“Freudian Slips” and How to Avoid Them
Perhaps you’ve heard of a “Freudian slip.” These common verbal mistakes are sometimes benign, like wishfully saying “I’m going to lunch” instead of “I’m going to work.” Or it can be downright embarrassing like using your ex's name to refer to your partner.
On average, people have 1-2 slips of the tongue for every 1000 words - that’s 7 to 22 per day. But Freudian slips may go a bit deeper than a mere typo of the tongue.
The term comes from famous Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, inventor of psychoanalysis who has since been referenced in everything from medical literature to pop culture. In transforming psychiatry from an archaic practice and putting it on a trajectory to what mental health treatment is today, one of his greatest contributions was the idea of the unconscious mind.
So what causes Freudian slips?
Through life we are confronted with various challenges sometimes quite traumatizing or disturbing. Especially in childhood, the mind’s defense mechanism is often to repress the memories and feelings of these events. Where do they go? The unconscious mind, where they imperceptibly influence our current thoughts and actions. One of the ways it does this is through Freudian slips.
A Freudian slip occurs when part of the unconscious slips through the cracks, revealing itself verbally.
There are three types:
Repression: Probably what most people think of when they hear “Freudian Slip,” this is when something triggers a repressed trauma or memory to be verbalized by mistake through using a wrong word or phrase.
Mental Error: This is when distraction or forgetfulness clouds our mind, and we mistakenly say something we didn’t mean to express.
Avoidance: With avoidance, we have a slip of the tongue perhaps saying something we might be trying not to confront. This could be a task, a person, or even a thought itself.
As mentioned before, Freudian slips can be embarrassing or inconvenient. How can we process our speech to avoid these verbal slips?
There are a few ways. For starters, speaking and multitasking do not mix. It’s easy to blurt out the wrong thing and hardly even notice it. Speaking slowly is also helpful - it allows time to “preview” your speech and catch yourself or be careful with word choices.
Mindfulness, or living in the moment, and engaging presently with speech may allow one to be more purposeful when talking.
Other ways to address Freudian slips would be helped with Freud’s own method: psychotherapy. A mental health professional can help people get in touch with their unconscious mind, working through the repressed issues. Once a good mental health base is established, no effort is needed to avoid making these mistakes. And even if one is made it won’t seem like such a big deal.
For a discussion on the subject and a few famous Freudian slips, find our podcast “The Breakdown with Dr. B” on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or your favorite platform.
Bregman Medical Group has decades of experience treating various mental health issues/disorders. We offer online psychiatry and therapy treatment in person or right to your device! Simply schedule at www.bregmanmedicalgroup.com or call 305-740-3340.
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