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Gazing Into Medusa's Eyes: The Fear of Being Seen and Attacks on Insight
Author(s) -
Ariv Gail Y
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
british journal of psychotherapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1752-0118
pISSN - 0265-9883
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0118.1993.tb00642.x
Subject(s) - psychology , psychic , shame , realm , feeling , psychoanalysis , theme (computing) , id, ego and super ego , rage (emotion) , sight , social psychology , psychotherapist , history , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , computer science , operating system , physics , archaeology , astronomy
SUMMARY Using a theme from a once weekly therapy I explore the problem of gaining insight when both seeing and being seen are experienced as attack with fears for survival. I use the Oedipus legend to describe narcissistic attacks on sight and the compulsion to return to a rejecting mother. The figures of Hades realm and the story of the Medusa portray the stuck, blind, somatised states I am describing together with the rage, envy and longing involved. I suggest that a cyclic image of movement is useful in the therapy where excessive splitting into opposites with male/female connotations has occurred. Through the theme of eyes, seeing and being blind I develop the relation between critical super‐ego penetration and feelings of submission, violation, exposure and shame that induce the need to stay hidden and affect sexual feelings as well as inter and intra‐psychic relating.