Experience of traumatic events and personal myths of birth

ABSTRACT

Focusing on the analysis of a clinical case, this article studies the manner in which certain traumatic events can induce some individuals to produce auto-traumatic processes. In parallel, it demonstrates how the foundations of a subject’s origins can, at an early stage, find themselves undermined by an environment that does not recognise the subject, and that sends out messages that seem to exclude him or her from their filiation. What can follow is a partial breakdown in the ideation of origins that leads some individuals to create a personal myth of birth. This myth, that borrows some elements from collective myths, can to some extent substitute itself for the representation of filiation. This process will be differentiated here from delusional phenomena, or the ‘sexual theories of children’. This article also demonstrates the important role of the analysis of ‘anxiety dreams’ in these traumatic configurations: this analysis has the power to bring to light the different conflicting elements with which the ego identifies, so as to put an end to the auto-traumatic process, as well as giving clues for lifting the amnesia regarding a childhood personal myth of birth. Under these conditions ‘acts of birth’ can become inscribed into the analysis.

KEYWORDS:

• Personal myth of birth
• anxiety dreams
• primal scene
• superego
• trauma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Translator’s note: The French “qui n’en fait qu’à sa tête.” is something along the lines of ‘does as her head tells her’ and express the English idea of being ‘head strong’.

2. Translator’s note: “dévisagement”, or “dévisager”, in French, a word which, while meaning to scrutinize, stare, or gaze at someone’s face, holds in it the words ‘de-’ and ‘face’, and implies an experience of de-staring.

3. Translator’s note: the French word for earth worm is “ver”, which is a homophone of the word for glass “verre”.

4. For example: Aphrodite who was born from the foam produced by the severed genitals of Uranus, tossed into the sea by Cronos; or Athena who was born from the head of Zeus.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sylvie Le Poulichet

Sylvie Le Poulichet is a psychoanalyst and professor ofpsychopathology at the University of of Paris. She has publisheda number of books on addictions, time, the creative processes ofartists, and terrors of formlessness.