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Dreaming for Freud

The internal conflicts

Happiness
How to Find Joy in Your Life

Sheila Kohler on March 27, 2024

A film review: The brilliance of Perfect Days is that it never explains why the hero, HIrayma is cleaning toilets for a living. There is no back story or moment of revelation.

A film review: The brilliance of Perfect Days is that it never explains why the hero, HIrayma is cleaning toilets for a living. There is no back story or moment of revelation.

Empathy
A Sense of Community: How to Feel at Home

Sheila Kohler on September 25, 2023

A personal perspective. Strangely in that huge crowd of strangers, who came from such different backgrounds, I felt a sense of belonging.

A personal perspective. Strangely in that huge crowd of strangers, who came from such different backgrounds, I felt a sense of belonging.

Identity
How Do We Know Who We Are?

Sheila Kohler on June 26, 2023

How do we form our identity? Why do we use certain celebrities as models? Why do we try and dress like them or speak like them or act the way they do? What are the characteristics which enable people to become famous?

How do we form our identity? Why do we use certain celebrities as models? Why do we try and dress like them or speak like them or act the way they do? What are the characteristics which enable people to become famous?

Fantasies
How to Detect a Lie

Sheila Kohler on May 10, 2023

A Personal Perspective: Every time my mother began to talk of our dead father, my sister and I, as girls, would roll our eyes as if to say, "Here she goes again."

A Personal Perspective: Every time my mother began to talk of our dead father, my sister and I, as girls, would roll our eyes as if to say, "Here she goes again."

Law and Crime
How to Discover the Origins of Crime

Sheila Kohler on November 14, 2022

A Personal Perspective: Why does the young anti-hero, Raskolnikov, murder the old pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna in cold blood, wielding an axe?

A Personal Perspective: Why does the young anti-hero, Raskolnikov, murder the old pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna in cold blood, wielding an axe?

Depression
How to Beat the Blues

Sheila Kohler on June 21, 2022

A Personal Perspective: When you're depressed, it's important to resist the impulse to isolate and turn inward. Taking action instead is key.

A Personal Perspective: When you're depressed, it's important to resist the impulse to isolate and turn inward. Taking action instead is key.

Friends
How to Adapt to a Changed World

Sheila Kohler on June 21, 2022

A Personal Perspective: Now that things seem to be moving towards the life we once knew pre-pandemic, we realize that many things have changed irrevocably and that the world will never be the same.

A Personal Perspective: Now that things seem to be moving towards the life we once knew pre-pandemic, we realize that many things have changed irrevocably and that the world will never be the same.

Relationships
How to Know if a Feeling for Someone Is Really Love

Sheila Kohler on September 5, 2021

How much is ambition, a need for success, or a position in society part of love for another? Can people truly love another without some feeling of self-worth?

How much is ambition, a need for success, or a position in society part of love for another? Can people truly love another without some feeling of self-worth?

Midlife
How to Make a Decision That Will Change Your Life

Sheila Kohler on July 5, 2021

We must face the difficult decisions that change requires. Should we go back to the work we did before? Should we choose perhaps in mid-life a new profession, a new partner?

We must face the difficult decisions that change requires. Should we go back to the work we did before? Should we choose perhaps in mid-life a new profession, a new partner?

Cognition
How to Find a Common Language?

Sheila Kohler on January 18, 2021

How can we reach others who have perhaps very different views from us, who use words differently, for whom the words "patriotism" and "democracy" have different connotations?

How can we reach others who have perhaps very different views from us, who use words differently, for whom the words "patriotism" and "democracy" have different connotations?

Gratitude
How to Find the Perfect Person for the Pandemic

Sheila Kohler on October 16, 2020

My husband has always declared, when I suggested a move to the country, or when I pointed out the joys of nature, that he would rather die than leave the city.

My husband has always declared, when I suggested a move to the country, or when I pointed out the joys of nature, that he would rather die than leave the city.

Fear
What to Read During the Pandemic

Sheila Kohler on July 31, 2020

I had a socially distanced tea with a friend, who said she thought that living through this pandemic in such isolation was almost like madness.

I had a socially distanced tea with a friend, who said she thought that living through this pandemic in such isolation was almost like madness.

Memory
What Is the Greatest Gift Your Mother Gave You?

Sheila Kohler on May 1, 2020

During these dark days, searching for comfort, I think of my mother. She comes to me in different disguises in my work as a writer. What gifts she has given me!

During these dark days, searching for comfort, I think of my mother. She comes to me in different disguises in my work as a writer. What gifts she has given me!

Friends
What Do Women Want?

Sheila Kohler on January 16, 2020

Do women want to enter a man's world and live as men do, entering wars and fighting for power?

Do women want to enter a man's world and live as men do, entering wars and fighting for power?

Anger
How Should We React to a Betrayal?

Sheila Kohler on December 1, 2019

I ask myself now, of course, what was the better course: rage and confusion for the children or the appearance of saintly wisdom, understanding which cannot be sustained for long?

I ask myself now, of course, what was the better course: rage and confusion for the children or the appearance of saintly wisdom, understanding which cannot be sustained for long?