What is the difference between suppress and repress

One of the defining qualities of suppression is that is suggests an active curtailment or fight against an opposing force more on this below.

Suppression is a useful noun in many contexts, including politics, psychology, and military tactics. The word itself has been in use in English since the 15th century.

Suppression and repression have similar meanings, and they overlap in certain circumstances. That said, there are some differences worth paying attention to. Both refer, generally, to the act of holding something back or subduing something , although there are nuances to their meanings. Repress suggests keeping something under control to maintain or regulate order, while suppress suggests a more active curtailment, an active fight against an opposing force.

Thus, The government repressed the rebellion implies that the government always maintained control and that the rebellious forces never posed a serious threat to governmental power before being put down, while The government suppressed the rebellion suggests that a significant rebellion was under way and that the government had to react strongly to put an end to it.

Similarly, one might repress rather than suppress a smirk in order to maintain a serious appearance, and one would take a medicine that suppresses rather than represses a cough in order to reduce its severity. As you can see, there are slight differences between the two words, especially when applied to the individual.

You repress a smile, but your medicine suppresses your cold. Suppression vs. Repression Check: Since suppress and stop both start with an S , so remembering the meaning of suppression should be easy. Therefore, repression happens unconsciously or without any force like suppression. In other words, it is our subconscious mind which avoids or suppresses these negative or unpleasant impulses from coming to the surface; as a result, we are not even aware of the existence of such impulses within ourselves.

Sigmund Feud, who is considered the father of Psychology, first discovered this. Therefore, it is these traumatic memories that our subconscious pushes away so that we do not feel that agony and pain associated with it. Therefore, without having proper control over this phenomenon, the person will eventually become a victim of some mental problem without his awareness.

As a result, the belief is that the repression plays a role in the psyche of the average person and can lead to mental illnesses. For example, in relation to the above example, this victim will eventually find it hard to trust people and even start a relationship with another. He or she may not find the reason why it is difficult for it. Accordingly, as Freud defines, abnormal repression or neurotic behaviour occurs when repression develops under the influence of the superego and the internalised feelings of anxiety , in ways leading to behavior that is illogical, self-destructive, or anti-social.

In other words, repression becomes a trigger for the rise of anxiety and therefore, to neurotic symptoms, which happens when a forbidden drive or impulse threatens to enter the conscious mind, and the subconscious mind is consistently driving it away, resulting in other behavioral side-effects. Suppression is a useful psychological defense mechanism; here we force the negative impulses out of our awareness by controlling them and eventually not allowing them to have any effect on us.

Counting to ten when angry before taking action is a good example of suppression, this technique is also very useful in everyday life. On the other hand, suppressed material can often be recalled, since the act of suppression is more the result of conscious intention. Now that we understand repression and suppression both, it is quite clear that both serve a purpose in the short run but may lead to complications in the long run.

I am designing specialized modules for actors, relationship management, organisational skills and adolescents. What is suppression? What is repression? Some examples of repression include: A person having no recollection of the abuse suffered during childhood A man having no recollection of an accident he had met with A woman having no recollection of intense pain she had gone through during childbirth This is helpful in the short run because it is saving the person from the intense negative emotions associated with these memories.

So, how is it different from forgetting? Suppression vs Repression Freud mentioned; suppression is generally considered to have more positive results than repression. February 13,