Final answer:
Freud's theory suggested that certain troubling symptoms are caused by painful unconscious memories resulting from psychological processes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sigmund Freud believed that certain troubling symptoms could be traced to painful unconscious memories, which he theorized resulted from psychological processes. Freud's work with patients suffering from hysterias and neuroses led him to explore the unconscious mind. Through methods such as dream analysis, slips of the tongue, and free association, Freud sought to uncover repressed memories and address the internal conflicts causing patients' symptoms. Freud's theory emphasizes that the unconscious is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories outside of conscious awareness, deeply influencing behavior.