Counter-investment
by Concepts and definitions of psychoanalysis science.
Economic process postulated by Freud in support of numerous defensive activities of the ego. Psychically investment consists, ego, new thoughts (representations or systems of presentations)
new attitudes (lies, excuses, denial of feelings, idealizations, performances etc..) likely to create obstacles for the return of the repressed has access to consciousness and the unconscious tendencies and desires that are feared by the ego in relation to their values (ego ideal).
The notion of counter-investment is mainly invoked by Freud in the context of his economic theory of repression. Representations to repress, to the extent they are invested by the drive constantly and incessantly tend to erupt into consciousness, can only be maintained in the unconscious is also a force
constant is exerted in the opposite direction. In general, repression assumes therefore two economic processes which can not be separated:
a) withdrawal of the quantum of repressed affect the preconscious system, previously linked to the given representation unpleasant, providing a new energy to the ego.
b) counter-energy investment into the unconscious, making use of the energy that the preceding operation has made available to the ego, producing or preventing the return of the repressed. It should be noted that the counter-investment has, as a result, the ability to maintain a repressed representation in the system where you are. It is therefore an investment element of the system preconscious-conscious that prevents the appearance in its place, the representation repressed. On the other hand, what is psychically invested by the counter-ego can be both
a new way of thinking (reenactment), as well as learning from a bad situation, or a new behavior, or a new character trait so., with the goal of producing counter-investment repression or prevent the return. To this extent, the notion of counter-investment expresses the economic aspect of the dynamic notion of ego defense. The indestructibility of unconscious desire is opposed to the relative stiffness of the defensive structures of the ego, which requires a permanent expenditure of energy to be invested to counter the unconscious, preventing their return.
Examples: lying to idealize something, running away from reality, to deny their feelings, act, intellectualize, explaining what they did and should have done so.
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