FREUD, AT FIRST, THOUGHTthat sexuality was the only human instinct.
World War I convinced him of an instinct for aggression as well, but, being
a lover and not a fighter, he was never quite sure what to do with it. Freud’s
ideas about the nature of aggression are still creating confusion among ther-
apists in how to treat anger.
Freud conceived of instinctive urges as elements in a hydraulic system.
Sexual and aggressive impulses accumulate in the Id, much like digestive
gas in the intestines. Health at both ends requires ventilation. Freud reasoned
that people could keep themselves from acting on indecorous impulses by,
well, letting them rip in their therapist’s office. Catharsis is an important
component of psychoanalytic treatment, but as we have seen, cathartic vent-
ing of emotion is addictive. The more you vent your emotions, the more
emotions you have to vent. This is probably why psychoanalysis takes so long.
To be fair, analysts do have a plan. They help their patients recognize
that their angry feelings are based on irrational perceptions laid down in
childhood. Over time, through many catharses, more adult perceptions
dilute and finally dissipate the anger. With angry people, real psychoanalysts
Chapter 12
The Psychology of Anger
239
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