In psychoanalysis, according to Sigmund Freud, the anal phase describes a stage of early child development. The anal phase follows the oral phase and begins with the second year of life. In the anal phase, the excretory functions of the body as well as how to deal with them are the focus of the child’s attention.
What is the anal phase?
For Sigmund Freud, the entry into the anal phase is equivalent to the discovery of the child’s pleasure in the process of defecation. At the beginning of the phase, pleasure is derived from the expulsion of stool; as the phase progresses, the child also experiences pleasure in the retention of the products of excretion. This results in a state between release and retention, which may be characterized by tension.
Function and task
During the anal phase, demands for cleanliness and restraint are made on the child for the first time by the guardians and the environment. The child experiences that certain things produced by the child and considered important (in this case, feces) may be rejected or even sanctioned by the environment. Depending on the timing of defecation, it is classified as “good” or “bad” by the child’s caregivers, depending on whether the needs have been met according to the caregivers’ or the child’s specifications. Therefore, the anal stage is also considered the origin of conflicts over power and control and represents the beginning of “own will.” The child learns in the anal phase that he can assert his own will as well as submit to another’s will. It is also during the anal stage that the child first becomes aware of the issues of giving and keeping. Early experiences of pleasure in giving away the products of excretion, for example through praise from the parents when successfully going to the potty, are deeply imprinted in the child’s character and can trigger pleasure in giving things away later in life. In a negative sense, repeated feelings of displeasure in giving away excretory products ensure that the child may become conspicuous later in life by being excessively stingy. In the anal phase, the child equates the excretory process with the corresponding organs and products (stool and urine); no subdivision takes place yet. If the excretory products are negatively associated with the child’s caregivers, this can manifest itself in the child’s feelings of shame and disgust with his or her own body. During the anal phase and the associated education in cleanliness, the child is constantly confronted with the external environment. As a result, the ego develops as a mediator between the id, the superego, and external reality. Through this instance, with the completion of the anal phase after the third year of life, the child has expanded memory and language abilities, a constant personality and the ability to act according to the reality principle. Furthermore, after the anal stage, the child is able to choose to yield to the drive demands of the id or to suppress them.
Diseases and ailments
If, during the child’s anal phase, there is too strict or even negative evaluation of defecation on the part of the caregivers, or if constipation is countered with threats, this behavior on the part of the caregivers can quickly manifest itself in developmental disorders of the child. Wetting or defecation, an exaggerated saying no or stuttering can be mentioned as consequences of the incorrect handling of the anal phase. The exact opposite of the no-sayer, the eternal yes-sayer, can also have its origin in a disorder of the anal phase. In children who have not experienced sufficient satisfaction in the anal phase (for example, due to an excessively strict cleanliness education of the parents), a fixation on the anal phase can be observed with advancing age. A fixation arises from frustration, this means failure, pampering or an insufficient satisfaction. This results in getting stuck in the phase that is experienced as deeply frustrating, which in turn can lead to a deviant personality development. People who are affected by a fixation on the anal phase still have to struggle with the then unsatisfied needs long after leaving the phase. Among other things, this can be the subliminal desire to play with feces.However, since the persons or the environment do not allow and sanction the satisfaction of the needs, defense mechanisms of the psyche occur in some places in order to suppress the tendencies. As a result, one’s desire to get dirty is turned into the exact opposite and manifests itself in exaggerated cleanliness. Cleanliness compulsion symptoms thereby serve the human psyche as a mental balance between fear-inducing inclinations and the inner defense rising against them. Further later after-effects of a strict cleanliness education in the anal phase show up in manic personality types, which are conspicuous by over-control, an extreme need for cleanliness and stinginess. This type is also called “anal character” by Sigmund Freud. In order to prevent disorders in early childhood development, parents and educators should take strict care not to express any negative evaluation of excretory processes and excretory products to the child. During the anal stage, it is immensely important that limits be set for the child and that the child’s impulses be followed in a supportive manner.
