The primitive stages can always be re-established; the primitive mind is, in the fullest meaning of the word, imperishable.
Old age is second childhood.
The old are in a second childhood.
Dying people often become childish.
The typical citizen drops down to a lower level of mental performance as soon as he enters the political field. He argues and analyzes in a way which he would readily recognize as infantile within the sphere of his real interests. He becomes primitive again.
Marriage is a terrible institution, it creates such a regression of the mind.
Then not only an old man, but also a drunkard, becomes a second time a child.
What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.
I want my brain to slide back into the slot it was meant to be in, rest there the way it did before the fall of last year, back when I was young, witty, and my teachers said I had incredible promise.
I have a theory that there are still parts of our mental worlds that are still based around the age of between five and eight, and we just kind of pretend to be grown-up.
Regression to the stage of early infancy is not a suitable method in and of itself. Such a regression can only be effective if it happens in the natural course of therapy and if the client is able to maintain adult consciousness at the same time.
