Wilhelm Reich: the direction of psychoanalysis, books, aphorisms

Choosing the path of a scientist-researcher, a person most often condemns himself to years of hard work and loneliness. Great discoveries are rare, and painstaking daily work can often lead to a dead end.

You can get world recognition and a number of prestigious awards. But it also happens that all the discoveries are recognized by scientists as pseudoscientific by the men, and ridicule and persecution will be replaced instead of laurels.

Such a scientist for his time was Wilhelm Reich, who was not understood and appreciated by contemporaries. "Love, work and knowledge are the sources of our life. They must determine its course , "Reich said, and he always adhered to this rule.

He was gifted, possessed perseverance and amazing performance, but he could not cope with his own pain and the fears that had been following Reich since childhood.

Beginning of life

Since the birth of Wilhelm Reich was a subject of Austria-Hungary. The power and despotism of the father were contrasted with the softness and pliability of the mother. To younger brother Wilhelm never experienced a close affinity.

A pity for his mother did not allow the boy to tell his father about the courting of the home teacher behind her. A scandal broke out, the consequence of which was the death of his mother. Bibliographers note that from this spiritual trauma, Reich could not recover all his life.

Father briefly survived his wife. At the age of seventeen, Wilhelm's shoulders were all worried about the family farm.

The outbreak of war broke the old life. By the native Galicia cavalry rushed, divisions moved, destroying everything in its path. There was a threat of forced resettlement on the territory of the Russian Empire. Reich decides to leave Bukovina. Never again will he return to his native land.

War

At that time, Wilhelm seemed the most correct entry into the Austrian army. For four years he showed himself in battle on the Italian front, rose to the rank of lieutenant.

Military service did not become a vocation. Death, blood, suffering, oppressed William. Did not rejoice the fate of the losing side. Austria-Hungary lost part of its land, including Bukovina. This part of the empire passed under the jurisdiction of Romania. There could be no question of returning to their native land.

Years of study

After saying goodbye to the army, Wilhelm Reich goes to Vienna. There he decides to enter the medical faculty of the local university. Participation in the war gave him the opportunity to reduce the training course for two years.

After practicing at the University clinics, Reich decided on the future specialization. Along with the study of internal diseases, he became interested in neuropsychiatry, hypnosis and therapy based on suggestion. I attended courses for further study of biology.

Studies and publications of such coryphaeus as Sigmund Freud, whipped up Wilhelm. It seemed that he was in a hurry to undergo basic training and begin his own practical research.

Sigmund Freud and the first steps in psychoanalysis

At age 23, Wilhelm became a member of the Association of Psychoanalysts of Vienna. He opened a direct path to the best medical clinics and institutes.

But Reich was interested in a new direction in psychiatry - psychoanalysis. At this time, it was possible to get into the disciples of Freud. In questions of studying the new discipline, Wilhelm was the most stubborn and capable assistant.

The teacher appreciated zeal and ability: by the age of thirty, Reich had become first vice-director, and then headed the Freud's polyclinic. Up to the beginning of the 1930s, the young scientist was busy with his activities. He conducts his private practice, seminars, lectures. Engaged in psychological research. It was then that his own theory of neurosis emerged.

To develop and test his research, he conducts reception and consultations in the centers of help to different segments of the population of Vienna. The more Reich confirmed his theory, the more difficult was the relationship with Freud. Discontent was accumulating, they refused to understand each other.

The last straw was the hobby of Wilhelm with the ideas of communism. He increasingly went into the study of the causes of the neurosis of the working class, challenging the conclusions of the teacher.

As the own theory of psychoanalysis was formed, the bourgeois doctrines preached by Sigmund Freud faded into the background. Soon there was a complete break in the relations of scientists. Reich from a talented student and follower turned into an obstinate apostate, defending the ideas of communism.

Own theory of psychoanalysis

"Due to centuries of oppression, the masses are not in a position to dispose of freedom" (V.Rajkh).

Conducting sessions of psychoanalysis, the young scientist noticed a connection between the behavior and mental state of patients. After studying this phenomenon, Wilhelm Reich derived a theory, according to which it is possible to artificially influence the psychological mood, changing the manner of behavior.

At the same time, he realized that neuroses are a direct consequence of the sexual depression of a person by society. Psychological health depends on the ability to release the accumulated energy in time. The deterrent that prevents getting rid of tension is society, the laws of morality and behavior.

Therapy of Wilhelm Reich consisted of prevention and treatment not only of the individual, but of society as a whole. He spoke with proposals to change the social norms of morality and, at the expense of this, to achieve a healthier society in a psychological sense.

On his own initiative, Reich conducts consultations, reads enlightenment lectures of working young people. Supporting the ideas of Marx, the scientist was sure that the future of the country was behind this part of society.

He introduced the notion of "sexual revolution" into the minds, arguing that only an emancipated person with sexual rights and freedoms can be useful to society.

Reich categorically argued that the nation's mental health is not in bans, but in the possibility of releasing sexual energy. His proposal is not treated, and the prevention of neuroses has received a wide response much later, after his death.

A family

It is for sure not known how much the theory of psychoanalysis helped the author of the method. It seems that Reich was not happy. He was so busy with scientific research that he did not find time for himself at all.

Childhood years passed under the yoke of the powerful father, marred by a sense of guilt for the death of his mother. Several times Wilhelm returned to an attempt to analyze that period of his life, but he did not succeed in this.

The first time the scientist tried to create his own family, being a university student. Annie Pink was the wife of a scientist for 11 years. She moved with him to Germany, but refused to go to Scandinavia.

In Oslo, he meets the ballerina Elsa Lindenberg, keen on the ideas of communism. It would seem that one can enjoy family happiness, but at that time the first wave of persecution of Reich began. He was hanged on the label of a pseudoscientist, expelled from medical associations, and openly laughed at newspaper publications.

In this period Reich began to show signs of his father's character. Authoritarianism has become the main feature of his nature. In a relationship with his wife, jealousy and mistrust have increasingly slipped. In the end, the second marriage broke up.

After moving to America, Reich married for the third time. He chose immigrant from Germany Ilse Ollendorf, who was also his assistant.

Very little evidence of the personal life of the scientist. A few old photos and brief eyewitness accounts. Own family meant for Reich not so much as his scientific work.

Germany and "Sekspol"

After the final break with Freud, Reich moves to Berlin. The turmoil of the political situation in Germany, the new trends among the youth created an excellent basis for the improvement and implementation of its own method.

The scientist creates the Union of Proletarian Sexual Policy at the state level. The ideas of the organization were so innovative that in the first year the number of participants exceeded fifty thousand.

Ideas about sexual education, rights to contraceptives, abortions and divorces were a great success in the circles of progressive youth. The main goal of "Sekspol" was to prevent the suppression of a free person by society for the preservation of psychological health.

The scientist developed special exercises and introduced a special massage for the free movement of energy in the body. The sexual revolution took place in the minds and actions of the followers of Reich.

Many enlightened people of that time did not support or openly expressed their dissatisfaction with National Socialism, which openly declared itself in the early 1930s. Among the protesters was Wilhelm Reich, a book whose publications, especially the "Psychology of the Masses and Fascism", showed unvarnished all the ins and outs of the impending system, especially its influence on the psychological state of a person.

"The combination of reactionary ideas with revolutionary feelings results in a fascist type of personality as a result" (V.Rajkh).

Frankness of statements and adherence to one's own judgments led to the first negative consequences. The learned men of the Psychoanalytic Association accused him of pseudoscientific activities and adherence to the ideas of communism. As a result, Reich had to say goodbye to this scientific organization.

A number of publications of the scientist aroused dissatisfaction among the members of the Communist Party. Reich was expelled from the party.

According to Wilhelm's own words, life in Germany with the coming to power of the Nazis became dangerous for him. At any moment, arrest or physical destruction could occur.

There was nothing left to do but to leave Germany and seek salvation and understanding in other countries.

Years of wanderings: Scandinavia and Orgon's discovery

Having moved to Scandinavia, Reich first settled in Norway. There he founded a school of physical therapy. Carried out consultations, lectured, conducted a reception. He tried to explain and improve existing directions of psychoanalysis, conducted scientific experiments.

As a result, Wilhelm Reich discovered a completely new biological energy. There were no analogues of it. Further experiments showed a number of properties that could be used for the treatment of diseases and their prevention. According to the scientist, even the cancer cells could not resist the new energy.

Reich gave a definition of his discovery and called the energy "orgon." After the publication of research materials, a new wave of indignation in scientific circles has risen. Mocking and persecution brought the scientist to the point that he was forced to move to Denmark.

There were no significant improvements in the new country. The authorities banned conducting research. Nearing the collapse of his second marriage. The situation was fueled by the onset of a great war. Reich began to seriously think about moving to America. He believed that in a free country he would be able to realize his ideas and continue his scientific research.

Moving to America

In Oslo, Reich brought together an acquaintance with Theodore Wolf. It was this American psychologist who contributed to the rapid relocation to America. In the year 39, Wilhelm receives an invitation to New York and moves to the New World.

The first few years were very fruitful. Reich gave lectures, conducted courses. Many of his works began to be published in English. His innovations in therapy were accepted by doctors and with pleasure adopted the methodology.

The main thing in this period of life was the opportunity to study the orgone. He believed that with the help of this energy can defeat cancer. Experiments on mice showed good prospects. The American authorities allowed the creation of the Orgone Institute.

At this time, Reich came close to developing a vaccine against cancer and the possibility of accumulating the orgone. This was necessary in order to use the energy more fully and directed.

During his trips around the country, Reich discovered an ideal place to experiment with the orgone. It would seem that the very nature of Maine has taken care of this. The scientist came several years in a row to those places for experiments, until the opportunity to acquire a small farm appeared.

Orgone therapy

In the early 40-ies, the scientist began to introduce orgone therapy. Special batteries have been created for these purposes. They were ordinary boxes made of metal and wood.

The patient was inside and sat for 30 minutes with an orgone. According to Reich, it is possible to disperse metabolic processes and increase blood circulation.

An experiment conducted by a scientist on 14 people, hopelessly cancer patients, showed striking results. There was an improvement, X-ray images showed a decrease in the tumor. Several patients remained alive several years after orgone therapy.

Based on the research, Wilhelm Reich came to the conclusion that the presence of emotional blocks in a person contributes to a sharp decrease in the level of bioenergy within the body. In this connection there is a probability of occurrence of a cancer tumor.

At this time, Reich actively promotes the use of Orgon batteries . Articles are published, lectures are given, books are printed. These years were very fruitful in the life of a scientist. It was about this freedom of activity that he dreamed of when he was in Europe.

Orgonon

In the autumn of 1942, it became possible to embark on a long-standing dream of building a house in an ideal place for research and study of the orgone. The old farm on the lake in Maine was perfect for this.

The house that Reich called Orgonon was growing. There was an opportunity to recruit students. For them, a laboratory, a library, an observatory for observing and studying energy were built.

Another application of orgone

The work of the observatory gave astounding results. It turned out that orgone can influence natural phenomena. Reich presented his methodology for reducing the strength of storms and was approved by the US government. The program "Phoenix" gave stunning results on the effects on the weather.

The scientist designed and tested Cloudbuster, a device capable of changing the orgone-energy in the atmosphere. Different concentrations could significantly affect the weather.

The most ambitious experiment was conducted at the request of local farmers. Using Cloudbuster saved the harvest of blueberries, causing a long-awaited rain. The article in the newspaper promoted the propaganda of new equipment.

Ten Years of Persecution

"First, a person kills something in himself, then he starts killing others" (V.Rajkh).

The learned world could not accept the strange research and conclusions that Raich actively propagated. Freud's direct followers and orthodox scientists considered the developments and ideas pseudoscientific. And the innovator was called a charlatan.

The situation worsened after the scandalous publication in the magazine. On the head of Reich poured a tub full of facts. It was accused that the actions of a pseudoscientist are dangerous for society.

The article served as an excuse for starting an investigation that lasted ten years. During this time the scientist was persecuted. Interviewed students, partners, patients Reich. None of them filed complaints or expressed dissatisfaction.

Despite this, the commission issued a verdict - treatment of cancer by prohibited methods. All equipment was found to be hazardous to the health and life of patients. The case was brought to court, which legitimized a complete ban on everything connected with the energy of orgone.

In 1957, books published in the Reich Institute published in the burning furnace for garbage. Any mention of the orgone was obliterated from the textbooks. The publications were published in the periodical press. The equipment of laboratories, batteries and Cloudbuster were destroyed.

Last years

One of the students of Reich tried to save a few accumulators and labors, which violated the court order. In connection with this, a new case was opened, and both scientists were sentenced to imprisonment, and the Wilhelm Reich Foundation was fined a huge sum of $ 10,000.

History was repeated again, but now in free America, in whose democracy the scientist so believed. Scientific works, the achievements of a lifetime were destroyed.

The appeals filed persistently. The followers of Reich were persecuted and arrested.

Tortured by persecution and blatant injustice, the scientist writes a will, foreseeing the imminent end of life. He left Orgonon to his descendants to create a museum and preserve the scientific heritage.

Wilhelm Reich celebrated his sixtieth birthday in prison, and eight months later he died. What was the cause, is for certain unknown. The official conclusion is a heart attack.

A great apostate in Orgonon is buried, in the place where he was happy and full of hopes for new scientific discoveries.

Decades passed, and many of the ideas, theories and developments of Wilhelm Reich were developed and applied in modern psychotherapy. He began the sexual revolution. Women received the right to regulate the birth rate. In secondary schools, the subject "Sex education" is introduced. Bioenergetics is used in alternative medicine and in the teachings of philosophers.

Reich belonged to the type of scientists who were not understood and accepted during life. He was much ahead of the scientists of his time. It was for this courage, reluctance to reconcile with reality and the scientist suffered. Stubborn upholding of their ideas gave good results, but only half a century later.