Abstract

MAIA, Maria Vitória Mamede  and  PINHEIRO, Nadja Nara Barbosa. Anxiety and subjectivity: on psycho-somatic phenomena from Freud and Winnicott theories. Rev. Mal-Estar Subj. [online]. 2009, vol.9, n.1, pp. 75-104. ISSN 1518-6148.

When you work in a hospital environment, you have to face several challengers. Among them, the present article analyses one: the psycho-somatic phenomena which are frequently found at hospitals. In order to understanding them, Freud and Winnicott perspective on constitutional subjectivity are focused. Also, the article focus the psychological process that makes the relation between psyche and soma from the primaries 'satisfaction experiences' which lead to anxiety from what subject starts his maturational process. First, Freud's concept of anxiety is presented. The article shows his first considerations on this point focusing his distinction between actual and psycho-neurosis. Then, Freud's theory, on his meta-psychological articles, is considered. At this point, anxiety is defined as a result of repression process. Further, Freud's last consideration on anxiety is presented in relation to babies' state of psychic and physic helplessness during his first satisfaction experiences. The paper introduces, here, Freud's concept of 'automatic anxiety'. Those points of view are taken as a transitional bridge to Winnicott's work and his paradoxical conception of subjectivity development, focusing on his concept of "unthinkable anxiety". Finally, the article proposes a question: can we understand those psycho-somatic phenomena as a possible subjective response to unthinkable anxiety? Since, at this movement, there is something impossible to be symbolized and, for that, it has to be expressed through out body?

Keywords : psycho-somatic phenomena; anxiety; subjectivity; psychoanalysis; clinic.

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