La Capacidad Para Estar Solo / The Capacity To Be Alone

Resumen Donald Winnicott fue uno de los más notables autores psicoanalíticos del siglo pasado. Uno de sus artículos más citados es "La capacidad del estar solo" de 1958. En él expone que dicha capacidad es uno de los signos más importantes de madurez psíquica y que su adquisición paulatina depende de haber podido establecer, primero, una relación bipersonal con su madre -o con quien fuese que ejerza dicho rol- de tal manera de haber ido construyendo una relación no amenazante consigo mismo, donde pueda contemplarse en armonía y sin la necesidad de reaccionar. En este interjuego de auto-observación va surgiendo paso a paso el yo, que es la instancia consciente que observa el despliegue del self. Plantea el concepto de "orgasmo del yo" entendiéndolo como un estado placentero pero sin excitación sexual ni necesidad de descarga física. Cuando se está a solas consigo mismo, lo que no implica necesariamente estar físicamente solo, pueden expresarse aquellas particularidades que construirán una personalidad adulta y en armonía consigo mismo.

Donald Winnicott was one of the most remarkable psychoanalytic authors of the last century. One of his most cited articles is "The capacity to Be alone" from 1958. In it he states that this ability is one of the most important signs of psychic maturity and that its gradual acquisition depends on having been able to establish, first, a bipersonal relationship with his mother -or with whoever exercises that role- in such a way that he has been building a non-threatening relationship with himself, where he can contemplate himself in harmony and without the need to react. In this interplay of self-observation, the ego, which is the conscious instance that observes the unfolding of the self , emerges step by step. It raises the concept of "orgasm of the ego", understanding it as a pleasant state but without sexual excitement or the need for physical discharge. When you are alone with yourself, which does not necessarily mean being physically alone, you can express those particularities that will build an adult personality and in harmony with yourself,

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Eating Disorder: Is there a link ?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is seen to have links with eating disorders which have been demonstratedin the early 1900s and is supported by the personality trait of ‘compulsion neurosis’. Personality traitsshown to be shared between EDs and OCD are perfectionism and neuroticism. The review furtherexplores overlapping factors between the two conditions.

Mythological conceptualization, cognitive and ego development: Is there a correlation ?

Background: In today’s world there is a continuous struggle between science and spirituality, with a lot ofdoctors feeling that religion gets in the way of scientific treatment and sometimes also leads to very direand dangerous consequences. While a lot of older concepts are invalid today, there is a reason why suchconcepts existed in the first place and they were also backed by some sort of logic and rationale. It istherefore essential to compare and correlate the older concepts with the newer ones since they shall alsogive an insight regarding the existing psychological concepts at that time.Methodology: We studied and compared the various stages of ego development currently accepted mainlyincluding Loevinger’s and Piaget’s stages of ego and cognitive development and correlated it with theIndian mythological concepts of Manas, Buddhi, Chitta and Ahamkara. They can also be correlated withcertain concepts by Freud, Jung and Erikson. The sources of this information were various religiousscriptures like the Vedas and the Bhagwad Gita and at the same time we have correlated it with variousinterpretations mentioned in encyclopaedias like Britannica and DK.Result: While the study is our interpretation of the review of literature, we do realize that mythologicalconcepts are very abstract due to the wide time span; and various writers and scripture producers and theirinterpretations are also very subjective. The clinical significance of this paper comprises of correlation ofvarious symptoms with older concepts like disorders in Manas may mean perceptual disturbances ordisturbances in Buddhi may translate to disturbances in executive functions.Conclusion: While a lot of mental healthcare professionals do have a lot of scepticism in being open to themythological concepts of human psychology, this paper emphasises that there was a certain observableand objective basis to these concepts exist, which can also be co-related with the modern-day concepts ofpsychology.

Una perspectiva neurobiológica del pensamiento preconciente / A neurobiologiccal perspective of preconscious thought

El modelo teórico freudiano del proceso de construcción del Yo se complementa con el análisis de los modos que adopta el pensamiento, configurando un tipo general de funcionamiento denominado "proceso secundario" o modo preconciente/conciente de la actividad psíquica. Desarrollos recientes en neurociencia han mostrado la existencia de diferentes redes o sistemas neurales correlacionados con distintos tipos de actividad mental. Entre éstos, la "default mode network" (DMN) designa un sistema que muestra un alto nivel de actividad metabólica "en reposo", cuando el cerebro no está ocupado en llevar a cabo un tarea en particular. En 2010 Friston y Carhart-Harris propusieron que dicho sistema podría constituir el sustrato neural para el proceso secundario freudiano. En este artículo se revisaran brevemente el modelo teórico freudiano de la construcción del yo, por una parte, y el estado del arte que muestra el desarrollo de la DMN en bebés y niños de diferentes edades. (AU)

According to Friston and Carhart-Harris some Freudian main theoretical concepts may have neurobiological correlates. They propose that the Freudian notion of "secondary process" can be related to the activity of the "default mode network". The secondary process is mainly devoted to converting "free energy" into "bound energy" in a fashion that makes it useful for higher cognitive functions, and it is governed by "the ego" as the chief executive structure. The DMN was described as a network that shows high metabolic activity at rest and deactivates during goal-directed cognition. We intend to show, from the Freudian perspective, how different modes of thinking activity can be related to each stage of ego structure development and contribute with certain complex components shaping the preconscious/conscious way of thinking. And then, how these ego forms can be correlated with recent findings about DMN ontogenetic changes and maturation in newborns and young children. (AU)