Freudian Stories: Sex and Aggression; Eros and Thanatos; Id, Ego, and Superego

While Psychoanalysis has evolved in many directions since being founded by Sigmund Freud, his theories, if understood metaphorically, are capable of shedding light on much human misery and our often failed attempts to find peace and happiness. Freud's thinking moved in several directions at once. First was his clinical theory which concentrated on the individual and the treatment of mental ills and suffering. Second were his speculations on society, human history and social organization.  Freuds ideas contained in the notions of conscious and unconscious processes, conflict, Id, Ego and Superego, Sex and Aggression and his notion of Eros and Thanatos which emerged from his experiences in World War One can all be starting points in figuring where we are and where we are going as individuals and members of society. Finally, his concept of mental health in terms of the balance between work, love and play are well worth understanding.