戴夫开始接受治疗时，感觉在生活的各个方面都停滞不前，而且不成功。他结了婚，很快就离婚了，经济上成功了，但却失去了一切。在“宗教从爱到敬畏”之后，他甚至变得虔诚，然后又变得世俗。他“痴迷地”遵守犹太教的规则，今天，他也担心自己会因为各种想法和行为而受到惩罚。在一年多的时间里，他觉得自己必须在那天看到的第一个售货亭里做慈善，否则他就会死。弗洛伊德可能认为这种强迫性行为是“道德焦虑”的一种表现。戴夫的本我冲动(驱使他到处乱搞，卷入了犯罪)和他的超我之间存在一种心理斗争，根据超我的想法，他不应该做这些事情，也不应该思考这些事情，这让他感到内疚。在他为解决冲突所做的不适应的努力中，他试图撤销自己的行为，并通过施舍来取悦超我，使他免于惩罚。治疗的目的是释放被压抑的冲突，让它进入意识并融入其中。另一个目的可能是增强他的自我意识，允许发展更健康的防御机制，以摆脱焦虑。
英国诺丁汉代写作业:宗教从爱到敬畏
Dave came to therapy feeling stuck and unsuccessful in all life areas. He married and quickly divorced and succeeded financially but lost everything. He even became religious and then secular again, after “religion turned from love to awe”. He followed the rules of Judaism “obsessively”, and also today, he fears he will be punished for various thoughts and acts. For over a year, he felt compelled to give charity in the first kiosk he saw that day, or else he would die.Freud might see this compulsive behavior as an expression of ‘moral anxiety’. There is an intra-psychic struggle between Dave’s id’s drives (that made him sleep around and get involved in delinquency), and his super-ego, according to which he should not be doing and thinking such things, making him feel guilt. In his maladaptive efforts to settle the conflict, he tries to undo his acts and please the super-ego by giving charity that will save him from punishment. Treatment will aim to free the repressed conflict and allow it to enter consciousness and become integrated. Another aim might be strengthening his ego, allowing the development of healthier defense mechanisms in order to rid of anxiety.