Sieben Theorien: Warum wir eigentlich träumen

What does “Verdrängung” mean in German?

In the Freud part, the video says dreams may reveal hidden wishes and heal damage caused by “ihrer Verdrängung” — by our pushing those thoughts away. So “Verdrängung” is the act of shoving an unwanted feeling or memory out of your mind until you forget it is there. It is a serious, often psychological word. People also use it more loosely for any problem they keep avoiding instead of facing.

Spoken line: “psychische Schäden heilen, die von ihrer Verdrängung her rührten” — “heal mental damage that came from their repression (from pushing them away).” More examples: - “Das ist reine Verdrängung.” = “That’s pure avoidance — you’re just not dealing with it.” - “Die Verdrängung der eigenen Angst macht es oft schlimmer.” = “Pushing your own fear out of mind often makes it worse.” - “Er lebt in Verdrängung.” = “He’s in denial; he refuses to face it.” Usage notes: Often paired with “von” (von ihrer Verdrängung = from their repression). The verb is “verdrängen” (to push aside / repress / crowd out). It can mean a deep mental defence, or simply ignoring a problem you don’t want to think about.