Silence is violence: psychic trauma and its working-through

Abstract

One hundred years ago Freud set mourning against melancholia in the belief that endured losses leads to depression. However, it is not only unmourned grief, but unworked-through violence that leads to destruction and enables the victim the possibility of ridding themselves of unbearable psychic pain. The solutions to this predicament are different; from identification with the aggressor to turning this pain against himself, resulting in depression, self-injuries, and suicide. This article illustrates the principle at three different, but interrelated levels: personal, familial, and social. It suggests that not only individuals or families resist mourning, but that multiple generations in different countries may not be able to complete the working through of these traumas. This may lead to constant re-enactment of the scenario and strangles development.