unconscious desires
Buried mental urges
Unconscious desires are wants, urges, or motivations that exist outside a person's awareness.
The concept comes from psychoanalytic theory, which holds that the mind conceals certain wishes—often sexual or aggressive—because acknowledging them would cause anxiety or conflict with social norms.
These hidden desires supposedly influence behavior, dreams, and slips of the tongue without the person understanding why.
The therapist suggested his fear of commitment stemmed from unconscious desires rooted in childhood.
The idea remains influential in psychology and popular culture, though its scientific status is debated.
- compulsionsUncontrollable urges to act
- Freudian slipUnconsciously revealing misstatement
- idUnconscious instinctual drives
- egoOne's self-image
- libidoInnate erotic drive
pleasure principle · habits · slips of the tongue · superego · hidden motives · sublimation · dream analysis · projection · archetypes · repression · inner demons · Oedipus complex · attachment styles · free association · impulsivity · family dynamics · defense mechanisms · countertransference
unconscious, unconsciously, unconsciousness, conscious, consciously, consciousness, subconscious, conscience, desire