消沉經驗與自體疾患— Kohut自體心理學之應用

The Experience of Self-Affliction and Self-Disorder: A Kohut’s Self-Psychology Perspective

本文以自體心理學為理論基底，從自體疾患（self disorder）的觀點，詮釋「消沉傾向（self-affliction tendency）」（吳珮瑀、林清文、陸洛，2016）。就 Kohut所提出之自體疾患定義，分析Church及Brooks （2009）就隱微自殺現象所編擬之模擬個案—Jack，分析其內在自我（self）發展的貧瘠如何導致其消沉的生活態度，以致於孤寂而死。此舉乃嘗試說明，所謂「隱微自殺」實則為自體疾患常出現之消沉經驗。

 

Jack的遭遇是許多成癮、情感疏離、人際關係困難者的縮影，從自體發展來看，符合Kohut所謂自體缺陷，乃至自體疾患的定義；從消沉傾向的眼光來看，人們可以從其存在疏離、困竭思覺、疏忽自我照顧及關係 矛盾等四方面，觀察其自體缺陷之外顯行為，有助於自體疾患之辨認。

 

消沉傾向之探討有助於增進心理治療工作者對於人類自我毀滅與破壞行為的了解，並從自體發展之脈絡， 深入解析廣泛存在於現代人生活中的消沉現象，有助於預防身心疾病的發生。

 

By use of a case study, this paper interprets the phenomenon of a “self-affliction tendency,” based on the theory of self-disorder (Wu, Lin, & Lu, 2016). According to definitions taken from Kohut’s theory of self-psychology, there are four dimensions of self-affliction: existential alienation, dysfunction, poor self-care, and contradictory relationship within the framework of self-disorder. The obvious behaviors of self-defect can be found through self-observation. Using this framework, the analysis focuses on the case study of Jack, who was living with depressing life attitudes and was lonely and spiritually dead, all because of poor development of the inner-self. Jack also encountered the experiences of addiction, emotional alienation, and other interpersonal difficulties. As such, his situation was consistent with the definitions of “self-disorder” and “self-affliction tendency.” The paper concludes that seeking understanding of the four dimensions of self-affliction could be potentially helpful for practitioners in realizing the nature of self-defeating and self-destructive behaviors. In this sense, it might also be able to help prevent or address physical and mental illnesses in people’s lives.