The other motive of counter-wish dreams is so obvious that there is a great danger of our overlooking it, as I did myself for quite a long time. The sexual make-up of so many people contains a masochistic element that as a result of total reversal stems from the aggressive, sadistic side. Such people are termed ‘ideational’ masochists if they seek pleasure not from having physical pain inflicted on them but from humiliation and mental torment. It is immediately apparent that such people may entertain counter-wish dreams and aversion dreams that so far as they are concerned are in fact
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