Abstract

CHREIM, Vanessa  and  CINTRA, Elisa Maria de Ulhôa. Denial and beliefs: the narcissistic dimension of the non-admission of castration. Est. Inter. Psicol. [online]. 2020, vol.11, n.3, suppl.1, pp. 163-181. ISSN 2236-6407.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5433/2236-6407.2020v11n3suplp163.

Based on Freud's work, this paper focuses on the notion of denial (Verleugnung) as a defense mechanism present in all forms of subjectivity. Denial defends narcissism against castration threat, which is not restricted to the loss of genitals, but evokes several other narcissistic wounds. This article analyzes the unconscious family transmissions and their relationship with the simultaneous admission and nonadmission of castration. The phallic mother childish fantasy shows denial's action in maintaining irrational beliefs and their effects on the sense of reality. This paper explores denial's manifestation in everyday life and in psychic illnesses, and attests the importance of that concept in the expansion of psychoanalytic theory and clinic.

Keywords : denial; irrational beliefs; castration; narcissism; psychoanalytic clinic.

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