THE TRAUMA OF THE ABSOLUTE

A WORKING HYPOTHESIS

Abstract

This study aims to present the trauma of the absolute, of transgenerational origin within the family. Its representations include: being abandoned, helpless, rejected, indebted, unloved, forever, with no place in the world—overwhelmed by hate and horror. They reflect significant mental suffering from childhood and tend to hinder the fulfillment of the adult’s desires in the world. These representations block the flow of those coherent with the subject’s desires: to be loved, to be intelligent, competent, valued, self-sustained—imbued with love. The psychoanalytic clinical method allows analysis to bring the representations of the absolute into the conscious layer of the representational system. Analysis can produce a psychic transformation of the representations of the trauma of the absolute into representations coherent with desire at their most essential foundations. These are integrated with other representations at the end of the analysis. In this context, self-sustained expresses the psychic change from being abandoned and helpless. Thus, it allows differentiation and autonomy of the subject’s desire in relation to their family and enables the realization of their desire in the world. The trauma of the absolute and the representational system are working hypotheses that dialogue with psychoanalytic concepts. They derive from the author’s clinical cases, allowing reflection on contemporary psychoanalytic practice.