Lives of the Unconscious. A Podcast on Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy

Support our project and get access to the scripts for all episodes: https://www.patreon.com/lives From catcalling and unsolicited “dick pics” to upskirting and other forms of sexual assault—sexualized violence is omnipresent, especially on social media, and is often perpetrated by men. Research also shows that other forms of sexualized violence frequently, though by no means exclusively, originate from men. This episode explores how such behaviors can be understood and how they intersect with a psychoanalytic perspective on perversion. The topic of female perversion will be addressed in a separate episode. Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Script to this episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/127342722/ Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org Donation via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QH82X6SWVJ9LY Literature Recommendations: - Massie, H. & Szajnberg, N. M. (1997). The ontogeny of a sexual fetish from birth to age 30 and memory processes. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 78, 755–771. - Stoller, R. (1975). Perversion: The Erotic Form of Hatred. New York: Pantheon Books. - McDougall, J. (1985). Plea for a Measure of Abnormality. New York: International Universities Press. - Chasseguet-Smirgel, J. (1996). Creativity and Perversion. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Envy can arise wherever there exists inequality between people: in societies and families, between siblings, genders, and generations. “Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay” (R.W. Emerson). Envy has a bad reputation, at times even considered taboo, and yet still it proves to be ever-present. This episode explores the psychoanalytic understanding of envy and its implications for society and therapeutic processes, such as the phenomenon known as ‘negative therapeutic reaction.’ However, envy is not only destructive, but is also a driving force of human development. Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org Donation via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QH82X6SWVJ9LY

In contrast to “black depression,” white depression denotes an often inconspicuous, insidious affliction that can last a lifetime. Its distinguishing quality is a feeling of meaninglessness and emptiness that is nearly impossible to grasp, even if everything in life actually appears to be working out and there is reason to be joyful. As if, despite all efforts, it was simply impossible to truly believe in anything at all, as if all love and enthusiasm were simply a stage play, acted out for others. What this is all about and where such feelings towards life can come from is the subject of this episode. Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org Donation via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QH82X6SWVJ9LY

One couple fights over household responsibilities. Another is trapped in a cycle of jealousy and control. Still another strives for total harmony and oneness—only to be tormented by intense anxiety the moment small differences arise. With the help of the famous psychodynamic concept of collusion, this episode deals with the often conflictual relations between couples. We often encounter in romantic relationships the contours of our unconscious longings and fears, factors that are anchored in our personal history and that are decisive in the selection of a partner. Topics include: the relationship dynamics of jealousy, narcissistic relationship dynamics, as well as helper dynamics. Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org Donation via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QH82X6SWVJ9LY

“You are what you eat.” We are continuously negotiating our identity through food, setting the boundaries of the self. Inscribed into the symptoms of anorexia is an unconscious conflict of identity, which has something to do with one’s own longings and cravings, with a hunger for the other. In psychodynamic therapies, these longings become part of the therapeutic exchange, while also leading to a characteristic dilemma. Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org Donation via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QH82X6SWVJ9LY

The diagnosis of “narcissism” appears to have come into vogue, not only in the field of clinical psychology. It is an inescapable diagnosis for just about any critique of contemporary society. But what exactly are we talking about when we talk of narcissism? How do such diagnoses of our times relate to the clinical and psychoanalytical understanding of narcissism? Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org Donation via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QH82X6SWVJ9LY

After the previous phases of therapy, in which Alex’s symptoms and later his own life story took center stage, the outbreak of the Corona crisis sends the therapeutic work into turmoil. Fears of infection, but also alleged “conspiracy theories” confine the therapeutic space and raise questions. These become, at the same time, the starting point for uncovering the transgenerational entanglements. Alex explores the traumatic history of his family and finds not only a demon, still carrying out his nefarious deeds, but also a key to his origins and identity. Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Visit our website for more information: www.psy-cast.org Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Donation via Paypal to support the production of further episodes: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=X5F9LSUUUQDWU

This case study is about Alex, a man in his mid-thirties, who spent over four years in analysis, most of that time with three sessions a week. Alex came into therapy with psychosomatic symptoms and anxiety attacks for which there appeared to be no explanation. The story of therapy describes the development of mental space in which emotional meaning gradually emerges, thoughts and feelings connect, and inner chaos is organized. This is a delicate process, for an ominous light falls on the family history, even affecting Alex’s spirit, darkening his life for many years. The case history that also touches on the traumatic history of Europe and Russia, a history that casts its generational shadow on us to this day. Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Visit our website for more information: www.psy-cast.org Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Donation via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=X5F9LSUUUQDWU See also our episode on transgenerational transmission of trauma: https://psy-cast.org/en/episode-21-the-long-shadow-of-trauma-transgenerational-transmission/ All case histories and details named have been published only with the personal consent of those involved and have been modified to render them completely anonymous, so that inference to any real person is not possible; or examples have been invented and are fictional. Possible overlaps with any real persons are therefore coincidental. **Help in mental crises**: If you are in a mental health crisis, look for help in your local area and reach out to professionals. Many countries also have national programs.If you are not well, please decide for yourself if you want to listen to this podcast episode. This episode is about panic attacks, anxiety and transgenerational trauma.

Attachment, love, always goes hand in hand with losses—thus happiness and sadness are also close relatives. In this episode we will hear more about why separation and loss not only mean suffering, but also play an important role for psychological development. Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org

Conspiracy phantasma derive their power from affects, not from arguments. They cannot be understood by differentiating them from some supposedly reasonable normality – for normality may not be so reasonable after all – but only in the reflection of their affective cohesiveness. In fact, they are a social psychological phenomenon of extraordinary proportions: and a case for depth psychology. In this episode we will hear more about the role conspiracy theories can play for the psyche and why they cannot be easily abandoned. Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org

“A trauma does not disappear through silence; it cannot be silenced out of existence. It remains effective in fantasies, dreams, and experiences, but eludes language and thus understanding. It only becomes more diffuse, more intangible; it becomes a shadow or an undead, casting an invisible spell over the family history... But how do you break a spell?” Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives

“What remains unresolved in the mind knows no time.” This episode is the first of a three-part series on the psychoanalysis of trauma. In the first part we will hear about attachment and early childhood trauma and the impact it can have on our psychological development. Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives

“And how is this supposed to work here?” This is the question that quite a few patients ask at the beginning of psychotherapy. How psychotherapy works—especially psychoanalytic treatment—is, at first glance, more difficult to explain than, say, the effect of a medical procedure. A physicians has instruments, to operate on a broken leg, prescribes exercises or drugs, for example an antibiotic. The patient soon feels better and the therapy has worked. But what is it like in psychotherapy? Psychoanalysts have no book with therapy instructions, no exercises; they don’t have any pills in the cupboard or anything else that they can conjure up from some therapeutic toolbox. What, after all, is the “drug” in psychoanalysis? In psychoanalysis the principle is: healing through understanding. But the questions remains: How can understanding cure a disease? In this episode we will explore the answer to this question. Visit our website: www.psy-cast.org Our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes: www.patreon.com/lives