Dysfunctional, not tragic.

In this article Ellen Savage looks for her heroine to be cantankerous, sexually perverse, too-smart-for-her-historical-situation, and possibly corrupt: tired and bored of the idea that women should have hope, achievement, and be wholesome in order to be feminist.

On falling in Love

For love to be grounded in reality it must be based on an accurate perception of the beloved, not fantasy, reverie or illusion. Love fuelled by a projection of a saint-like idealisation on to the beloved is bound to dwindle once the image of unbending perfection disintegrates and the real person, with her unsaintly flaws, is left in its place. Sustained only by fantasy and illusion, love that idealises the beloved is void of rationality.

The link between the expression of words and emotional relief.

In 1977 Nemiah described the concept of psychic elaboration of emotion. Many of us struggle to put our feelings into words – developing this capacity is a life-long task in which we must all engage. Moreover the failure to foster this capacity in therapy can be one of the most common factors to undermine its success

24/7 Relationships

“The salient truth is that in close quarters for extended periods everyone’s ‘little ticks’ and irritating habits, which can be mostly overlooked during weekends, are magnified to Argentinosaurus proportions (largest dinosaur. No me neither). Even mine.”

Conflicts of Choice.

The idea of conflicts over unacceptable aspects of the self is a central part of the psychodynamic point of view. In relation to our internal worlds Freud borrowed the word ‘dynamic’ from the study of physics to convey the idea of two conflicting forces producing a resultant third force which acts in an opposing direction.

Food issues

Eating disorders are a relatively common psychological illness but are not always well diagnosed. They describe illnesses characterised by irregular eating habits and severe distress or concern about body weight or shape. Eating disturbances may include inadequate or excessive food intake, ultimately damaging an individual’s well-being by both physiological damage to health and psychological illness. There are also the more hidden negative social, employment and lifestyle effects associated with eating disorders.