Fixation: what is it and how does it impact behavior?

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Fixation is an unconscious process that originates in childhood and can persist into adult life. In this article we will see what it is about, how it manifests itself and if it is possible to resolve the conflicts it raises.

Fixation is a psychoanalytic concept proposed by Sigmund Freud and evolved by other therapists. It refers to the unconscious process by which a person remains stuck in an early stage of their psychosexual development..

When the fixation is present, the affected person shows irrational behavior in some aspect, making it very difficult for them to separate themselves from it. A simple example is that of those who have oral fixations, that is, they correspond to their oral development phase, where the mouth is the main source of pleasure.. It is common that they then cannot stop biting their nails, eating or drinking excessively, or smoking.

Sigmund Freud thought that this process was a sign of unresolved conflicts at a certain stage of development. The result is an obsessive attachment to people, objects, or behaviors that persists from childhood to adulthood. Let’s look at all this in greater detail.

«Fixation causes the libido to become strongly attached to people or imagoes, to reproduce a certain mode of satisfaction, to remain organized according to the characteristic structure of one of its evolutionary phases. The fixation can be manifest and current or constitute a prevalent virtuality that opens the way for the subject to regression..

-Sigmund Freud-

The origin of fixation

For Sigmund Freud, during childhood, psychosexual development goes through a series of stages; Each one is characterized because libidinal energy, or, say, attention, is focused on a specific part of the body. This gives rise to a series of pleasures, but also tensions that must be resolved before advancing to the next stage.

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The three phases of psychosexual development that Freud proposes are the following:

Oral. Libido is centered in the mouth. It refers to the act of receiving from others and its symbolic reference is “ingesting” or “not letting in.” There is a resolution with weaning.Anal. Libido is focused on the anus. It refers to the act of giving to others and its symbolic reference is that of “letting out” or “retaining.” It culminates when the child is able to control his sphincters, without distress.phallic. Libido is focused on the genitals. It includes giving and receiving and its symbolic reference is that of “exchanging” or “keeping for oneself.” It is resolved when the so-called Oedipus complex is overcome, with which the limit of sexuality is learned.

As you can see, each stage has a central focus of pleasure and, at the same time, a form of resolution. If the latter does not occur, then fixation appears.

Nail biting is a characteristic behavior of people who do not overcome an oral fixation.

The effects of fixation

The effects depend on how each phase of psychosexual development was experienced and resolved.. If complete resolution is not achieved, the person remains stuck at that point in their development. The same happens when any of these stages were experienced in a particularly intense or conflictive way.

As we mentioned previously, oral fixation could result in a series of irrational, and often compulsive, behaviors with the oral area. They can include eating too much or too little of some substance, even food. However, this also expresses itself as excessively passive or receptive behaviors.

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If the fixation is of the anal type, Freud says that it leads to the formation of two kinds of personalities:

Anal-retentive. It corresponds to cases in which potty training was excessively strict. It leads to people obsessed with rules and order.Expulsive-anal. It refers to cases in which the child was barely trained to control her sphincters. The effect is a disorganized and negligent personality.

Finally, the resolution of the phallic phase lies in identifying with the parent of the same sex and giving up trying to take his or her place in relation to the parent of the opposite sex. When this is not achieved, problems such as aggressive sexuality, exhibitionism, etc. appear.

Obsessive behavior with order responds to anal-type fixations.

How to overcome these behaviors?

Fixation can manifest itself in many ways and in different intensities.. Sometimes, as we had already pointed out, she only expresses herself in the habit of biting her nails. As such, this is not a serious problem and if it is brought to analytical consultation it is only to deepen one’s knowledge of oneself.

On the other hand, when there are obsessions with all your letters and these limit your life in a significant way, these are problems that require professional help. In psychoanalysis the work would be to identify the unresolved childhood conflict and then resolve it, using the transference with the psychoanalyst.