Abstract

SCOZ, Carolina. Castaway mechanism: the ego ideal and its dangers of death. Rev. bras. psicanál [online]. 2023, vol.57, n.4, pp.193-207.  Epub Nov 04, 2024. ISSN 0486-641X.  https://doi.org/10.69904/0486-641x.v57n4.14.

Reading a literary work that the patient used in sessions to represent her emotional distress, the analyst realizes the potential harmfulness intrinsic to the ego ideal when this instance is used to safeguard an early traumatized narcissism. In this article, the author considers castaway mechanism, a term used by the narrator, the repetition of a pattern in which the individual embarks on fabulous achievements in an attempt to compensate for the scarcity of libidinal investment. Under this delusional fantasy, an ideal is created that is always impossible to satisfy, especially since insidious self-destructiveness prevents any spontaneity. The paradoxical - and tragic - consequence of this functioning is that the need to overcome pain ends up generating successive failures, increasing the feeling of misery.

Keywords : ego ideal; narcissism; death drive; trauma.

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