In all these situations of conflict the ego is seeking to repudiate a part of its own id. Thus the institution which sets up the defence and the inva… - Tom Butler-Bowdon

The ego develops a defense in order to protect itself against being overcome by unconscious demands such as sex and aggression. The work of the psychoanalyst is to get the person to become conscious of their instinctual urges, which may involve isolating the pain experienced when they were originally confronted by an unsatisfied impulse.

But first we have to accept the idea that thinking long and hard about something does not always deliver us better results, and that the brain actually evolved to make us think on our feet.

What psychology failed to appreciate, Frankl believed, is the multidimensional nature of human beings. He did not deny that biology or conditioning shapes us, but he also insisted that there is room for free will — to choose to develop certain values or a particular course in life, or to retain our dignity in difficult situations.