Sublime

No person is free who is tied to a defensive position. This is true of the neurotic character who erects psychological walls and armors himself muscularly as a protection against possible hurt, only to find that the hurt he feared is locked into his being by this very process.

the “death instinct,” which he saw as a “compulsion inherent in organic life to restore an earlier state of things.”

When one stops struggling against fate, one loses his neurosis (internal conflict) and gains peace of mind.

When guilt or shame are attached to feelings, the conflict is internalized and creates a neurotic character.

Emotional pain stems from the body’s contraction in response to the loss or disruption of a loving connection.

Therapy builds on the idea of a return to live feelings. It’s only when we’re properly in touch with our feelings that we can correct them with the help of our more mature faculties – and thereby address the real troubles of our adult lives.