Sigmund Freud Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sigmund Freud Biography - Essay Example He was born in Freiberg, Moravia the present Czech Republic to Jewish parents, Jacob and Amaria Nathanson Freud. His mother was the third wife to Jacob, after being windowed twice in the previous two marriages. He was the first-born son to Amaria and later, her mother gave birth to other seven children. By virtue of being her mother’s first child, he was her favorite son and her influence to Sigmund played a significant role in his early childhood. While only three years old, the family relocated to Vienna in a Jew neighborhood following a financial crisis that ruined his father’s thriving business. Their new location remained Freud’s home until a year before his death in 1939 (Ernest, 1957). The earliest influence on Freud’s illustrious academic career was Ludwig Borne, an outstanding journalist and satirist of the 19th century. Freud performed well in his secondary schooling and his ability to master several languages was exemplary. He opted to study med icine instead of law at Vienna University. While studying at the university, he experienced racial prejudice and discrimination because of his Jewish heritage. It was in the university that Freud immersed himself in the study of neurology reaserch believing that the field would give him better financial returns than other medical specialties. However, it was not until 1885 when he met Martin Charcot, a prominent neurologist in Paris that Freud took a detour from neurological research to medical psychopathology. Through close association with him, Freud learned about hypnosis, method that Charcot used to treat patients with mental disorders. A year later, in 1886 Freud opened a private clinic and married Martha Bernays (Ernest, 1957). In 1884, Freud discovered that cocaine had analgesic properties (Gay, 1988). A self-confessed cocaine user, Freud argued that the drug had curative properties for variety of mental and physical illnesses. The following three years, he published three pa pers advocating the use of cocaine as an effective antidepressant and for treating patients addicted to morphine. However, following a reported widespread addiction to the drug from the public and his patients, using cocaine for medical purposes came under heavy criticism. Freud continued using it to alleviate his depression, but the resulting backlash from the medical fraternity prevented him from using the drug for treating the aforementioned maladies. However, cocaine remained part of his drug use in addition to heavy cigar smoking (Gay, 1988). In his private practice, Freud tried hypnosis in treatment of mental patients, but he eventually dropped from using it because it failed in most cases. During this time, he had interacted with Josef Breuer, a psychologist who treated neurotic patients with a method that entailed speaking what was disturbing them. This method particularly worked well on a patient named Anna and it came to be referred as the ‘talking cure’ (Gay, 1988). Sigmund Freud modified Josef Breuer’s technique in 1890’s and it later developed into psychoanalysis. According to Freud, a patient who talked out his or her problems healed because by speaking out, the strong emotions that caused mental problem were released from the unconscious mind (Jacobs, 2003). In this regard, Freud argued tha

Fashion changes in the American popular culture of the 1960s Research Paper

Fashion changes in the American popular culture of the 1960s - Research Paper Example The essay "Fashion changes in the American popular culture of the 1960s" discusses what changes happened in fashion in the America of 60th. The 1960s decade dawned the smiley face that appeared on almost everything including T-shirts. Characteristically, the smiley face gained more fame in the latter 1960s. The T-shirts and other items also had paintings of phrases of iconic events that epitomized the decade. The phrases included, â€Å"Martin Luther King†, â€Å"Civil Rights and Riots†, â€Å"The Space Race†, â€Å"Cuban Missile and Crisis†, â€Å"The Space Race† and â€Å"Vietnam. The term â€Å"hippie† derived from the word hipster. The hippies mainly represented an outgrowth from the Beat movement of the 1950s. The hippies often claimed to be aiming at freedom and re-embracing nature. They, therefore, represented an alternative interest in lifestyle as well being rebellious of the society that appeared to be repressive and conformist. Th e hippies made their clothing from natural fibers such as cotton and hemp. They also liked their clothing to be loose. Both men and women kept long hair with fussy styling, and they avoided hair products. They black trousers and turtlenecks worn by the female and male Beatniks metamorphosed into jeans and peasant blouses. Any hand-woven, hand sewn or hand knit macramà © soared in its prices. Gradually, the hippie fashion culture evolved into individuals dyeing their clothing. This colorful tie and dye fashion gain popularity almost immediately. In the fashion of the 60’s dressing appearance revolved.