Turning Against the Self
Papa Freud, conflicted, with cigar by Carla216
Turning Against the Self
A Freudian defense mechanism, elaborated on by Freud’s daughter Anna Freud, in which an original desire to harm others is directed towards oneself.
An example would be an individual who burns him- or herself with cigarettes.
Although considered a type of masochism, there are different interpretations as to why people burn themselves.
One interpretation is that they altruistically, in a misguided way, harm themselves instead of harming others. Alternately we can ask if an individual is dulled to pain because they’ve entered another type of consciousness where physical pain doesn’t matter or, perhaps, register.
As with most defense mechanisms, socially sanctioned activities like smoking also fall into the category of turning against the self.
Freud, himself, was a heavy cigar smoker. Even when he contracted jaw cancer he didn’t quit smoking cigars.
As a leading medical man Freud most likely was aware of the harmful effects of smoking.¹ In 1929 the German physician, Fritz Lickint, had published a paper outlining the link between smoking and cancer² (Freud died in 1939).
Given our present day knowledge, one could say that all smokers are turning against the self with their self-destructive habit, as we could with alcoholics, drug abusers, hydrogenated vegetable oil and aspartame consumers.
As the list of known harmful substances grows almost daily, the debate continues as to what constitutes normal versus abnormal, as well as defensive, destructive or adaptive behaviors. » Deviance
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¹ Digital Dame adds: “The link between cancer and smoking was discovered at least as early as the 1920s. I remember seeing an old B&W silent showing people on a float in a parade (maybe it was an anti-smoking rally?) dressed as skeletons, or the Grim Reaper, as an anti-smoking campaign. There’s an article on Wikipedia about the anti-smoking movement and the Nazis. Maybe because of its association with the Nazis, the anti-smoking movement never really took hold here? As late as the 1960s doctors were telling people it was good to light up, and many doctors themselves were smokers.” » See in context
² Hanspeter Witschi, “A Short History of Lung Cancer” http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/64/1/4
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Posted on April 11, 2009, in T and tagged defence mechanisms, freud, psychology, smoking, substance abuse. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
Before you can understand this statement “As with most defense mechanisms, socially sanctioned activities like smoking also fall into the category of turning against the self.You have to have a clear understanding of “self”. To that end I envite you to read The Power Of Self Seperation. You will see the world in a new light.
The link between cancer and smoking was discovered at least as early as the 1920s. I remember seeing an old B&W silent showing people on a float in a parade (maybe it was an anti-smoking rally?) dressed as skeletons, or the Grim Reaper, as an anti-smoking campaign. There’s an article on Wikipedia about the anti-smoking movement and the Nazis. Maybe because of its association with the Nazis, the anti-smoking movement never really took hold here? As late as the 1960s doctors were telling people it was good to light up, and many doctors themselves were smokers.
Yes, that’s very interesting. My first reaction while writing this entry was to ask why Freud smoked when it was known to be bad for you.
Then I did a search and found an authoritative looking medical article about how the link with cancer was first discovered in the 50s.
But my instinct still said “Freud should have known.” Thanks for showing me why, perhaps, I felt that way. History is so often selective. That’s why modern scholars usually say “A History of…” instead of “The History of…”
At any rate, I’m going to let this percolate a bit before revising. Much appreciated…
Entry was just revised.
As I read this I also thought of overeaters or those who suffer from eating disorders…
and then realized I myself drink Diet Pop knowing it’s bad for me but figure the sugar in Regular Pop is bad for me too…so which of the two will do less damage…???
and where do I draw the line?
I guess one must discern and for me moderation and finding balance seems to be the key…