Psychic equivalence

Psychic equivalence describes a mind-state where no distinction is drawn between the contents of the mind and the external world - where what is thought in the mind is assumed to be automatically true.

Origins

Psychic equivalence is a primitive mind-state which precedes in infancy the capacity for mentalization, that is, for reflection upon both inner and outer worlds. In psychic equivalence mode, if the child thinks there is a monster in the closet it believes there really is a monster in the closet;[1] if the inner world feels harmonious, the world outside is also harmonious.[2] Psychic equivalence is thus a form of concrete understanding of the world, self-convinced, that blocks all curiosity about alternative mind-views.[3]

In later life

Psychic equivalence reappears in later life in the course of dreams, delusions, and traumatic flashbacks.[4] It involves a temporary loss of awareness of the difference between external reality and the contents of the mind:[5] thus in post traumatic stress disorder the individual is convinced (perhaps years later) they are actually back in the situation of the original trauma, a complete loss of perspective.[6]

Where a defensive false self has been built up since infancy to defend against the anxieties of psychic equivalence, subsequent collapse of the narcissistic structure can lead to the re-emergence of the terrifying impingement by reality of psychic equivalence.[7]

gollark: Hmμ.
gollark: Should I get this "Terraria"?
gollark: What game is this‽
gollark: Er, oxygen, not hydrogen.
gollark: The electrolytic separators providing hydrogen for the TNT production part were misplaced, so I had to reshuffle that entire component.

See also

References
  1. J Allen, Mentalizing in Clinical Practice (2008) p. 90
  2. S Fraiberg, The Magic Years (New York 1987) p. 7
  3. P Robinson, Hunger (2018) p. 22 and p. 56
  4. J Allen, Mentalizing in Clinical Practice (2008) p. 91-2
  5. P Williams ed, The Psychoanalytic Therapy of Severe Disturbances (2010) p. 51-2
  6. D Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (London 1996) p. 203
  7. G Goodman Transforming the Internal World and Attachment 1 (2010) p. 182
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