A case of trichotillomania and trichophagy: Fantasies of cannibalism

ABSTRACT

Cannibalistic fantasies underlie some core mechanisms in psychoanalysis: identification, incorporation, introjection, and internalization. Freud (1917) saw melancholia as an incorporation of the object by devouring it, and Julia Kristeva (1989) takes the melancholic cannibalistic imagination to be a repudiation of loss, a destruction in order to possess the object. The author argues that cannibalism is a useful concept for understanding the double dynamics of trichotillomania and trichophagy - as destructive disconnection followed by incorporation of the hair; both suggest a magical reconnection with what was disconnected in order to establish a bond with the mother/analyst. The paradoxical passion of consuming the object of desire, symbolized here by the hair (resembling an umbilical cord and connection to the maternal object) captures the cannibalistic fantasy of never losing the object by destroying it.

Les fantasmes de cannibalisme sous-tendent certains des mécanismes clés en psychanalyse: identification, incorporation, introjection et internalisation. Freud (1917) considérait la mélancolie comme une incorporation de l'objet par dévoration; Julia Kristeva (1989), quant à elle, envisage l'imaginaire mélancolique du cannibalisme comme étant un désaveu de la perte, une destruction qui vise à posséder l'objet. L'auteure de cet article soutient que le cannibalisme est un concept permettant de comprendre la double dynamique de la trichotillomanie et de la trichophagie, en tant qu'une déconnexion destructrice suivie de l'incorporation de l'objet; l'une et l'autre tendent vers une reconnexion magique avec ce qui avait été déconnecté afin d'établir un lien avec la mère/analyste. La passion paradoxale de consommation de l'objet du désir, symbolisé ici par les cheveux (apparentés à un cordon ombilical et un lien à l'objet maternel) est au cœur du fantasme de cannibalisme, celui de ne jamais perdre l'objet en le détruisant.

Kannibalistische Fantasien liegen einigen Kernmechanismen der Psychoanalyse zugrunde: Identifikation, Inkorporation, Introjektion und Internalisierung. Für Freud (1917) war die Melancholie die Einverleibung des Objekts durch Verschlingen, und Julia Kristeva (1989) versteht die melancholische kannibalistische Fantasie als eine Zurückweisung von Verlust, eine Vernichtung, um das Objekt zu besitzen. Die Autorin argumentiert, dass Kannibalismus ein zweckdienliches Konzept zum Verständnis der doppelten Dynamik von Trichotillomanie und Trichophagie sei – eine destruktive Trennung, der eine Einverleibung des Haars folgt. Beides suggeriert eine magische Wiederverbindung mit dem, was vorher abgetrennt war, um eine Bindung mit der Mutter/dem Analytiker bzw. der Analytikerin herzustellen. Die paradoxe Leidenschaft, das Objekt der Begierde – hier durch das Haar symbolisiert (welches einer Nabelschnur und Verbindung zum mütterlichen Objekt ähnelt) zu verspeisen, erfasst die kannibalistische Fantasie, ein Objekt durch Vernichten niemals zu verlieren.

Alcuni dei meccanismi psichici fondamentali individuati dalla psicoanalisi sono sottesi da fantasie cannibaliche: tra questi l'identificazione, l'incorporazione, l'introiezione e l'internalizzazione. Freud (1917) vedeva nella melanconia un modo di incorporare l'oggetto divorandolo, mentre per Julia Kristeva (1989) l'immaginario cannibalico caratteristico della melanconia è una strategia per ripudiare la perdita: una distruzione il cui fine sarebbe quello di possedere l'oggetto. L'autore sostiene che il cannibalismo è un concetto utile per comprendere la doppia dinamica della tricotillomania e della tricofagia - da lui interpretate come disconnessione distruttiva seguita dall'incorporazione dei capelli. Entrambi gli atti evocano una riconnessione magica con ciò che è stato scollegato in modo da stabilire un legame con la madre/analista. La passione paradossale che porta a consumare l'oggetto del desiderio, simbolizzato qui dai capelli (che rinviano a un cordone ombelicale e alla connessione all'oggetto materno) costituisce dunque la rappresentazione della fantasia cannibalica di distruggere l'oggetto per non doverlo mai perdere.

Subyacen fantasías de caníbalismo a algunos de los mecanismos centrales del psicoanálisis: la identificación, la incorporación, la introyección y la internalización. Freud (1917) consideró la melancolía como una incorporación del objeto mediante su devoramiento, y Julia Kristeva (1989) entiende la fantasía caníbal melancólica como un repudio de la pérdida, una destrucción a fin de poseer el objeto. La autora sostiene que el canibalismo es un concepto útil para comprender la dinámica doble de la tricotilomanía y la tricofagia (como desconexión destructiva seguida de la incorporación del cabello); ambas sugieren una reconexión mágica con lo que estaba desconectado, a fin de establecer un vínculo con la madre/analista. La paradójica pasión de consumir el objeto de deseo, simbolizada aquí por el cabello (parecido al cordón umbilical y conexión con el objeto materno), plasma la fantasía caníbal de no perder nunca el objeto por medio de su destrucción.

KEYWORDS:

• Trichotillomania
• trichophagy
• cannibalism
• mother–infant bond
• object relations

Notes

1 Loewald (1973), however, defines internalization as the creation and structuring of a an internal world, and not the construction of inner models that represent the external world (73). When Oedipal relations are renounced and destroyed, higher psychic structures are formed, leading to the development of object relations of a higher order of organization (76).

2 LaPlanche and Pontalis (1973) claim that incorporation and introjection are prototypes of identification, where the mental processes are experienced and symbolized as bodily, in the form of ingesting and devouring (207).

3 In the Preface to the paperback edition of Aspects of Internalization, 1990.

4 If one definition could cover all forms of cannibalism, it might be the killing and consumption of individuals of the same species, in particular the human species (Schutt 2017).

5 Hoffs (1963) enumerates several forms of cannibalism (anthropophagy) not related to death or funerary rituals, such as cannibalism for nutrition, cannibalism for pleasure, cannibalism as sheer gluttony, teknophagy (women killing and eating their newborn), cannibalism for aggression and revenge (enemies eaten out of rage to humiliate and degrade them), legal cannibalism (eating criminals), magical cannibalism (associated with sorcery, witchcraft, and medicine), cannibalism associated with religious practices (the human eaten is deemed a representative of the god, enabling the cannibals to establish a communion with the divinity), and cannibalism associated with political and social practices (as part of coronation rites and in brotherhood rites).

6 Pierre Fédida (1934–2002) was a French psychoanalyst who studied under Gilles Deleuze and taught psychoanalysis at the Université de Paris VII. His work was concerned with language and the body, the question of absence, especially our everyday inattention to others, and the psychoanalytic understanding of art, architecture and poetic writing (Smith 2004).

7 In “Totem and Taboo” (1913) Freud connects the mental lives of “savages”, peoples whose worldview is informed by animism, and neurotics. Both overvalue “psychical acts” (59), that is, the principle guiding magical thinking is omnipotence of thought. “The omnipotence of thoughts, the overvaluation of mental processes as compared with reality, is seen to have unrestricted play in the emotional life of neurotic patients and in everything that derives from it” (87). Freud understands the obsessive acts of neurotics to have a magical character, although typically distorted by displacement.

8 Winnicott (1953/1971) describes a little boy tying strings around objects in the house, such as chair legs, as a denial of separation, the other side of a wish for connectedness. Strings, lassos and umbilical cords connect things, connect one person to another, and being similar to these, hair yields symbolic resemblance in magical thinking.