousness is brought about by encouraging patients to talk in free association (the patients are asked to relate whatever comes into their minds during the sessions and not to censor their thoughts) and to talk about dreams, through this process, transference, the patient can discover and resolve repressed conflicts, especially childhood conflicts involving parents.For example in the film Black Christmas, Billie the young boy is abused by his mum, but then later on his feelings on this mater return, which cause Billie to go to the house where he grew up and murder the people in it.

Therefore the return of the repressed is the process where repressed elements are kept in the unconsciousness and tend to reappear through consciousness or in behaviour.