SUBLIMATION
Should an instinct be denied its expression and all ideas connected
with it be repressed into the subconscious, trouble will ensue. The
lower reaches of a river can be emptied by the simple expedient of
placing a dam across its channel, but this does not solve the problem
of the surplus water, which gathers head behind the obstruction till
it bursts its banks and makes a morass of the upper reaches. If it is
necessary to deflect a river from its bed, then an alternative course
must be provided, for the water continues to come down from the hills
and must by some means be disposed of.
It is precisely this engineering problem that the psychotherapist has
to deal with. We know that a large percentage of mental and nervous
disorders are caused by the repression of the sex instinct. This great
instinct, in its mental and physical aspects, is so fundamental and
so powerful that it cannot with safety to the individual be entirely
repressed, nor with safety to society be given free rein, and we are on
the horns of a dilemma, for social laws demand that it shall only be
expressed under very limited conditions--those of legal marriage, and
even then not to an unlimited extent; and nature demands that it shall
be expressed as soon as the physical organs of its manifestation are
sufficiently developed to function.
The average man solves this problem for himself by conniving at the
maintenance of a pariah class of women whose very existence is socially
ignored and is a fertile source of misery, disease, and crime; but for
women, unless they are prepared permanently to join the pariah class,
a social safety valve does not exist, and we find among them a much
higher percentage than among men suffering from those nervous troubles
that are due to a repression of the sex instinct, and this also applies
to men who, whether from idealism or fear of disease, do not avail
themselves of a compromise.
This problem would prove as intractable in the future as it has in
the past were it not that we now know that the law of transmutation
of energy from one form to another is as true for psychology as it is
for physics, and sex force can be utilised for other purposes than
physical reproduction. This process of conversion is technically known
as SUBLIMATION.
This is one of the most important discoveries of modern psychology,
for it provides the solution to grave social problems that menace the
fabric of civilisation.
How, in actual practice, can this result be achieved?
First, by altering our entire attitude toward sex, and realising
that a problem is not solved by ignoring its existence. Secondly, by
taking the sex problem out of the domain of the subconscious into the
conscious mind and frankly facing it, and acquiring dominion over it
by the practice of thought control, transmuting our emotions instead
of repressing them; and thirdly, by providing a channel of creative
interest down which may flow the energies we wish to deflect from their
primitive channel of manifestation.
The key to the whole problem lies in this, the life force flows to
the point of interest. If the interest and attention are centred upon
physical sensation, then the life force will flow, or attempt to
flow, through the channel of the reproductive organs, or if denied
manifestation, will keep up a constant irritation and stimulation; but
if the interest be shifted to an emotional or mental level, then the
life force will find an outlet in creative activity upon these levels
and drain the pressure from the physical.
The mental and physical habits of a lifetime are not easily broken, but
if the thoughts be patiently and persistently kept away from physical
sensation and concentrated upon external interests, the law of mental
and physical habit will come to our aid, and the life force will learn
to flow through its new channel with safety to the individual and
benefit to society.
The process of thought control must not be confused with the
dissociation of ideas. In dissociation we are dishonest with ourselves,
denying that certain qualities exist in our natures; the ideas
connected with them are repressed into our subconsciousness, and it
is the involuntary subconscious censor that holds them down; whereas
in thought control we admit the primitive side of our natures and set
to work to train it, and because we know that dwelling upon mental
pictures of a sexual nature produces a physical reaction, we exclude
these ideas from consciousness; but in this case the repression is not
into the subconscious mind, but into the foreconscious, and it is one
of the voluntary censors that enforces the command and remains under
our control.
The distinction between repression and dissociation must be clearly
borne in mind in all re-educational work. A certain amount of
repression is unavoidable in a social life; for each individual
sacrifices something of his personal desires for the sake of the
benefits of co-operation with his fellows, and the energy thus
sacrificed is turned to social purposes. Dissociation, however, is
always a pathology, and should never be allowed to occur.