Quotes From Freud




Return to CategoriesHere is a collection of quotes from the Father of Psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. As you can see, he had a lot to say about a lot of topics!

“We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love.” Sigmund Freud Click To Tweet

“Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” Sigmund Freud

“Whoever loves becomes humble. Those who love have , so to speak , pawned a part of their narcissism.” Sigmund Freud

“Human beings are funny. They long to be with the person they love but refuse to admit openly. Some are afraid to show even the slightest sign of affection because of fear. Fear that their feelings may not be recognized, or even worst, returned. But one thing about human beings puzzles me the most is their conscious effort to be connected with the object of their affection even if it kills them slowly within.” Sigmund Freud

“Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.” Sigmund Freud Click To Tweet

“Instinct of love toward an object demands a mastery to obtain it, and if a person feels they can’t control the object or feel threatened by it, they act negatively toward it.” Sigmund Freud

“When a love-relationship is at its height there is no room left for any interest in the environment; a pair of lovers are sufficient to themselves” Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents

“How bold one gets when one is sure of being loved” Sigmund Freud Click To Tweet

“Religion is an attempt to get control over the sensory world, in which we are placed, by means of the wish-world, which we have developed inside us as a result of biological and psychological necessities. But it cannot achieve its end. Its doctrines carry with them the stamp of the times in which they originated, the ignorant childhood days of the human race. Its consolations deserve no trust. Experience teaches us that the world is not a nursery. The ethical commands, to which religion seeks to lend its weight, require some other foundations instead, for human society cannot do without them, and it is dangerous to link up obedience to them with religious belief. If one attempts to assign to religion its place in man’s evolution, it seems not so much to be a lasting acquisition, as a parallel to the neurosis which the civilized individual must pass through on his way from childhood to maturity.” Sigmund Freud, Moses and Monotheism

“Religion is a system of wishful illusions together with a disavowal of reality, such as we find nowhere else but in a state of blissful hallucinatory confusion. Religion’s eleventh commandment is “Thou shalt not question.” Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion

“A religion, even if it calls itself a religion of love, must be hard and unloving to those who do not belong to it.” Sigmund Freud, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego

“In the depths of my heart I can’t help being convinced that my dear fellow-men, with a few exceptions, are worthless.” Sigmund Freud, Letters of Sigmund Freud, 1873-1939

“Words have a magical power. They can bring either the greatest happiness or deepest despair; they can transfer knowledge from teacher to student; words enable the orator to sway his audience and dictate its decisions. Words are capable of arousing the strongest emotions and prompting all men’s actions.” Sigmund Freud

“When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, such as the choice of a mate or a profession, the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves. In the important decisions of personal life, we should be governed, I think, by the deep inner needs of our nature.” Sigmund Freud





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About Daniel Edward 65 Articles
Daniel set up Psychology Unlocked in 2016 to support Psychology students in higher and further education. Daniel has a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Psychology, Politics and Sociology from the University of Cambridge.