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'''Psychological repression''', or simply repression, is the [[psychology|psychological]] act of excluding [[desire]]s and [[impulse]]s (wishes, fantasies or feelings) from one's [[consciousness]] and attempting to hold or subdue them in the [[Unconscious mind|subconscious]]. Since the popularization of [[Sigmund Freud]]'s work in [[psychoanalysis]], repression is popularly known to be a common [[defense mechanism]].
Repression is considered unconscious and can often be detrimental. It may be contrasted with [[suppression]], which is entirely conscious and thus can be managed. Because repression is unconscious, it manifests itself through a symptom or series of symptoms, sometimes called the "return of the repressed." A repressed sexual desire, for example, might re-surface in the form of a nervous cough or a slip of the tongue. In this way, although the subject is not conscious of the desire and so cannot speak it out loud, the subject's body can still articulate the forbidden desire through the symptom.
A person can suppress the impulse to "choke the life out of some idiot who desperately needs it" for higher reasons, such as sociability, or more mundane reasons, like keeping a job - especially if it's a co-worker or boss being considered for the assault. The desire remains conscious, but is thwarted by the exercise of willpower due to a rational decision to avoid the action.
