The outstanding psychiatrist of the mid-twentieth century, MD Edmund Bergler wrote 25 books on psychology and 273 articles in leading professional journals. His books cover topics such as child development, neurosis, midlife crises, marriage difficulties, gambling, self-destructive behavior, and homosexuality. The following are excerpts from the book “Homosexuality: a disease or lifestyle?»

For almost thirty years now I have been treating homosexuals, spending many hours with them during their analysis. I can reasonably say that I have no prejudice against homosexuals; for me they are sick people in need of medical care. I had many therapeutic successes with them, some failures and some disappointments. I owe them for the opportunity to study their mental structure, as well as the genesis and curability of their disease. In general, I have no reason to complain about homosexuals.

Nevertheless, although I have no bias, if I were asked what homosexual is, I would say that homosexuals are essentially rather unpleasant people, regardless of their pleasant or unpleasant external manners. Yes, they are not responsible for their unconscious conflicts, but these conflicts so absorb their internal energy that their outer shell is a mixture of arrogance, pseudo-aggression and whining. Like all psychic masochists, they slander when confronted with a stronger person, and when they receive power, they become ruthless, trampling a weaker person without the slightest remorse. The only language that their unconscious understands is brute force. What is most puzzling is that you rarely find an intact ego (what is commonly called the “right person”) among them.

Being unsure of my own impressions, I repeatedly checked them with my cured homosexual patients, asking them to summarize their opinion about homosexuals years after the cure. The impressions of his former associates expressed by cured homosexuals were deadly criticism, in comparison with which my analysis sounded like baby talk.

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A homosexual person is saturated with a mixture of the following elements:

1. Masochistic provocation and collecting injustices.
2. Defensive malice.
3. Frivolity covering up depression and guilt.
4. Hypernarcissism and hyperarrogance.
5. The refusal to recognize accepted standards in non-sexual matters under the pretext that the right to cut corners of morality is due to homosexuals as compensation for their “suffering”.
6. General insecurity, also of a more or less psychopathic nature.

The most interesting feature of this sextet of qualities is its versatility. Regardless of intelligence, culture, origin or education, all homosexuals possess it.

JOURNEY GATHER

Every homosexual is an avid collector of injustice and therefore a psycho-masochist. A psychic masochist is a neurotic who, through his unconscious provocations, creates situations in which he will be struck, humiliated and rejected.

CONSTANT UNSATISFECTED, SEQUENTLY CONSTANT IN SEARCH

The typical homosexual is constantly on the lookout. His "cruising" (a homosexual term for finding a two-minute or, at best, short-term partner) is more extensive than a heterosexual neurotic specializing in one-night partners. According to homosexuals, this proves that they crave diversity and have insatiable sexual appetites. In fact, this only proves that homosexuality is a meager and unsatisfactory sexual diet. It also proves the existence of a constant masochistic desire for danger: every time in his cruises a homosexual is at risk of beating, attempts to extort, or sexually transmitted diseases.

UNSUPPORTED MEGALOMANIC CONVINCTION IN THE EXCELLENCE OF HOMOSEXUALISTS AND IN THE OVERLAND OF HOMOSEXUAL TRENDS

The megalomaniac outlook on life is another typical sign of a homosexual. He is deeply convinced of the superiority of his type over all others, and often supports this belief with misunderstood historical examples. At the same time, he is sure that "Deep down, everyone has some kind of homosexual tendencies".

INTERNAL DEPRESSION AND EXTRAORDINARY VILLAIN

Partly, the compensatory delusions of grandeur of a homosexual do not prevent deep internal depression. Similar to Napoleonic “scratch a Russian and you will find a Tatar,” one could say: “scratch a homosexual and you will find a depressive neurotic.” Sometimes the ostentatious frivolous fun of “gays” [literally “gay”] - the term homosexuals use for themselves - is a very subtle pseudo-euphoric camouflage. This is a technique for protecting against masochistic depression. Another such technique is the exaggerated and uncontrollable anger of homosexuals, which is always ready to be used. This anger is identical to the pseudo-aggression explained in the table:

INTERNAL WINE ARISING FROM CORRECTION

Without exception, deep inner guilt arising from perversion is present in all homosexuals. This is a displaced guilt related to the masochistic substructure. Guilt, whether admitted or denied (usually denied), is an integral part of the homosexual structure. “Mobilizing” this guilt and returning it to its place serves as a means for therapeutic change in psychiatric treatment. Here it is necessary to distinguish between perversion in the psychiatric sense and the popular one: the latter includes a moral connotation, while psychiatric perversion means infantile sex, occurring in an adult, and leading to orgasm. In short - a disease.

IRRATIONAL REALITY

Homosexuals exhibit a number of irrational and violent jealousies that have no analogues in heterosexual relationships. Even in rare cases of long-term homosexual relationships, there are constant explosions of jealousy. This pseudo-jealousy covers up deeper repressed conflicts: what looks like jealousy on the surface is, in fact, an occasion for “gathering injustices”. This is especially obvious in cases where a clearly dissolute partner is chosen and loyalty is expected from him.

“UNSECURITY” AS AN ELEMENT OF PSYCHOPATHIC TRENDS

Insecurity, from the makings to a pronounced psychopathic trend, is the rule, and not the exception among homosexuals. Living in a conspiratorial atmosphere, they use obscene shortcuts, detours and conspiracies. Sometimes their methods of pressure seem to be borrowed from a dictatorial-criminal environment. Conscious rationalization is simple: "I suffered too much - I can."

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Today, the problem of homosexuality is more acute than ten years ago. Perversion has become more common thanks to the artificial creation of new recruits as a result of the dissemination of erroneous statistics. Some personality structures have always been attracted to homosexuality, however, in addition to the usual recruitment, in recent years we have seen a new type of “recruits”. These are young people in their late teens or early twenties — “borderline” homosexuals who, in the decision to “be or not to be,” sit between two chairs. The push for homosexuality in this case is provided by statements such as Kinsey. Many of these “border guards” are not true homosexuals: their pseudo-modernism and inappropriate experimentation (stemming from the erroneous belief that homosexuality is “normal and approved by science”) have sad consequences, burdening them with devastating guilt and self-doubt. This burden persists even after returning to heterosexuality. The tragic and miserable sight of a “statistically induced homosexual” is due to the inability to spread simple medical facts.

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The new and by no means limited source of marital tragedies was the marriage of the so-called “bisexuals” to unsuspecting women whose fates collapse when they discover that they are not wives, but a screen ... “Bisexuality” exists only as a flattering description of a homosexual, who retained the light remnants of heterosexuality, which for some time made him capable of passionless sexual intercourse, giving him the necessary internal alibi. No one can dance at two weddings at the same time, even the most skilled homosexual. An equal distribution of libidinal motives between homosexuality and heterosexuality does not exist simply because homosexuality is not a sexual drive, but a protective mechanism. The so-called “bisexuals” are in fact true homosexuals with a slight admixture of potency towards unloved women. When a homosexual of this order marries an unsuspecting woman, her husband’s perversion is inevitable and tragic. Marriages of “bisexuals” are motivated by social causes or the naive belief that marriage will teach them normality. Previously, such marriages were rare; they are currently the rule.

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Currently, homosexual battles are fought on three fronts:
Homosexuals: “We are normal and demand recognition!”
Heterosexuals: “You are perverts and your place in prison!”
Psychiatrists: “Homosexuals are sick people and should be treated.”
Under the influence of Kinsey's reports, homosexuals gathered courage now actually require a minority status. As in any transition period, only half measures can be offered. Among them, the most important are:

1. Dissemination of knowledge that homosexuality is a neurotic disease in which extremely difficult and inevitable self-destructive tendencies encompass the whole personality, and that it is not a way of life.
2. Spreading the knowledge that homosexuality is a treatable disease.
3. Creation and maintenance of outpatient departments for the treatment of homosexuals within the existing psychiatric units in large hospitals staffed with specially trained psychiatrists.

Until now, the fight against homosexuality has been waged through well-meaning and reasonable moral arguments and equally necessary legal restrictions. None of these methods have proven effective. Moral arguments are wasted on homosexuals because, neglecting conventions, they satisfy their neurotic aggressiveness. The threats of imprisonment are equally useless: the typical megalomania of a homosexual allows him to think of himself as an exception, while his subconscious masochistic tendencies make the risk of imprisonment attractive. The only effective way to combat and counteract homosexuality is to disseminate widely the knowledge that there is nothing glamorous in suffering a disease known as homosexuality. This, at first glance, sexual disorder, is invariably combined with serious subconscious self-destruction, which inevitably manifests itself outside the sexual sphere, since it covers the entire personality. The real enemy of a homosexual is not his perversion, but his ignorance that he can be helped, plus his mental masochism, which makes him avoid treatment. This ignorance is artificially supported by homosexual leaders.

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A homosexual of any gender believes that his only problem is the “unjustified attitude” of the environment. He claims that if he were left alone and no longer had to fear the law, social ostracism, extortion or exposure, he could be as “happy” as his heterosexual opposite. This is, of course, a self-consoling illusion. Homosexuality is not a “way of life,” as these sick people unreasonably believe, but a neurotic distortion of the entire personality. It goes without saying that heterosexuality in itself does not guarantee emotional health - and among heterosexuals there are countless neurotics. At the same time, there are healthy heterosexuals, but there are no healthy homosexuals. The entire personality structure of a homosexual is permeated with an unconscious desire to suffer. This desire is satisfied by self-creation of problems, which is conveniently blamed on the external difficulties that the homosexual faces. If external difficulties were completely removed, and in some circles in large cities they are actually removed, the homosexual would still remain an emotionally ill person.

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Just 10 years ago, the best that science could offer was the reconciliation of the homosexual with his “fate”, in other words, the elimination of the conscious feeling of guilt. Recent psychiatric experience and research have unequivocally proven that the supposedly irreversible fate of homosexuals (sometimes even attributed to non-existent biological and hormonal conditions) is in fact a therapeutically modifiable subdivision of neurosis. The therapeutic pessimism of the past is gradually disappearing: today psychotherapy of a psychodynamic direction can cure homosexuality.

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Recent books and productions have attempted to portray homosexuals as unhappy victims who deserve sympathy. The appeal to the lacrimal glands is unreasonable: homosexuals can always resort to psychiatric help and be cured if they want to. But public ignorance is so widespread on this issue, and the manipulation of homosexuals by public opinion about themselves is so effective that even intelligent people who were definitely born yesterday did not fall for them.

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“Over thirty years of practice, I successfully completed the analysis of a hundred homosexuals (thirty other tests were interrupted either by me or by the patient’s departure), and advised about five hundred. Based on the experience gained in this way, I can confidently say that homosexuality has an excellent prognosis for psychiatric treatment of the psychodynamic approach from one to two years, at least three sessions a week, provided that the patient really wants to change. The fact that a favorable outcome is not based on any personal variables is confirmed by the fact that a significant number of colleagues achieved similar results.

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A homosexual does not reject women, but runs away from them. Unconsciously, he is mortally afraid of them. He runs away from a woman as far as possible, leaving for “another continent” - to a man. The homosexual’s typical assurance that he is “indifferent” to women is nothing more than a wishful thinking. Inwardly, he hates women with a compensatory hatred of fear masochist. This is evident in every analytic discussion with a homosexual patient.

A homosexual refers to men as an antidote to women. The ascension of a man to the object of attraction is secondary. This attraction is always mixed with contempt. Compared to the contempt shown by a typical homosexual for their sexual partners, the hatred and neglect of women of the most brutal heterosexual woman-hater looks goodwill. Often the whole personality of the "lover" is erased. Many homosexual contacts occur in toilets, in obscurity of parks and Turkish baths, where the sex object is not even visible. Such impersonal means of achieving “contact” make visiting a heterosexual brothel look like an emotional experience.

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Homosexuality is often combined with psychopathic tendencies. Homosexuality itself has nothing to do with psychopathy - the combination arises from a general oral regression. On the surface, psychopathic actions belong to the fantasy of revenge, however, behind this poorly veiled palimpsest there are deep self-destructive tendencies that cannot hide the wide pseudo-aggressive facade.

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The combination of homosexuality with fraud, addiction to gambling, alcoholism, drug addiction, kleptomania is a common occurrence.

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It is striking how large the proportion of psychopathic personalities among homosexuals is. In simple terms, many homosexuals bear the stigma of insecurity. In psychoanalysis, this insecurity is considered part of the oral nature of homosexuals. These people always create and provoke situations in which they feel unfairly disadvantaged. This sense of injustice, which is experienced and perpetuated through their own behavior, gives them the inner right to be constantly pseudo-aggressive and hostile to their environment, and to feel sorry for themselves masochistically. It is this vindictive tendency that the non-psychological, but observant outside world calls homosexuals “unreliable” and ingratitude. It is no less amazing how large the proportion of homosexuals is among scammers, pseudologists, counterfeiters, offenders of all kinds, drug dealers, gamblers, spies, pimps, brothel owners, etc.

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Lesbianism

The genesis of female homosexuality is identical to the male: an unresolved masochistic conflict with the mother of early infancy. In the oral phase of development (the first 1,5 years of life), a novice lesbian goes through a series of difficult ups and downs with her mother, which impede the successful completion of this phase. The peculiarity of the clinical lesbian conflict is that it represents an unconscious three-layer structure: the masochistic “gathering of injustices”, which is covered by pseudo-hatred, which is covered by exaggerated pseudo-love for the representative of the infantile image of the mother (neurotics are only capable of ersatz emotions and pseudo-aggression!).

Lesbian is a neurotic with a triad of unconscious concealment, leading to a rather tragicomic quid pro quo, a joke on a naive observer. First, lesbianism, paradoxically, is not erotic, but aggressive Conflict: The Basis mental masochism oral-regressed neurotic is an unresolved aggressive conflict that returns as a boomerang due to guilt and only secondarily libidinized. Secondly, under the guise of a “husband and wife” relationship, neurotically charged relationships between child and mother. Thirdly, lesbianism gives the impression of a biological fact; a naive observer is blinded by their conscious pleasure, while underneath is a treatable neurosis.

The outside world, in its ignorance, considers lesbians courageous women. However, not every courageous woman is homosexual. On the other hand, an outwardly courageous lesbian imitating men in clothes, behavior and relationships only shows camouflage that hides her real conflict. Blinded by this scotoma fueled by lesbians, the baffled observer is unable to explain the “passive” lesbian or the fact that lesbian sexual practices, demonstrating infantile direction, are concentrated mainly around cunnilingus and breast sucking, and mutual masturbation by dildos is concentrated around the clitoris, unconsciously with a nipple.

My 30 years of clinical experience has shown that lesbianism has five levels: 
1) masochistic affection for the mother; 
2) veto of inner conscience prohibiting "pleasure from displeasure"; 
3) the first defense is pseudo-hatred; 
4) a repeated veto of inner conscience, vetoing hatred of any kind towards the mother; 
5) The second defense is pseudo-love.

Thus, lesbianism is not “female love for a woman”, but the pseudo-love of a masochistic woman who created an internal alibi that she does not consciously understand. 
This protective structure in lesbianism explains: 
a. Why lesbians are characterized by tremendous tension and pathological jealousy. In inner reality, this type of jealousy is nothing more than a source for the masochistic “gathering of injustices”. 
b. Why violent hatred, sometimes expressed in physical attacks, is so subtly hidden in homosexual relationships. The pseudo-love layer (fifth layer) is only a protection covering pseudo-aggression. 
a. Why lesbians resort to oedipal camouflage (farce of husband and wife) - it disguises masochistic relations of mother and child, rooted in pre-oedipal conflicts, heavily burdened with guilt.
Mr. Why is it useless to expect satisfactory human relations within the framework of lesbianism. A lesbian unconsciously seeks constant masochistic pleasure, therefore she is incapable of conscious happiness.

The narcissistic lesbian substructure also explains why the infantile conflict with the mother never goes away. Under normal development, the conflict with the mother is resolved by the girl through splitting: the old “hatred” remains with the mother, the component of “love” is shifted to the father, and instead of the duality “baby-mother” (preedipal phase) a triangular oedipal situation “child-mother-father” arises. The future lesbian tries to do the same, only to be thrown back into the original conflict. The oedipal “solution” (itself a transitional phase that the child abandons in the course of his normal development) is that lesbians use the husband-wife (father-mother) disguise as a protective cover.

It is necessary to distinguish between two forms of unconscious identification: “leading” (leading) and “leading” (misleading). The first represents the suppressed desires of the individual, crystallized into the end result of the infantile conflict, and the second refers to identification with people who are chosen to deny and reject the rebukes of inner conscience against these neurotic desires. The “leading” identification of an active type of lesbian refers to preedipal mothers and "leading" to the oedipal father. In the passive type, “leading” identification refers to the child, and “leading” to oedipal mother. All of the above is, of course, supported by clinical evidence.

Extra charges:

E. Bergler: The Treatment of Homosexuality