New Ideas in Psychology

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So far I have considered the process of abreaction as the consequence of having an insight into the cause of a psychological problem. It is insight, and only insight, that removes the problem. Psychic practices and religious experiences may relegate a problem to comparative insignificance, but they do not remove it.

However, abreaction can be triggered by another factor, independently of insight. This factor is that of suggestion or short-term desire. Suggestion causes the generation of anxiety. This anxiety can be abreacted without needing insight. The limitation of this mode of abreaction is that, since there is no insight, there is no permanent elimination of anxiety.

Once a short-term desire arises the ego attaches anxiety to it.
Excitement is generated when the desire is being fulfilled but that excitement is just catharsis. Once excitement is generated the sequence of emotions proceeds to guilt and resentment as usual and the anxiety is abreacted. But the absence of insight means that fresh anxiety begins to accumulate with the next arousal of that desire. Only insight can prevent a previous problem or a former desire from acting as a nucleus for the build-up of new anxiety.

In effect, all that happens with suggestion is that the person creates an exciting phantasy within the emotional sequence of abreaction. Since anxiety is not permanently eliminated so these phantasies can be replayed endlessly. The person follows the emotional sequence, with all its pleasure and pain, without getting the benefit of the eradication of anxiety. Because the phantasy is based solely on feelings rather than on insight it can be generated anywhere and at any time. I call suggestion the feeling mode of abreaction, whereas therapeutic abreaction is the insight mode.

There is another difference between the two forms of abreaction : suggestion need not go all the way to guilt and resentment since it can be interrupted. This is one reason why the limitations of suggestion are not usually recognised.

The process of abreaction in feeling mode can be interrupted in only one way. At the stage of jealousy, the self-pity mode is dominant. If the person is then given appreciation and emotional support by another person, such as a sexual partner, then the self-pity mode is neutralised. This neutralisation means that the following stage of guilt is prevented from occurring. Hence emotional support given in time stops the person experiencing guilt and resentment. This is the real value of having an harmonious relationship with a partner : each can take turns in helping the other to survive abreaction. However, the fact that many partnerships are not harmonious indicates that this neutralisation of guilt does not always work.

For comparison, when a person is going through abreaction of guilt in insight mode, the stage of guilt cannot be prevented. When the person is given emotional support at the stage of jealousy, the guilt is merely held back and delayed till the effects of the support wear off.

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Copyright © 2002 Ian Heath
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