Trauma and the origin of aggression
Issue of the actuality of trauma is related to another
important problem: where does the aggression of the patients come from? What
Freud considered the repression of sexual and aggressive drives would cause
neurotic symptoms. The aggression is considered as a drive and therefore inside
of the patient. However, if we acknowledge the actuality of trauma, we need to
consider the origin of the aggression somewhat differently.
One of the papers that deal with the origin of aggression
was the “Confusion of Tongues” paper in 1936. He discussed the issue of the
“identification and introjection of the aggressor”. However, what he discussed
was not exactly the way the victim turns to be another aggressor. He rather described
the process of the victim’s identification with the aggressor’s wishes and
desires in a masochistic way. He states that the most destructive is the
victim’s Introjection of the guilt feelings of the adult (p162) and the
resultant masochism of the victim (Frankel, 2002). Ferenczi stressed rather the
way that the victim hurt him/herself instead of aggressing others.
Frankl explains as follows. While discussing the
identification with the aggressor, Ferenczi mainly talks about concordant
identification based on Heinrich Racker’s classification of the two types of
identification process (Racker, 1968). However, there should be another type of
identification: complementary identification where the victim identifies with
his aggressive nature and becomes the one. Okano 2018) also discussed this
process in his argument of his discussion of “shadowy personality”. It is of
interest to mention the notion of the same name proposed by Anna Freud (1936).
This notions describes more closely to the way this complementary
identification with the aggressor.
Frankel, J. (2002). Exploring
Ferenczi's concept of identification with the aggressor: Its role in trauma,
everyday life, and the therapeutic relationship. Psychoanalytic Dialogues,
12(1), 101–139.
Howell, E (2014) Ferenczi’s Concept of Identification with The Aggressor:
Understanding Dissociative Structure with Interacting Victim and Abuser
Self-States. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis 74(1):48-59.
Okano (2019) The origin of so-called “shadowy
personalities” in patients with dissociative identity disorder. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. 3(2): 95-102.
Freud, A (1994) [1936]. Das Ich und die Abwehrmechanismen (6th, reprint
ed.). Frankfurt: Fischer
Taschenbuch Verlag.
Racker,H (1968) Transference and
countertransuference. New York: International Universityies Press.
Let us look at the way modern analysts conceive the issue
of aggression in DID. Dissociative personalities with aggressive nature have
been described generally as “the internal persecutor” or “persecutory
personality” by various authorities (Kluft, Putnam, Ross, Howell, van der Hart
etc). Putnam states that some persecutor personalities can be recognized as
introjects of the original abuser (1989, p.108).Van der Hart et al（2006）states that the persecutory part of the personality is at
least one type of EPs (emotional part of personalities) and that has some
protective role, and recommends clinicians that they pay respect to them (2006,
p.312). Howell (2011) also stresses defensive purposes when one of these
“persecutory personalities” are formed and states: “Having persecutory and
abuser identity states is like having an internal Al Qaeda or Taliban that
punishes you for the slightest infraction of bizarre and arcane rules. It
involves being emotionally attached to inner and perhaps outer persecutors,
even though you were tortured by them”(2011, p.211).
Howell further states that the “system depends for its
safety, on the inhibition of expression or the exclusion from consciousness of
powerful overwhelming affects, such as terror and rage.”(Howell, 2016, p.211). According
to these experts DID’s aggression is generally understood as a result of
internalizing what was initially external and it is expressed in a
self-destructive and masochistic way. This is a process where the actual trauma
is transformed into the aggression and in that sense, internal and external
processes are both involved. 本当かいな。
Putnam, F (1989) Diagnosis and treatment of Multiple
Personality Disorder. The Guilford Press.
