Beyond psychic numbing. A call to awareness

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-55
Author(s):  
Robert Jay Lifton
Keyword(s):  
Psychic Numbing

The Family and Home Hemodialysis: Adolescents' Reactions to a Father on Home Dialysis

1981 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose H. Goldman ◽  
George L. Cohn ◽  
Robert E. Longnecker
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Family Interactions ◽  
Home Hemodialysis ◽  
Home Dialysis ◽  
Role Changes ◽  
Developmental Problems ◽  
The Family ◽  
Psychic Numbing

Quality of life is the most controversial issue surrounding home hemodialysis. We examined how sixteen adolescents and their six families reacted to having a father on home hemodialysis, exploring the interplay between adolescent developmental conflicts and family stresses. Family members underwent role changes to adjust to alterations imposed by hemodialysis. Some adolescents helped relieve family stresses by taking an active role in dialysis. These eight adolescents developed greater self-esteem which enhanced identity growth and facilitated separation. Psychological responses were observed that resembled the “death guilt,” “psychic numbing,” and “invisible contamination” described in Hiroshima survivors. Adolescent developmental problems can be dwarfed by family conflicts around chronic illness and dialysis. Families adjusted to home hemodialysis showing new growth, managing with a barely workable arrangement, or adapting unsuccessfully. Understanding more about how home hemodialysis can influence family interactions can enable the medical staff to facilitate beneficial changes, and thereby improve the quality of life for patient and family.

On Death and the Continuity of Life: A Psychohistorical Perspective

1975 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Jay Lifton
Keyword(s):  
Psychoanalytic Theory ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
Victorian Era ◽  
Psychic Numbing ◽  
Extreme Violence ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sexual Repression ◽  
Illustrative Material ◽  
Made In

Unlimited technological violence and absurd death have replaced sexual repression as an urgent theme for contemporary man. Psychoanalytic theory, developed during the late Victorian era, must be re-evaluated within the context of current historical forces. In attempting to understand the impact of extreme violence and mass death, the writer finds it more useful to speak of a process of psychic numbing rather than repression. This numbing process involves an impairment of the symbolization or image-forming function. Illustrative material is drawn from the writer's previous study of Hiroshima survivors, and in observations made in clinical work. The goal is to evolve psychohistorical theory adequate to the dangerous times in which we live.

scholarly journals Psychic Numbing and Mass Atrocity

2018 ◽  
pp. 126-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAUL SLOVIC ◽  
DAVID ZIONTS ◽  
ANDREW K. WOODS ◽  
RYAN GOODMAN ◽  
DEREK JINKS
Keyword(s):  
Psychic Numbing ◽  
Mass Atrocity

Estonia Rebuilds: The Second Year of Independence, 1992–1993

1994 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-403
Author(s):  
Walter C. Clemens
Keyword(s):  
State Of Mind ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Psychic Numbing ◽  
Second Year

Getting a fix on Estonians’ state of mind was difficult in the years before and after September 1991. The runup and aftermath of independence produced what an observer in Estonian Life called a “psychic rollercoaster”—euphoric hopes, long periods of boredom, and moments of sheer terror as Soviet agents struck hard at Baltic independence. Earlier years of collective obedience training had produced the effect of psychic numbing. In the 1990s Estonians dared to think and feel.

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