18. Sigmund Freud’s research is fundamental to modern psychology, but he himself suffered from depression
To understand the impact of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), not just on psychology but modern culture at large, we have only to think of words we use every day: Freudian, penis envy, Oedipus Complex, repression, Id, ego, and super-ego. Freud’s innovation was the creation of psychoanalysis, the study of the unconscious, and even his many modern detractors in the field owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Innovations in the treatment of mental health cannot be restricted for fear of appearing disrespectful to the founder of the very discipline, though modern society as a whole reaps the benefits of Freud’s innovation.
For anyone still seeking some sort of root, external cause for depression, Freud is the example to end all examples of the flaws in such a perspective. For Freud himself, who perhaps understood depression and mental illness better than any man of his time, suffered from poor mental health. As his friend and biographer, Ernest Jones, revealed, ‘for many years he suffered from periodic depression and fatigue or apathy, [and] neurotic symptoms, including anxiety attacks’. Though Freud took cocaine as treatment, claiming it had ‘the most brilliant success’, the drug ultimately failed to provide a permanent solution for his illness.
Read More: Facts from the Captivating Life of Sigmund Freud.
