Sigmund Freud: libido is more than just sex

 

Sigmund Freud: libido is more than just sex

Many of us have very reductionist ideas about our libido: ideas that are limited to its sexual interpretation. But Sigmund Freud - the father of psychoanalysis - saw the term very differently. He spoke of libido in much broader terms.

Freud defined libido as energy that comes from drives or instincts that direct our behavior. With that said, he distinguished between two groups of drives: the drive of life and the drive of death.

The drive for life refers to impulses that have to do with affections or emotions. Those who invite us to fall in love, reproduce and connect with other people. Freud said that this can be associated with what he defined as "id" or "ego" - two terms we will explain later.

On the other hand, we have the death drive. It opposes life and includes wear and tear. Here we find repetitions that invite us to stumble across the same rock. For example, when we fall in love with the same type of person who has always hurt us.

The two types of drives that Freud established are known as the "drive of life", or "eros", and the "drive of death", or "thanatos".

Libido and pleasure

Even if we immediately relate libido and sexual pleasure, the pleasure goes further than that for Freud. For example, do we not feel pleasure when we drink water when we are thirsty? Do we not feel pleasure when we taste a delicious dessert? Or when we warm ourselves by a fire in the winter?

For Freud, this confirmed his idea that libido is present in what he defines as id, ego and superego. Id is where the principle of pleasure is found, what we see as immediate pleasure. It is the part of our psychology that subconsciously guides us towards joy. For example: I'm thirsty, I'm looking for a cold beer.

People on watch

The ego, in turn, limits the energy of libido. It is responsible for getting pleasure while taking reality into account. At this point, the environment as well as the rules of society begin to play a role. If we continue with the example above, I may want a beer, but choose a drink without alcohol because I have to drive.

In conclusion, the superego is similar to the ordinary ego, but attaches greater importance to morality. It has internalized the norms and values ​​of society. The rules we learn through contact and interaction with others.

If we go back to the example, we may feel guilty about drinking a beer because the consumption of alcohol outside the social context is looked down upon by society. I feel guilty because of the internalized approach.

Sigmund Freud established a specific structure of the mind to explain basic human function. This structure consists of three elements: id, ego and superego.

Stages of psychosexual development

For Freud, libido is also present at various stages of human development. However, it differs in different stages. In other words, libido can be expressed in different ways depending on where a person is in their development.

The oral phase: pleasure is obtained through the mouth.

The anal phase: sphincters and defecation, activity linked to pleasure and sexuality.

The phallic phase: pleasure is obtained when urinating thanks to the pleasant feeling it produces.

The latency phase: adornment and shame appear in connection with sexuality.

The genital phase: puberty and sexual maturity arrive.

But according to Freud, sometimes even libido stagnates. It thus does not follow the natural flow. This happens when there is some kind of fixation that prevents it from moving forward.

For example, if we cling to the pleasure we get during the oral phase, it can be difficult to leave it behind and fully live into the next phase.

"The transformation of object libido into narcissistic libido, which thus takes place, clearly indicates an abandonment of sexual goals, a desexualization - a kind of sublimation."

sex

-Sigmund Freud-

Kissing couple

As we have seen, the father of psychoanalysis did not think about libido as we do today. For him, it was not just a desire for sexual pleasure, but that pleasure was implicit in other parts of our lives and progressed as we went through the stages of our psychosexual development.