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In this paper, the basis of the trauma concept is taken as in the followng definition by Freud from 1916: “We apply it to an experience which within a short period of time presents the mind with an increase of stimulus too powerful to be dealt with or worked off in the normal way, and this must result in permanent disturbances of the manner in which the energy operates” Freud, 1916, p. 275.
Essential to traumatic experience is thus such a powerful increase of stimulation that it cannot be dealt with in a normal way. In this case, the mind does not revert completely to the kind of functions preceding that stimulation, and a permanent change, in the form of a disturbance of mind, takes place. In his definition, Freud does not mention anything about what this stimulation “deals with” or “works off”, but it is probably that part or structure of mind, that he later, in connection with the structural theory, calls the ego. Nor does it become evident from the definition, what constitutes normal and usual dealing with and working off of stimulation, and what constitutes use of permanently disturbed energy. It becomes clear from the context though, that use of permanently disturbed energy manifests itself in neurotic symptoms and neurotic behaviour, which come into being as a result of fixation to a traumatic experience. When such excessive excitement arises in the developed mind of an adult, its influence appears, as is well-known, in the form of a typical traumatic neurosis, a common symptom of which is repetition of the traumatic experience in dreams. When awake, the memory of the trauma or at least the excitement connected with it, is repressed to such an extent, that normal mental activity may proceed without disturbance.