Issue 22 : January, 2022
The symptom is a sign, which can come out within the body, the psyche or through pathological behaviours. It can sometimes be a message to the other, requesting an answer or arousing a reaction. It can also be an attempt to conciliate the irreconcilable, desire and ban for instance, or narcissism and link to the objects of attachment. No matter how destructive - anxiety, melancholy, delusion for instance – the symptom can be conceived as an attempt at defence against even more threatening and unthinkable anxieties. Fortunately, there can be fast reliefs but sometimes the rest can be short-lived. A treatment focused on a specific symptom gives sometimes free rein to other psychopathological expressions. So why not consider the symptom as an ally? Not being indifferent to the suffering while using what it tries to convey more or less without the knowledge of the patient? The wellbeing which is sought by the psychic care institutions for their patients can be sustainable if the meanings of the symptom within the personal life course are unveiled.