Repetition constitutes the essence of instinctual activity, not only of neurotic formations. Every instinctual demand has to be repetitive. Repetition compulsion conceptually reflects the instinctual tendency to repeat unpleasant experiences, which cannot be explained by the pleasure principle. Freud describes the repetition compulsion as a tendency repeatedly to act out unresolved neurotic problems and to relive early emotional experiences that leave a deep, possibly traumatic impression. As an example of this phenomenon, he points to the dreams and symptoms of those suffering from traumatic neuroses and to children's repetitive plays, and emphasizes that traumatic experiences do not contain any pleasure and satisfaction. As a result, repetition is of interest when it manifests itself in symbolic activities such as childhood games or in the painful symptoms of neurosis, even though it is in life itself, in every instinctual activity.