{"title":"Unbarring the unbearable infinity: a bi-logic view on the experience of trauma.","authors":"Filipe L Miranda","doi":"10.1057/s11231-025-09520-x","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The concept of the unconscious is at the heart of psychoanalytic study and practice since its beginnings. A human being's awareness is bounded, and the deeper layers of the mind are mostly inaccessible. Sensations, emotions, dreams, symptoms or creative work may give us a glimpse of the landscape and mediate our relationship with the forgotten, the unknown and the unknowable. The mind has its ways to remain organized and balanced through the development of barriers or shields. However, overwhelming emotional experiences may break through and confront us with the unbounded, infinite and chaotic nature of the unconscious. Resorting to Matte-Blanco's bi-logical theory, this paper aims to explore the effects of trauma on the mind, both as a disruption of psychic barriers and as an unbearable emotional experience of infinity within.</p>","PeriodicalId":52458,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Psychoanalysis","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Journal of Psychoanalysis","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1057/s11231-025-09520-x","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Psychology","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The concept of the unconscious is at the heart of psychoanalytic study and practice since its beginnings. A human being's awareness is bounded, and the deeper layers of the mind are mostly inaccessible. Sensations, emotions, dreams, symptoms or creative work may give us a glimpse of the landscape and mediate our relationship with the forgotten, the unknown and the unknowable. The mind has its ways to remain organized and balanced through the development of barriers or shields. However, overwhelming emotional experiences may break through and confront us with the unbounded, infinite and chaotic nature of the unconscious. Resorting to Matte-Blanco's bi-logical theory, this paper aims to explore the effects of trauma on the mind, both as a disruption of psychic barriers and as an unbearable emotional experience of infinity within.
期刊介绍：
The American Journal of Psychoanalysis is an international psychoanalytic quarterly founded in 1941 by Karen Horney. The journal''s purpose is to be an international forum for communicating a broad range of contemporary theoretical, clinical, professional and cultural concepts of psychoanalysis and for presenting related investigations in allied fields. It is a fully peer-reviewed journal, which welcomes psychoanalytic papers from all schools of thought that address the interests and concerns of scholars and practitioners of psychoanalysis and contribute meaningfully to the understanding of human experience. The journal publishes original papers, special issues devoted to a single topic, book reviews, film reviews, reports on the activities of the Karen Horney Psychoanalytic Center, and comments.
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