Depressive anxiety is a term developed in relation to the
depressive position In development psychology, Melanie Klein proposed a "(psychic) position theory" instead of a " (psychic) stage theory".
Paranoid-schizoid position
In object relations theory, the paranoid-schizoid position is a state of mind of children, from bir ...
by
Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein (née Reizes; 30 March 1882 – 22 September 1960) was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Klein suggested t ...
, building on
Freud's seminal article on
object relations
Object relations theory is a school of thought in psychoanalytic theory centered around theories of stages of ego development. Its concerns include the relation of the psyche to others in childhood and the exploration of relationships between ...
of 1917, 'Mourning and Melancholia'. Depressive anxiety revolved around a felt state of inner danger produced by the fear of having harmed good internal objects - as opposed to the persecutory fear of ego annihilation more typical of
paranoid anxiety.
It may be distinguished from a
depressive mood, which need not necessarily be tinged with
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
.
Stages
Depressive anxiety can be aroused at every developmental stage, from weaning through to the loss of familial dependence of adolescence or of one's youth in later life. Continual oscillation between paranoid and depressive anxieties can create a sense of psychic imprisonment; while conversely a lasting shift from the former to the latter can be seen as one of the marks of a successful analytic process.
Defences
Defences against depressive anxiety include
projective identification, whereby the anxieties are denied in oneself and placed in another person; a manic denial of the reality of an inner world at all; or a
psychic retreat into a reduced and apathetic state of diminished feelings.
Didier Anzieu Didier Anzieu (; 8 July 1923, Melun – 25 November 1999, Paris) was a distinguished French psychoanalyst.
Life
Anzieu studied philosophy and was a pupil of Daniel Lagache, before undertaking his first psychoanalysis with Jacques Lacan. Then, afte ...
saw Freud's theoretical construction of psychoanalysis as a compulsive intellectualized defence against depressive anxiety.
[Didier Anziou, ''Freud's Self-Analysis'' (1986) p. 182 and p. 581]
See also
References
Further reading
* Klein, Mélanie (1946). "Notes on some schizoid mechanisms". Envy and gratitude and other works 1946-1963. Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-Analysis (published 1975). .
* Klein, Mélanie; Riviere, Joan (1964) "Love, guilt, and reparation" in link Love, Hate, and Reparation New York, NY: Norton
* Grotstein, James S. (1981). Splitting and projective identification. New York, NY: Jason Aronson. .
*Ogden, Thomas H. (1989). The primitive edge of experience. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. ..
* Klein, Mélanie (1952). "Some theoretical conclusions regarding the emotional life of the infant". Envy and gratitude and other works 1946-1963. Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-Analysis (published 1975). .
* Segal, H. (1981). The work of Hanna Segal: A Kleinian approach to clinical practice. New York, NY: Jason Aronson. .
* John Steiner, in Robin Anderson ed., Clinical Lectures on Klein and Bion (London 1992) p. 46-58 {{ISBN, 978-0415069939
External links
Klein Trust (with extensive resources)Personal Hypertension Care Companion App
Anxiety
Paranoia
Depression (mood)
Object relations theory