birth trauma

in psychoanalytic theory, the psychological shock of being born, due to the sudden change from the security of the womb to being bombarded with stimuli from the external world. Sigmund Freud viewed birth as the child’s first anxiety experience and the prototype of separation anxiety. To Austrian psychoanalyst Otto Rank (1884–1939), who first proposed the idea of birth trauma, it was the crucial factor in causing neuroses. The theory was subsequently disproven by infant research. See also primal anxiety; primal trauma.

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Psychology term of the day

November 27th 2024

biological warfare

the use of agents such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins to incapacitate or destroy humans, nonhuman animals, or crops in war.