Smelling Dreams and Dreaming of Smells

Some Considerations on the Olfactory Potential of Dreams

Authors

  • Amelie Zadeh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30820/0942-2285-2024-2-107

Keywords:

dreams, interpretation of dreams, phantasy, smell, olfactory, disgust

Abstract

For the genesis of psychoanalysis, the olfactory sensation was a significant companion: The traces of smelling and stinking extend from the olfactory hallucinations of hysterics, Freud’s self-analysis, and the conception of repression to »Civilization and Its Discontents«. Smell is thus a medium through which temporal and spatial vectors diffuse – it adheres to the primal, manifesting in the form of reminiscences with intense olfactory quality, repeatedly finding its way to the preconscious/conscious system in full force. Especially at the border between dream, fantasy, and experienced reality, the olfactory not only serves as a somatic but also a virtual border crosser with valuable analytical potential.

Author Biography

Amelie Zadeh

Amelie Zadeh studierte Kulturwissenschaften und Bildende Kunst in Wien und Hamburg. Seit 2022 ist sie Ausbildungskandidatin am Wiener Arbeitskreis für Psychoanalyse. Ihre Arbeit konzentriert sich auf verschiedene Bereiche der visuellen Kultur, Identität und Bildpolitik sowie psychoanalytische Kulturtechniken in Theorie und Praxis.
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How to Cite

Zadeh, Amelie. 2024. “Smelling Dreams and Dreaming of Smells: Some Considerations on the Olfactory Potential of Dreams”. Journal für Psychologie 32 (2):107-26. https://doi.org/10.30820/0942-2285-2024-2-107.

Issue

Vol. 32 No. 2 (2024): 125 Jahre Traumdeutung. Diskurse und Wirkungsgeschichte

Section

Artikel

License

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