The experience of analyzing transference relationships in patients whose psychopathology is dominated by narcissistic omnipotent object relations and the resulting negative therapeutic reactions (as in the patients discussed in the previous two chapters) has drawn my attention to the important role of recognizing and analyzing aggression and destructiveness, and in what special way they are included in the life of the narcissistic individual. In the course of a fairly detailed study of narcissism, it seemed to me essential to distinguish between its libidinal and destructive aspects.

Looking at the libidinal aspect of narcissism, we can see that a revaluation of the self, based mainly on the idealization of the self, plays a central role. The idealization of the self is supported by omnipotent introjective and projective identifications with ideal objects and their qualities. Thus, the narcissist feels that everything of value relating to external objects and the world outside is part of him or omnipotently controlled by him. The negative consequences of such processes are obvious, and Freud (Freud, 1914) generally discussed narcissism in connection with the distribution of libido in the ego and its pathological consequences. According to Freud, in the conditions of narcissism there is a loss of all object cathexis and there is no transfer (due to indifference to objects). But Freud also described narcissism in connection with the narcissist's love of his self and in connection with self-regard. He emphasized, for example, that “everything that one possesses and that is achieved, every remnant of a primitive sense of omnipotence confirmed by experience contributes to raising self-esteem” (1914: SE 14: 98). In my opinion, this type of narcissism often acts as an essential shield of the self, and some patients become extremely vulnerable when frustrations and humiliations break through the narcissistic defenses and holes are created in it. That is why it is so important to distinguish the positive side of the idealization of the self from its negative side. Therefore, I would like to emphasize that, despite my attention to the negative consequences of narcissistic processes, I also carefully study the positive [their] results. Analyzing all narcissistic phenomena in the same way can be disastrous for therapy.

When we consider narcissism from its destructive aspect, we find that the idealization of the self again plays a central role, but now the omnipotent destructive parts of the self are idealized. They are directed both against every positive libidinal object relation and against every libidinal part of the self that feels the need for an object and wishes to depend on it. 2) Destructive omnipotent parts of the self often remain disguised, or may be mute and split off, which obscures their existence and leaves the impression that they have nothing to do with the outside world. In fact, they contribute extremely strongly to the prevention of dependence object relations and the maintenance of a permanent devaluation of external objects, which causes the narcissistic individual to seem indifferent to external objects and the world.

Experience shows that in those narcissistic states where libidinal aspects predominate, overt destructiveness becomes evident in the analytic relationship as soon as the patient's omnipotent idealization of the self is threatened by contact with an object that is perceived to be separate from the self (as in the case of Adam, discussed in chapter four). . Such patients feel humiliated and destroyed by the revelation that in fact the valuable qualities that they attributed to their creative power contain an external object. The primary function of the narcissistic state is to cover up any feeling of envy and destructiveness and to keep the patient away from these feelings. However, as soon as the analysis demonstrates to the patient the existence of these desires, his feelings of resentment and revenge for the stolen omnipotent narcissism are weakened. Then envy can be experienced consciously, and the analyst can gradually be recognized as a valuable external person who can help.

Conversely, when the destructive aspects of narcissism predominate, the difficulty is that this destructiveness is much harder to expose. Envy [in such cases] is more violent, and [the patient] finds it harder to endure. He is overwhelmed with the desire to destroy the analyst, who, through the transference, is the only object and the only source of life and prosperity. The patient is extremely frightened by the destructiveness that the analytic work exposes to him. Therefore, such a course of analysis is often accompanied by the emergence of violent self-destructive impulses. To put it in terms of an infantile situation, such narcissistic patients stubbornly believe that they gave life to themselves and are able to feed and take care of themselves without any help. Therefore, when they are faced with the reality of their dependence on the analyst (symbolizing the parents, in particular the mother), it is as if they prefer to die, become non-existent, deny the fact of their birth, and also destroy all analytical and personal progress and all comprehension (which represents in them the child they feel was created by an analyst representing the parents). At this point, such patients often want to quit analysis, but more often they act out in other self-destructive ways, seeking to ruin their professional success and personal relationships. Some of them begin to experience severe depression and suicidal thoughts, and openly express a desire to die, to disappear into oblivion. Death is idealized as the solution to all problems. Our main goal in this chapter is to better understand how such destructive narcissism functions and how to prevent and deal with negative therapeutic reactions that result from attempts to treat it.

death instinct

Over the past ten years I have made a series of detailed observations and have changed my views. I am now convinced that some deadly force within the patient, reminiscent of what Freud called the death instinct, exists and can be clinically observed. In some patients, this destructive force manifests itself as a chronic paralyzing resistance that can delay analysis for many years. In others, it takes the form of a deadly but hidden force that keeps the patient away from life and sometimes causes severe anxieties of overload and violent death. It is this deadly force that most resembles the death instinct described by Freud, which remains silent and hidden, but resists the patient's desire to live and get better. Freud himself did not think it possible to activate the destructive impulses hidden in the silent death drives. But our modern techniques of analysis are often able to help the patient become more aware of something deadly within him. His dreams and [unconscious] fantasies may reveal the existence of a murderous force within him. This force tends to be a greater threat when the patient tries to turn more to life and rely more on the help of analysis. Sometimes a deadly force from within threatens both the patient and his external objects with murder, especially when the patient feels that he is being seized by a deadly destructive "explosion".

By proposing his dualistic theory of the life and death instincts, Freud (Freud, 1920) opened a new era in the psychoanalytic understanding of the destructive phenomena of mental life. He emphasized that the death instinct silently draws a person to death, and only through the action of the life instinct is this death-like force projected outward in the form of destructive impulses directed against objects in the outside world. In 1920, Freud (SE 18: 258) wrote: "usually the erotic instinct (of life) and the instinct of death are present in living beings as a mixture or fusion (fusion), but may well occur in a separate form" 1) .

In 1933, Freud (SE 22: 105) returns to the discussion of the fusion of the erotic instinct and the death instinct. He adds that “[these] fusions can also break up, and such a break-up can have the most severe consequences for the function. But these views are still too new, no one has yet tried to use them in their work. He proves that usually the life and death instincts are mixed or merged to one degree or another, and hardly any of them can be observed in a "pure form". Many analysts objected to the death instinct theory and were tempted to ignore it as completely speculative and abstract. However, Freud himself and other analysts, including Melanie Klein, 3) soon demonstrated the enormous clinical significance of this theory - using it to understand masochism, unconscious guilt, negative therapeutic reactions and resistance to treatment. 4)

Discussing such psychoanalytic approach to narcissistic neurosis, Freud (Freud, 1916) emphasized that he had stumbled upon an insurmountable wall. However, when in 1937 he described deep-rooted resistances to analytic treatment, he did not explicitly relate resistances in narcissism to resistances in inert states and negative therapeutic reactions: he attributed both to the death instinct. Nevertheless, there is a clear connection in his work between narcissism, narcissistic withdrawal, and the death instinct. 5) The infant must develop a self or ego, a means of coping with the impulses and anxieties emanating from the life and death instincts, and finding a way to relate to objects and express love and hate. In this context, Freud's theory of the fusion and separation of the life and death instincts seems to be of decisive importance. He proves that the development of the internal mental structure includes the "binding" of the derivatives of the life and death instincts so that they do not overwhelm a person. Whereas in normal development the instinctive impulses experienced in object relations are gradually recognized and directed towards the appropriate external objects (impulses of aggression, love, hatred, destructiveness, etc.), in pathological situations where there is considerable corruption, a destructive narcissistic organization. These, as a rule, omnipotent, forms of organization sometimes have an open, but more often hidden, powerful destructive effect; they are anti-life and destroy the bonds between objects and the self by attacking or killing parts of the self, but they are also destructive of any good objects and attempt to devalue and eliminate them as meaningful objects.

I believe that the emergence and persistence in adulthood of narcissistic omnipotent object relations is usually found in patients who show strong resistance to analytic treatment. They often react to analysis with deep and persistent self-destruction. In these patients, the destructive impulses have become separated (unrelated) and actively dominate the personality as a whole and all the relationships of the patient. In analysis, such patients express their feelings only slightly disguised, devaluing the analyst's work through stubborn indifference, artfully monotonous behavior, and sometimes through open belittling. Thus they assert their superiority over the analyst (representing life and creativity), wasting or destroying his work, understanding and pleasure. They feel superior in being able to control and keep to themselves those parts of themselves that want to depend on the analyst as a helper. They act as if the loss of any love object, including the analyst, leaves them cold or even excites them in a sense of triumph. Such patients experience occasional shame and some persecutory anxiety, but only minimal guilt, since too little of their libidinal self is kept alive to be cared for. These patients appear to have abandoned the struggle between their destructive and libidinal impulses, attempting to rid themselves of their concern for and love of their objects by killing their loving dependent self and identifying themselves almost entirely with the destructive narcissistic part of the self that provides them with a sense of superiority and self-adoration. Analyzing clinical symptoms, such as the desire to die or withdraw into a state of non-existence or lifelessness, which at first glance can be mistaken for manifestations of the death instinct, described by Freud as a primary death drive, I generally found, on closer examination, that some active destructiveness directed by the self not only against objects, but also against parts of the self. In 1971, I called this phenomenon "destructive narcissism," implying that it idealizes and subjugates the destructive aspects of the self; they capture and hold positive dependent aspects of the self (Rosenfeld, 1971). They are opposed to any libidinal relationship between patient and analyst.

An example of such a phenomenon was observed in one of my narcissistic patients, Simon. For a long time he contrived to keep all his relations to external objects and the analyst dead and empty by constantly killing every part of his self that was trying to establish object relations. On one occasion he illustrated this through a dream. There, the little boy was in a coma, dying from some type of poisoning. He was lying on a bed in the courtyard, and he was threatened by the hot midday sun, which was beginning to shine on him. Simon stood beside him but did nothing to move or protect him. He only felt his disapproval and superiority over the doctor treating the child, since it was he who had to see that the boy was moved into the shadows. Simon's prior behavior and associations indicated that the dying boy symbolized his dependent libidinal self, which he maintained in a state of death by preventing it from receiving help and nourishment from me, the analyst. I demonstrated to him that even as he approached understanding the seriousness of his mental state experienced as a dying state, he did not lift a finger to help himself or help me take steps to save him, as he used the killing of his infantile dependent self to triumph over me or flaunt my failures. The dream showed that the destructive narcissistic state is maintained in force by keeping the libidinal infantile self in a position of death or dying. However, after a lot of work, it was sometimes possible to find a part of Simon that did not feel self-sufficient and dead, and communicate with him in a way that made him feel more alive. Then he admitted that he would like to get better, but soon felt that his soul was being carried away from my office. He became so distant and sleepy that he almost fell asleep. It was a colossal resistance, almost a stone wall that prevented any study of the situation. It only gradually became clear that Simon felt repulsed by any close contact with me, because as soon as he felt help, there was not only the danger that he might need me more, but also the fear that he would attack me with mocking and belittling thoughts. . 6)

Simon's case illustrates my assertion that the contact with help is experienced as a weakening of the patient's narcissistic omnipotent superiority and opens him up to conscious feelings of overwhelming envy, which his former detachment allowed him to completely avoid. It also illustrates the opinion that I came to for last years: namely, that it is necessary to clearly recognize the operation of a highly organized chronic and active narcissistic defensive organization on the one hand, and a more secret and latent deadly force, which can be a chronic paralyzing resistance, delaying analysis for many years, on the other hand, and to distinguish between them . The latter operates very similarly to how Freud describes the death instinct as silent and hidden power, which opposes all progress - and includes (just like the death instinct) a deep obsession with death and destructiveness; it is often located outside the narcissistic defensive organization and supports it. It is characterized by overwhelming murderousness and a sense of deadness or mortality, which often conceals a preoccupation with consequences. The patient feels himself or the analyst dead, or feels that they will become so if the lethal force is recognized. This frightens the patient, as in Simon's case, to the point that it must remain hidden. The patient is often secretly convinced that he has destroyed his caring self, his love forever, and there is nothing anyone can do to change this situation. However, our modern technique of analysis, involving careful observation of the patient's dreams and transference behavior, allows us to help the patient become aware of this certainty and the power that engenders it, and to become aware of the support that this certainty gives to the destructive omnipotent way of life in which the patient is content. Frequent interpretation and strong opposition to Simon's destructive narcissistic thoughts and behavior, to my complete surprise, brought about a significant change in the patient's personality and his attitude towards other people. He seemed to be helped by my behavior and interpretation that a part of him, especially his infantile self, masochistically colluded and accepted this paralyzing death state, submitting to torture instead of recognizing the need and thirst for life. When he stopped treatment, he already felt better, although he was able to recognize how much he had recovered only after a while, when his symptoms disappeared. Subsequently, he had an extremely successful career, during which he had to deal with many people, and received high recognition.

The destructive omnipotent lifestyle of patients like Simon often seems highly organized, as if we are facing a powerful gang led by a leader who controls all members of the gang and makes sure they support each other, adding efficiency and power to the criminal destructive work. However, the narcissistic organization not only increases the strength of destructive narcissism and the lethal force associated with it, it has the defensive purpose of maintaining its rule and thus maintaining the status quo. The main goal seems to be to prevent the weakening of the organization and to control the members of the gang so that they do not defect from the destructive organization and join the positive parts of the self, or give out the secrets of the gang to the police protecting the Super-Ego, which supports the assisting analyst, that may be able to save the patient. Often, when this type of patient makes progress in analysis and wants change, he dreams about being attacked by mafia members or juvenile delinquents, and a negative therapeutic reaction ensues. In my experience, narcissistic organization is not primarily directed against guilt and anxiety; its purpose seems to be to preserve the idealization and irresistible force of destructive narcissism. To change, to accept help means weakness; this is experienced as a mistake or failure by the destructive narcissistic organization which provides the patient with a sense of superiority. In cases of this kind, there is the most determined chronic resistance to analysis, and only an extremely detailed demonstration of this system allows the analysis to get off the ground. 7)

In some narcissistic patients, the destructive narcissistic parts of the self are associated with a psychotic structure or organization that is split off from the rest of the personality. This psychotic structure is like a delusional world or object into which parts of the self tend to withdraw (Meltzer 1963, personal communication). It seems to be dominated by an omnipotent or omniscient, extremely ruthless part of the self, which creates the idea that there is absolutely no pain inside the delusional object and there is freedom to indulge in any sadistic activity. This whole structure serves the narcissistic self-sufficiency and is strictly directed against any reference to objects. The destructive impulses in this delusional world sometimes openly manifest themselves in the patient's unconscious material as irresistibly violent, threatening the rest of the self with death in order to assert their power, but more often they manifest themselves in a hidden form, omnipotently benevolent, salutary, promising to provide the patient with quick, ideal solutions to all his problems. These false promises turn the patient's normal self into a dependent or drug-addicted one on his omnipotent self, and lure the normal sane parts into this delusional structure to imprison them there. When narcissistic patients of this type begin to advance slightly in analysis and form some kind of dependency relationship to analysis, severe negative therapeutic reactions occur as the narcissistic psychotic part exercises its power and dominance over life and the reality-symbolizing analyst in an attempt to lure the dependent self into the psychotic omnipotent dream state. , which leads to the loss of the patient's sense of reality and the ability to think. In fact, there is a danger of an acute psychotic state here if the dependent part of the patient, the most sane part of his personality, succumbs and turns away from the outside world, completely submitting to the dominance of the psychotic delusional structure. 8)

In these situations, it is of the utmost importance in the clinical dimension to help the patient find and rescue the dependent sane part of the self from the trap of the psychotic narcissistic structure, since it is this part that is the most important link to the positive object relation to the analyst and the world. Secondly, it is important to gradually promote the patient's full awareness of the split off destructive omnipotent parts of the self that control the psychotic organization, since it can only remain omnipotent in isolation. When this process is fully revealed, it will become clear that it contains the destructive envious impulses of the self that have become isolated, and then the omnipotence that has such a hypnotic effect on the self as a whole will weaken, and it will be possible to demonstrate the infantile nature of this omnipotence. In other words, the patient will gradually become aware that an omnipotent infantile part of himself dominates him, which not only pushes him to death, but also infantilizes him and prevents him from growing, preventing him from objects that can help him in growth and development.

Robert

The first case I want to report concerns Robert, a patient with chronic resistance to analysis. This case is meant to illustrate how the split-off omnipotent destructive aspect of the patient's [mental] functioning can be made visible in the analysis, and this brings good results. This patient had been analyzed for many years in another country, but his analyst eventually decided that his masochistic character structure was beyond analysis.

Robert was married and had three children. He was a scientist and longed for further analysis in order to overcome his problems. What is significant in his story is what he heard from his mother: when he was teething in infancy, he began to regularly bite her breasts, and so viciously that the breasts always bled after feeding, and they were scarred. But the mother did not take her breast after the bite and seemed to resign herself to suffering. The patient believed that he had been breastfed for more than a year and a half. Robert also remembered being given very painful enemas from early childhood. It is also important to understand that his mother ran the household, and considered her husband an extremely insignificant creature who should live in a basement that looked more like a cellar. At first, Robert cooperated quite well in the analysis and advanced quite well. But in the fourth year of analysis, his progress slowed. The patient became difficult to reach and constantly undermined therapeutic efforts. Robert was forced to leave London from time to time on short business trips, often returning on Mondays too late and therefore missed either part of the session or the whole session. On these business trips he often met women, and brought into analysis many of the problems he had with them. It was clear from the outset that some acting out was going on, but it was not until he began to regularly report dreams with lethal acts that he had after such weekends that it became clear that violent destructive attacks on analysis and analytics were hidden in the acting out behavior. At first, Robert was reluctant to acknowledge the suicidal nature of the weekend acting out and blocked the progress of the analysis, but gradually changed his behavior, the analysis became more effective, and he reported significant improvement in some personal relationships and professional performance. At the same time, he began to complain that his sleep was often disturbed and that he woke up in the middle of the night with strong heartbeats and itching in his anus, which prevented him from falling asleep for several more hours. During these anxiety attacks, he felt that his hands did not belong to him: they seemed violently destructive, as if they wanted to destroy something. He scratched his anus vigorously until it began to bleed profusely; his arms were too strong for him to control, so he had to yield to them.

Then he had a dream about a very strong, arrogant man of three meters in height, to whom he had to obey unquestioningly. His associations indicated that this man symbolized a part of himself and was associated with destructive overpowering sensations in his hands that he could not resist. I gave the interpretation that he considers this omnipotent destructive part of himself a three-meter-tall superman to be too powerful to disobey. He has renounced this all-powerful self associated with anal masturbation, which explains the alienation of his hands during his nocturnal attacks. I further described this split-off self as its infantile omnipotent part, claiming to be not a child, but stronger and stronger than all adults, especially mother and father, and now an analyst. His adult self was so completely deceived and thus weakened by this omnipotent claim that he felt unable to fight the destructive impulses at night.

Robert reacted to this interpretation with surprise and relief, and after a few days reported that he felt more able to control his hands at night. Gradually he became more aware that the nocturnal destructive impulses were in some way connected with the analysis, as they increased after every success that could be attributed to the analysis. He saw it as a desire to rip out and destroy that part of him that depended on and valued the analyst. At the same time, the split-off aggressive narcissistic impulses became more conscious during the analytic sessions, and he remarked mockingly, "Well, you have to sit here all day and waste your time." He felt like an important person who should have the freedom to do whatever he pleases, no matter how cruel and traumatic it may be for others and himself. He was especially angry at the comprehension and understanding that analysis gave him. He hinted that this anger stemmed from a desire to rebuke me for helping him, as it interfered with his all-powerful acting out demeanor.

He then related a dream in which he had taken part in long-distance races and tried very hard. However, there was a young woman present who did not believe in anything he did. She was unscrupulous, vile and tried in every possible way to interfere with him and confuse him. Also mentioned was the woman's brother, who was called "Mundy" (Mundy). He was much more aggressive than his sister, and in his sleep growled like a wild animal, even at her. In a dream, it became known that the entire previous year, the brother had the task of confusing everyone. Robert believed that the name "Mundy" referred to the fact that a year ago he often missed Monday (Monday) sessions. He understood that violent uncontrolled aggressiveness had something to do with him, but he felt that the young woman was also himself. In the last year he often insisted on sessions that he felt like a woman and treated the analyst with extreme arrogance and contempt. Subsequently, however, he occasionally dreamed of a little girl, receptive and grateful to her teachers, whom I interpreted as a part of him seeking to show great gratitude to the analyst - but she was prevented from coming out openly by his omnipotence. In the dream, the patient admits that this aggressive, all-powerful part of him, represented by a man and which dominated the acting out a year ago, has now become quite conscious. His identification with the analyst is expressed in the dream as a determination to try his best in the analysis. However, this dream was also a warning that the patient might continue his aggressive acting out in analysis, insisting in a bewildering way that he could present himself omnipotently as an adult woman without allowing himself to respond to the work of analysis with feelings of responsiveness associated with a more positive infantile part of it. In fact, in analysis, Robert moved towards strengthening his positive dependence, which allowed him to openly demonstrate the opposition of aggressive narcissistic omnipotent parts of his personality; in other words, the heavy stratification of the [life and death] instincts in the patient gradually turned into their normal fusion.

Jill

My second case, Jill, illustrates the difficulties that arise when the lethal force I mentioned earlier is combined with and sustains a destructive narcissistic lifestyle.

When the patient's destructive narcissism is fused with his omnipotent psychotic structure, he does not believe that anyone can resist his destructive unstoppable attacks. This increases his arousal and the splitting off of any positive feelings. A thorough demonstration of the destructive narcissistic structure in the course of analysis reduces the strength of feelings of omnipotence, and thus the gap between destructive and positive impulses gradually decreases. Positive impulses, which were previously completely dominated and completely controlled by destructiveness, can now come back to life again, so that the patient's self-observation and his cooperation in analysis can improve.

Of course, it is always important to study the patient's medical history in detail in order to identify specific interpersonal relationships and traumatic experiences that existed in the past and influenced the construction of narcissistic structures. Even patients who seem to identify completely with the narcissistic structure are at times aware of being captured and imprisoned, but do not know how to escape from this prison. In Jill's case, I would like to illustrate how difficult it is to appreciate the nature of life's hidden, secret opposition to progress. The destructive narcissistic structure was gradually revealed in the analysis. It was possible to help Jill discover how overwhelming she found the pull to turn away from life, as she confused it with her desire to achieve an infantile state of merging with her mother. As Jill gradually began to turn more to life, it was interesting to see how quickly the threat of murder arose in her dreams. This marked the manifestation in consciousness of the destructive narcissistic organization that had long been called "they" and was fused with the entangled deadly force.

Jill underwent many years of psychoanalytic psychotherapy in another country. At the start of this treatment, she experienced a violent impulse to cut her wrists, and when she did, her therapist had her hospitalized for more than three years. At the hospital, staff tried to empathetically understand her psychotic behavior and thinking. She was glad to be in the hospital, because for the first time in her life, her illness, as she called it, was taken seriously. She felt that her parents could not stand that she was sick and therefore did not believe that she was very sick. Her apparent psychotic state was an attempt to express her feelings more openly. Previously, she had felt so shackled by her psychotic rigidity that bleeding out felt less like a desire to die than an attempt to become more alive. Moreover, in a private hospital, she felt great to belong to a gang of patients who smashed windows, broke furniture and violated all hospital rules. She ridiculed any softness and need and considered “usi-pusi”.

Even more than ten years later, during her treatment with me, she often dreamed of those days in the hospital when she could do as she pleased and feel alive. But in fact, as soon as she achieved a little more success in her life, she was overwhelmed by an unknown force, which she called "they" and against which she could do nothing; this force compelled her to lie down in bed. She turned on all the heaters in the bedroom, creating a suffocatingly hot atmosphere, drinking alcohol and reading Detective stories which helped her banish all meaningful thoughts from her mind. She felt that this behavior was necessary to appease "them" (that is, the destructive forces) that threatened her as she tried to come back to life.

At the time when she began to comprehend her problems, she had a dream in which she was kidnapped from her, but the kidnappers let her walk, taking honestly that she won't run away. At first it really seemed that the disease captured her forever. Only very gradually did she realize that the idealization of her destructiveness did not give her freedom, that this was a trap into which she fell under the influence of the hypnotic power of the destructive self, which took the form of a savior and friend, allegedly taking care of her and providing any warmth and nourishment, whatever she she didn't want to - and so she could get rid of the feeling of loneliness. It was this situation that played out during the state of withdrawing into oneself. In essence, however, this so-called friend sought to spoil any contact she tried to establish with regard to work or people. In the course of analysis, the patient gradually became aware that this extremely tyrannical and possessive friend was an omnipotent, very destructive part of her self, pretending to be a friend, which began to frighten her terribly when she tried to continue cooperation in analysis or any progress in life. For a long time, she felt too scared to challenge this aggressive force, and whenever she ran into this barrier, she identified with the aggressive narcissistic self and became aggressive and offensively rude towards me. Sometimes it seemed that I represented her mother, and sometimes - that her infantile self, which she projected into me. However, the main reason for her violent attacks was due to the fact that I challenged the dominance of her aggressive narcissistic state, had the audacity to want to help her or even treat her, and she showed her determination to defeat me at all costs. But after a few days of such attacks, I also felt a secret hope that I - and this "I" also included that self that was directed towards life - could eventually win. In addition, I began to realize that the only alternative to her violent attack on me was her admission that she really wanted to get better - and this put her in danger of being killed by her all-powerful destructive part. After we worked on this situation for many months, the patient had a dream that confirmed and illustrated this problem.

In this dream the patient saw herself in an underground hall or gallery. She decided she wanted to leave, but had to go past the turnstile to get out. The turnstile was blocked by two people standing near it, but on closer examination the patient found that both of them were dead, and in her dream she thought that they had recently been killed. She realized that the killer was still there and she needed to act quickly to save herself. Nearby was the detective's office, where she ran in unannounced, but had to wait a moment in the waiting room. While she was waiting, the killer appeared and threatened to kill her, because he did not want anyone to know what he was doing and already did, and there was a danger that she, the patient, would expose him. She was horrified, burst into the detective's office and so escaped. The killer had fled, and she feared that although she was now saved, the whole situation might repeat itself. However, the detective seemed to be able to follow the trail of the killer, and he was caught, to her almost incredible relief.

Jill immediately realized that the detective personified me, but otherwise the dream was a mystery to her. She never allowed herself to think how afraid she was of being killed if she believed me, asked for help, cooperated as much as she could, and provided all the information she had - especially information about the nature of her own deadly self. In fact, the two dead people in her dream reminded her of previous unsuccessful attempts to get better. In the dream, the analyst as detective was, of course, highly idealized as a man who would not only protect her from her madness, her murderous self and her destructive impulses, but would free her from those fears forever. I took the dream to mean that a part of her had decided to recover and leave the psychotic narcissistic state that the patient had equated with death. But this decision awakened a deadly force ready to kill. It is interesting that after this dream the patient actually turned more towards life, and her fear of death gradually subsided. It seems that in the theoretical and clinical dimension, the work with this patient confirmed the significance of the destructive aspects of narcissism, which in psychotic states completely dominate and overpower the libidinal, object-oriented, sane part of the self and try to deprive it of freedom.

The way Jill was pulled out of life over and over again into a paranoid state of self-isolation illustrates how the deadly force I mentioned earlier is at work, silently maintaining a destructive narcissistic lifestyle. Deadly violence lay hidden behind this silent death drive for a long time before being revealed in the dream. After the killer appeared in the dream, the analysis was able to progress more successfully and the negative therapeutic reactions definitely decreased. This was possible partly due to the fact that Jill gradually became better and a much more loving and warm part of her personality came to light.

Claude

Patients like Jill are never sure if they are killers or if the deadly power is within them. Often they feel they must keep their fear of death and their fear of being a murderer a closely guarded secret. Claude, a patient that Dr. W. spoke about in one of my seminars, demonstrates this very clearly. He had a strong fear of death between the ages of four and seven and later. This horror arose when the parents were nearby, but the patient emphasized that they never knew anything about it, even when he felt on the verge of death. Complete independence from his parents seemed to the patient the only way to protect himself from his fear. He also remembered that sometimes he had secret murderous feelings directed against his mother, especially when she consoled him. One day, he missed an analytic session because he discovered that the windshield of his car was broken. He believed that he himself did this in a sleepy state to prevent himself from going to the session. He felt a strong need to keep the destructive feelings against the analyst a secret, even from himself. One day he went skiing with his girlfriend during analysis. He only warned Dr. V. of this leave the day before. He hoped to feel better by withdrawing from analysis, but in fact, his girlfriend disturbed his mental balance so much that he had to run away from her in order to protect her from himself, and had to also give up skiing, which he loved. He spent most of his time reading a book by the mystical writer Carlos Castaneda. Returning to analysis, he was only gradually able to discover that the holiday had practically paralyzed and extremely exhausted him, and also realized that something inside him threatened to overwhelm him and could probably push him to death. He felt that Castaneda's book helped him in some way. So he got hooked on her. Castaneda explains his horror of death in the book, but advises everyone to make death their only friend in order to pacify it, since death is terribly eager to possess. It seemed clear to me that Claude was afraid that if he gave importance to the analyst and analysis, death would turn from a friend into a jealous mortal enemy. In Claude, the deadly feelings associated with death were directed more towards himself than towards others. It seems that the death drive came out in an almost undisguised form after a long period when he had to hide his fear of death - this secrecy is typical of all problems associated with the death drive. Claude tried to view death as a very kind figure, and avoided all dangers, allowing himself to completely submit to her dominance. With the help of Castaneda's book, he tried to do this, but a somewhat ingenious attempt to make friends with death failed, and he believed that during this so-called vacation he was practically killed.

Richard

My fourth case, Richard, illustrates the existence of a latent, destructive narcissistic way of being that was idealized to such an extent that the patient was extremely dependent on and succumbed to this mode of [mental] functioning as the most desirable way of life imaginable. Richard's psychopathology exemplifies how narcissistic object relations take over all aspects of the patient's personality and how a pathological fusion [of instincts] can be created. First of all, Richard was completely unable to make out what was good and bad for him, and this often led him to deep disappointment. He often misjudged situations, and then he was carried away by obvious enthusiasm, so that he could not admit the mistake. Then he became peremptory, arrogant and arrogant, which sometimes led to serious consequences for his life situation.

My patient was the youngest child in the family; it seems that his brothers and sisters have always treated him with great indulgence. He survived an early trauma when, at three months old, he was suddenly weaned from his mother, who broke her hip and had to be hospitalized for several months. He retained memories of a later period, when his mother was sometimes seductive and condescending, but often extremely strict and harsh, which discouraged him. The father was reliable and supportive of the boy, but his mother was inclined to despise him, and at an early age evidently had a profound influence on him. As a child, Richard was very attached to the dog, which he considered an object with which he could do as he pleased, which implies that he not only loved this dog, but often completely neglected it. At the beginning of the analysis, he had a dream about an otter that lived under his house, was absolutely domestic and followed him everywhere. In associating, he had thoughts of his dog and also of a cow's udder. This dream shows that early in life Richard developed an extremely possessive part-object attitude towards his mother's breasts, and this situation continued with the participation of the dog and other objects. He remembered a little girl he played sex games with between the ages of four and six. She tried to stop these games when she grew up. However, her decision to refuse sexual partnership angered him so much that he killed her most beloved object, her cat. So his possessive love easily turned into murderous cruelty when he was rebuked.

The difficulty in Richard's analysis, as in his life, was the ease with which he turned away inwardly and outwardly from objects and seemed to follow impulses that presented themselves to him in a very seductive way and usually led him in the wrong direction. He seemed to be very eager for analysis, but often idealized his contribution to this activity. In the third year of his treatment, he had the following dream, which gave us a clue to a better understanding of some of the problems he was struggling with.

In the dream, it happened on a weekend, and the patient suddenly realized that there was no milk in his house; he thought that maybe there was some shop open where he could buy milk, but he was indecisive and did not know what to do in order to get milk quickly. Then he thought of his neighbor, to whom he often turned for help, and did the same this time. The neighbor said that he could give him some milk, but confirmed that there was a dairy shop that was open on Sundays, and he took him to this shop. There was a long line when Richard entered the store, but he resigned himself to having to wait. Customers were served by two saleswomen in white. Before entering the store, a neighbor showed Richard a fivepenny coin with corners. The neighbor did not stand in line, but suddenly appeared again, quickly approached the cash register and exchanged a small coin for a thick bundle of ten-pound notes. He disappeared as quickly as he appeared, and the saleswomen did not notice him. Richard was stunned. At first he thought of informing the women of the cruel brazen theft, but then he remembered that he was primarily responsible for protecting himself and not interfering or meddling in the saleswomen's affairs for which they were responsible; but in fact he feared for his life. He thought that these women would not be able to protect him from the ruthless neighbor, who, as soon as Richard left the store, would definitely take revenge on him. Why should he endanger his life because of such a theft and because the saleswomen did not take care of their money by leaving the cash register open? When the neighbor ran out of the room with the money, the patient felt intense guilt for not saying anything and thereby colluding with the neighbor. He left the store before it was his turn, feeling very guilty and selfish and knowing it was wrong to remain silent; he felt extremely weak morally. The dream continued. The next moment the patient found himself in a dark narrow alley, dressed in dirty old rags, completely alone. He was the scum, the dregs of society, completely indifferent, completely paralyzed by the hopelessness and helplessness dictated by guilt. He felt that there was nothing good in him, that he himself was a merciless thief. He was a worthless, ruthless coward, incapable of even reporting a theft, let alone stopping it. He deserved to be rejected and forgotten by everyone. He felt that he would die, and rightly so. Then his first girlfriend came up to him and gently patted his cheek with warmth and sympathy. He was surprised, delighted, and warm inside him. Then he began to think that she must be sick and blind herself if she showed warmth to him, a hopeless, spineless nonentity. Or is she unconsciously in cahoots with him? Then his current wife appeared and also showed him some warmth. He felt that both of their lives were in danger of being ruined by their association with him.

The explicit content of the first part of the dream is more surprising, since here Richard reveals with absolute clarity his dependence on his idealized neighbor and his complete denial of the ruthlessness, greed and cruelty of this neighbor. In the dream, the neighbor is not only merciless, he is a murderer, because if he discovers that Richard knows about his cruel crime, he will kill him. This is again a typical personality structure for patients who are controlled by their destructive narcissistic aspect, which pretends perfect friend and assistant. In the dream the idealization is destroyed and the patient becomes aware of his collusion with his destructive part represented by the neighbor. He realizes that he did absolutely nothing and did not protect the caring milk saleswomen, who originally symbolized a good relationship with his mother in a feeding situation, and his dependence on the analyst. This problem has been very important role in his analysis. Often the patient, acting out recklessness and ruthlessness, blamed me for this, arguing that I should have known everything in advance and warned him of the problem. In the dream, Richard corrects this attitude, because he admits that what makes him such a difficult patient to analyze is his own collusion with his destructive part, the “neighbor,” because he withholds important information about himself from me.

In the second part of the dream, Richard takes full responsibility for his destructive criminal part - which in the waking state he considered almost impossible to do, because he was afraid, as the dream shows, not only that he would be threatened and generally killed by his destructive part, but also that it will actually become completely bad. He was afraid that nothing good could exist in him because he was deceitful. In the dream, he admits that he needs love, but cannot accept it because he feels he does not deserve it; he deserves only death. Thus, in the first half of the dream, Richard is afraid that his bad destructive part will kill him, but in the second half he begins to fear that he will be destroyed by his conscience, his Super-Ego, which will sentence him to death. The problem in particular is the false nature of his idealization of his neighbor, as Richard now seems to question the basis of all adoration and all love, and fears that all love is a hoax and it is obvious that he is completely bad. Therefore, he also does not trust anyone who loves him; he is afraid that everyone who loves him is in cahoots with his badness, and therefore he is deceitful.

Precisely because he acknowledged his false adoration for his neighbor, it is now very difficult for Richard to trust anyone, including myself in the analysis, when I give any positive interpretation. However, if only destructive strivings are interpreted to such a patient, the analyst will certainly be identified with an extremely destructive Super-Ego, which sees only destructiveness in the patient and does not at all appreciate his desire to get out of a bad state. It is clinically critical to distinguish between false idealization of the destructive narcissistic self (which plays such a significant role in drug and alcohol addiction, smoking abuse, etc.) and idealization based on good experiences with good objects in the past or present. Both treatment and theory can suffer if we consider as destructive all the "narcissistic" aspects of the personality, including those that many authors have regarded as healthy or normal components of the personality.

Richard's dreams were very helpful, as they made it clear that his false idealization of a destructive self pretending to be a good and ideal object contributed greatly to the indistinguishability of the good and bad aspects of his personality, so that the good aspects of the self were in danger of being equated with the bad or defeated. these bad things. It is extremely important to distinguish between the forces of life and the forces of death. Essentially they are opposed to each other; when good and bad parts of the self come together, there is a danger that the good and bad parts of the self, and good and bad objects, will become so entangled with each other that the good self will be crushed and temporarily lost in the confusion. This is quite likely when the destructive parts of the self predominate. It is this process that I call pathological fusion. In normal fusion, the aggressive forces of the self are tempered by the libidinal parts of the self. This function of synthesis is absolutely necessary for life - both for the survival of the self, which involves the development of the ego, and for the strengthening and stability of object relations, for normal narcissism and the ability to fight for the preservation of objects and oneself. I also want to emphasize here the pathological fusion or fixation of the patient at an early paranoid-schizoid level of development. Normal fusion is necessary for working through the depressive position: a process that Melanie Klein considers indispensable for all normal development. However, in order to establish normal fusion, clinically and theoretically, it is necessary to firmly and decisively expose the confusion of good and bad objects and good and bad aspects of the self, since nothing positive or healthy can develop from confusion, and there is a danger of the emergence of a constantly weak and fragile self. .

The neighbor dream explained much of the patient's repetitive behavior in the analysis. For many years the patient was unable to communicate to me any self-observation or describe the conflict that led to his omnipotent behavior, which always comes as if unexpectedly. Through this dream about a neighbor, I was able to show him that whenever he encounters difficulties or obstacles, he does not remember that I can help him and take care of him, because then he will be forced to wait for me and admit his dependence on me. In his frustration and impatience, he bypassed his memory of me and appealed to the omnipotent and criminal part of himself, acting ruthlessly and following the impulse, devaluing analysis (which was described as just a fivepenny coin) and quickly grabbing whatever he wanted. He did not even realize to what extent his destructive and criminal narcissistic self (of which he was unconsciously proud because it could get its way quickly and imperceptibly) kept his dependent self under complete control through death threats, so that he felt unable to cooperate in the analysis. In the dream, it became clear that he also felt that there was a conspiracy between his dependent self and his all-powerful, greedy narcissistic self, as he declined any responsibility for having to inform the milkmaids of his observations of his neighbour. On the other hand, as I have already mentioned, I often found that when he told a dream or gave associations, he attributed all the progress to himself. Of course, typical problem in the analysis of narcissistic patients who insist on possessing the analyst as a mother's breast. It is therapeutically important to demonstrate in such a patient the dominion over the whole self of his omnipotent destructive narcissistic self: since this allowed Richard to gradually better use the analysis, we were able to achieve a satisfactory therapeutic result.

Translation: Z. Babloyan
Editorial staff: I.Yu. Romanov

Notes:

1) The quotation should probably be dated 1922 (23), since it is taken from encyclopedia article“The Libido Theory”; ‘Libidotheorie’ In Handworterbuch der Sexualwissenschaft, ed. M. Marcuse, Bonn, 1923: 296-8). - Note. transl.

2) This is also noted by Andre Green (1984) (see chapter one, note 6), but in a slightly different vein.

3) Abraham went much further than Freud in studying latent negative transference and in clarifying the nature of the destructive impulses he encountered in his clinical work with narcissistic patients. In narcissistic psychotic patients, he emphasized the arrogant arrogance and aloofness of the narcissist and interpreted the negative aggressive attitude in the transference. As early as 1919, he gave impetus to the analysis of latent negative transference by describing a particular form of neurotic resistance to the analytic method. He found a marked narcissism in such patients, and he paid special attention to the hostility and disdain hidden under the seeming zeal for cooperation. He described how the narcissistic attitude attaches itself to the transference and how such patients belittle and devalue the analyst and reluctantly assign him an analytic role representing the father. They swap the positions of the patient and the analyst in order to demonstrate their superiority over the analyst. Abraham emphasized that the element of envy certainly manifests itself in the behavior of these patients, and thus clinically and theoretically linked narcissism and aggression. Interestingly, however, Abraham never tried to relate his findings to Freud's theory of the life and death instincts.

Reich (1933) opposed Freud's theory of the death instinct. In doing so, he made fundamental contributions to the analysis of narcissism and latent negative transference. He also emphasized, in contrast to Freud, that in the patient narcissistic attitudes and latent conflicts, including negative feelings, can be activated and brought to the surface in the analysis and then worked through. He believed that "in every case, without exception, the analysis begins with a more or less explicit attitude of distrust and criticism, which, as a rule, remains hidden" (Reich, 1933: 30).

Reich believed that the analyst should constantly point out what is hidden and should not be misled by an outwardly positive transference to the analyst. He explored in detail the armor of character, where the narcissistic defense finds its concrete chronic expression. Describing narcissistic patients, he emphasized their arrogant, sarcastic and envious attitude, as well as their contemptuous behavior. One patient, constantly occupied with thoughts of death, complained in every session that the analysis did not affect him and was completely useless. This patient also admitted an unbounded envy, not of the analyst, but of other people whom he felt inferior to. Gradually Reich became aware and was able to show the patient his triumph over the analyst and his attempts to make the analyst feel useless, worthless and powerless, unable to achieve anything. Then the patient was able to admit that he could not bear anyone's superiority and was always trying to subvert such a person. Reich notes (Reich, 1933: 30): "So there was a repressed aggression, the most extreme manifestation of which has hitherto been the death wish."

Reich's findings on covert aggression, envy, and narcissism are in many ways reminiscent of Abraham's 1919 description of narcissistic resistance.

A number of serious analysts, apart from Freud, emphasized the importance of the death instinct and correlated it scrupulously with their clinical work and experience. Federn (1932: 148), in an article entitled "The Reality of the Death Instinct" - in German "Die Wirklichkeit des Todestriebs" - emphasizes that the death drive can be observed in its purest form in melancholia, where destructive impulses are significantly separated from any libidinal feelings:

“It is terrible to watch how a melancholic, in whom the death instinct is active, without any connection with Eros, constantly expresses hatred and all the time tries to destroy every possibility of happiness and good fortune in the outside world in the most cruel way. The death instinct in him fights with Eros outside.

Federn also correlates the death instinct with the feelings of guilt in the melancholic in great detail.

Eduardo Weiss, in an article "Todestrieb und Masochismus" published in 1935 in the journal Imago, describes how secondary narcissism is associated not only with libido turned against the self, but also with aggression, which he calls "Destrudo", behaving in the same way. Unfortunately, this article, which contains many interesting ideas, is written in rather obscure German.

Perhaps of all analysts, Melanie Klein, who recognized the significance of Freud's theory between the life and death instinct and applied it both theoretically and clinically, made the most notable contribution to the analysis of negative transference. She discovered that envy, especially in its split form, is an important factor in the development of chronic negative attitudes in analysis, including negative therapeutic reactions. She described the early infantile mechanisms of object-ego splitting, allowing the infantile ego to separate love and hate. In exploring narcissism, she emphasized the libidinal aspects more, and believed that narcissism is essentially a secondary phenomenon based on a relationship with an internal good or ideal object, which in the [unconscious] fantasy forms part of the beloved body and self. She believed that in narcissistic states there is a withdrawal from external relationships to identification with an idealized internal object.

Melanie Klein wrote in 1958 that she observed in her analytic work with young children a constant struggle between the unbridled desire to destroy their objects and the desire to preserve them. She felt that Freud's discovery of the life and death instincts was a tremendous step forward in understanding this struggle. She believed that anxiety arises from "the action within the body of the death instinct, which is experienced as the fear of annihilation" (Klein, 1958: 84). Thus we see that she perceived the death instinct as a primary anxiety in the infant, associated with the fear of death, while Freud generally denied the existence of a primary fear of death. The only clinical situation in which he saw the death instinct terrorizing the self or ego of the patient was described by him in 1923. In this text, he discusses the extreme intensity of guilt in melancholia, and suggests that the destructive component, the pure culture of the death instinct, has become entrenched in the superego and turned against the ego. At the same time, he explains the fear of death in melancholia by the fact that the Ego gives up and dies, because it feels hatred and persecution from the Super-Ego, and not love. Freud relates this situation both to the primary state of anxiety at birth and to the later anxiety of separation from the protective mother.

According to Melanie Klein, to protect itself from this anxiety, the primitive ego uses two processes: “Part of the death instinct is projected into the object, and the object thus becomes the persecutor; and that part of the death instinct which is left in the ego gives rise to aggression which will be directed against this persecuting object” (Klein, 1958: 85).

The life instinct is also projected into external objects, which are then felt to be loving or idealized. Melanie Klein emphasizes that for early development it is characteristic that idealized and bad persecuting objects are split and separated far from each other, which implies that the life and death instincts are kept in a state of stratification. Simultaneously with the splitting of objects, there is also a splitting of the self into good and bad parts. These splitting processes of the ego also keep the instincts in a state of stratification. Almost simultaneously with the projective processes, another primary process starts, introjection, “mainly in the service of the life instinct; it fights the death instinct, because it causes the ego to take into itself something that gives life (primarily food), and thereby binds the internal functioning of the death instinct” (Klein, 1958: 85). This process plays a crucial role in triggering the fusion of the life and death instincts.

Since the processes of splitting the object and the self, and therefore the states of separation of the [life and death] instincts, are rooted in early infancy in what Melanie Klein calls the paranoid-schizoid position, it can be expected that the most pronounced states of separation of the instincts will be observed in those clinical conditions where paranoid-schizoid mechanisms predominate. We may encounter such conditions in patients who have never completely outgrown or regressed to this early stage of development. Melanie Klein emphasizes that early infantile mechanisms and object relations attach themselves to the transference, and thus the processes of self and object splitting that promote the stratification of the [life and death] instincts can be studied and modified in analysis. She also says that by exploring these early processes in the transference, she became convinced that the analysis of negative transference is a necessary condition for the analysis of deeper layers of the psyche. It was while exploring the negative aspects of the early infantile transference that Melanie Klein encountered primitive envy, which she considered a direct derivative of the death instinct. She believed that envy appears as a hostile, life-destroying force in relation to the baby to the mother, and in particular is directed against a good nursing mother, since the baby not only needs her, but also envies her, because she contains everything that the baby would like. own yourself. In transference, this manifests itself in the patient's need to devalue the analytic work that he has become convinced of. Envy, which represents an almost completely defused destructive energy, seems to be especially unbearable for the infantile ego, and it splits off from the rest of the ego early in life. Melanie Klein emphasizes that this split-off, unconscious envy often remains unexpressed in the analysis, but nevertheless has a negative and powerful influence, hindering progress in the analysis, which in the end can only be effective when it reaches integration and embraces the personality in its entirety. integrity. In other words, the defusion of the [life and death] instincts must gradually be replaced by their fusion in any successful analysis.

4) In Freud's work, which followed Beyond the Pleasure Principle (Freud, 1920), where the approach is most speculative, it became clear that he was applying the theory of the life and death instincts to explain clinical phenomena. For example, in the article " economic problem masochism" (Freud, 1924: SE 19: 170) he wrote: "Thus, moral masochism becomes the classical evidence for the existence of fusion of instincts. Its danger lies in the fact that it comes from the death instinct and corresponds to that part of it that has escaped outward circulation as a kind of destructive instinct. In The Dissatisfaction with Culture (Freud, 1930: SE 21: 122), Freud focuses more on the aggressive instinct. He writes: “This program of culture is opposed by the natural aggressive instinct of man, the hostility of one to all and all to everyone. This aggressive instinct is a descendant and chief representative death instinct, which we discovered next to Eros. He further adds: "This problem should demonstrate to us, on the example of mankind, the struggle between Eros and Death, the life instinct and the instinct of destruction."

In this discussion, Freud does not make a clear distinction between the death instinct and the destruction instinct, because he is trying to explain that there is a force he calls the death instinct or the destruction instinct, and it is in constant struggle with the life instinct, the desire to live.

In the "Continuation of Lectures on Introduction to Psychoanalysis" (Freud, 1933: SE 22: 105) he discusses the confluence of Eros and aggressiveness and seeks to encourage analysts to apply this theory in clinical practice, noting:

“With this assumption, we open the prospect for research that will someday gain great importance to understand pathological processes. After all, fusions can also decay, and such a decay can have the most severe consequences for the function. But these views are still too new, no one has yet tried to use them in their work.

He also writes the following:

“In time immemorial ... an instinct arose that seeks to destroy life. … If we see the confirmation of our hypothesis in this instinct of self-destruction, then we can consider it an expression of the “death instinct” (Todestrieb), which cannot but exert its influence on every life process.”

“The death drive becomes a destructive drive when it is directed outward against the objects by means of special organs. A living being, so to speak, preserves its life by destroying someone else's. But still, a certain amount of the death drive remains active and inside living being, and in our practice we have tried to reduce a fairly significant range of normal and pathological phenomena to this internalization of the instinct of destruction. (Freud, 1933: SE 22: 107, 211) [The second quote is from a letter to A. Einstein "Is war inevitable?" - Note. transl.]

In this work, Freud, in particular, emphasizes self-destructive feelings as a direct expression of the death instinct and notes that there are special organs through which the death instinct is turned into destructiveness and directed outward towards objects. According to this description, Freud's views here are somewhat similar to those of Melanie Klein, set forth later. She shows that the primitive ego projects some aspects of the death instinct into external objects, which thus become the persecutors, while the rest of the death instinct turns into direct aggression that attacks the persecutors.

Only four years later, in "Analysis finite and infinite" (Freud, 1937: SE 23: 242), does Freud return to the clinical application of his theory of the death instinct in order to understand the deep-rooted resistances to analytic treatment:

“Here we are dealing with those limiting questions that can be studied psychological research: the behavior of two primary instincts, their distribution, mixing (mingling) and separation (defusion). Most strong impression from resistance in analytic work arises from the fact that there is a force that protects itself by all available means from recovery, a force that with unshakable firmness supports illness and suffering.

He associates it with his more early theory negative therapeutic reaction, which he correlated with an unconscious sense of guilt and the need for punishment, noting (Freud, 1937: SE 23: 243):

“These phenomena point unmistakably to the presence in psychic life of a force which we call the instinct of aggression or destruction, depending on its aims, and which we trace back to the original death instinct of living matter. ... Only by the simultaneous or opposing action of two primary instincts - Eros and the instinct of death, never found alone - can we explain the richness and diversity of the phenomena of life.

5) One of the main reasons for this omission may be that Freud's theory of narcissism was originally based on the idea of ​​primary narcissism, in which a person directs his libido towards the self, and secondary narcissism, in which he withdraws libido from objects back to the self (Freud, 1914: 74). It was not until later that Freud clarified his ideas about the pleasure principle and the reality principle, which he had expressed in 1911, and related them to love and hate in Instincts and Their Destiny, which he began to write as dealing with the important connection between the pleasant narcissistic state and hatred or destructiveness towards an external object, when the object begins to hook the individual. For example, it says (Freud, 1915: SE 14: 136): "Together with the appearance of the object at the stage of primary narcissism, the second opposite of love, hate, also develops." In the same article, he emphasizes the primary significance of aggression: “Hatred as an attitude towards an object is older than love. It comes from the narcissistic ego's initial withdrawal of the irritating external world" (Freud, 1915: SE 14: 139).

Something similar to this line of thought can be seen in Freud's principle of nirvana, which he considered a retreat or regression to primal narcissism under the dominance of the death instinct - where rest, lifelessness, and surrender to death are equated.

Hartmann, Kris and Loewenstein (1949: 22) seem to have a similar impression of Freud's idea of ​​the connection between aggression and narcissism; they write: “Freud used to compare the relationship between narcissism and object love with the relationship between self-destruction and the destruction of the object. Perhaps this analogy influenced his assumption that self-destruction as primary form aggression should be compared with primary narcissism.

6) The history of this patient is noteworthy. Simon told me that he had heard from his mother that from the first three months he was extremely difficult to feed. At the age of one and a half years, he scattered with exceptional skill all the food that was given to him with a spoon or allowed to take on his own from a plate; he made a real garbage dump on the floor and triumphantly looked at his very alarmed mother. These scenes were repeated over and over. The father criticized the mother for her inability to take care of the child, but did nothing himself to support her or cope with the boy. Finally, an experienced nanny was hired. A year later, the nanny told the mother that she had to admit that her work with the child had been a complete failure. She had never encountered a child who so stubbornly and obviously, but with obvious satisfaction, rejected all her attempts to feed and care for him. She quit and her mother continued her struggle alone.

The outstanding symptoms of this patient were impotence and a rather obscure perversion. He was extremely schizoid, aloof and had trouble relating to other people. I became his second analyst.

7) In many of these patients, destructive impulses are associated with perversions. In this situation, the apparent fusion of the instincts does not reduce the strength of the destructive instincts; on the contrary, power and violence are enormously increased by the eroticization of the aggressive instinct. I think it would be misleading here to follow Freud in discussing perversions as fusions between the life and death instincts, since in such cases the destructive part of the self has seized control of the totality of the libidinal aspects of the patient's personality and is therefore capable of misusing them. Such cases are in fact examples of pathological fusion, similar to states of confusion, where the destructive impulses overpower the libidinal ones.

8) This process is somewhat reminiscent of Freud's description of how the narcissistic object cathexes are abandoned and the libido is relegated to the ego (Freud, 1914). The state I am describing does indeed involve a retreat of the self from libidinal object cathexes into a narcissistic state reminiscent of primary narcissism. The patient seems to withdraw from the world, he is unable to think and often feels intoxicated. He may lose interest in the outside world and tend to stay in bed, forgetting what was discussed in previous sessions. If he nevertheless comes to the session, he may complain that something incomprehensible has happened to him, he feels trapped, feels claustrophobia and the inability to get out of this state. He often realizes that he has lost something important, but is not sure what it is. This loss can be felt concrete way like the loss of keys or a wallet, but sometimes the patient realizes that his anxiety and sense of loss are associated with the loss of an important part of himself, namely a healthy dependent self associated with the ability to think. Sometimes such a patient develops an acute and overwhelming hypochondriacal fear of death. Here the impression arises that we can observe the death instinct in its purest form, as a force capable of drawing the whole self from life in similar to death state with the help of false promises of a nirvana-like state, which implies a complete stratification of the basic instincts. However, a careful study of this process shows that we are not dealing with a state of separation [of instincts], but with a pathological fusion, similar to the process I have described in perversions. In this narcissistic state of closure, the sane dependent part of the patient enters the delusional object, and projective identification occurs, in which the sane self loses its identity and is completely dominated by an omnipotent destructive process; this sound self has no power to resist or weaken it as long as this pathological fusion lasts; and vice versa, the strength of the destructive process is greatly increased in such a situation.

Literature:

1. Federn, P. (1932) The reality of the death instinct especially in melancholia. Psychoanalytic Review 19: 129–51.
2. Freud, S. (1914) On narcissism: an introduction. SE 14.
3. Freud, S. (1915) Instincts and their vicissitudes. SE 14.
4. Freud, S. (1916) Some character types met with in psycho-analytic work. SE 14.
5. Freud, S. (1920) Beyond the Pleasure Principle. SE 18.
6. Freud, S. (1924) The economic problem of masochism. SE 19.
7. Freud, S. (1930) Civilization and its Discontents. SE 21.
8. Freud, S. (1933) New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis. SE 22.
9. Freud, S. (1937) Analysis terminable and interminable. SE 23.
10. Green A. (1984) Symposium on the Death Instinct held in Marseilles.
11. Hartmann, H., Kris, E. and Loewenstein, R. M. (1949) Notes on the theory of aggression. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 3–4: 9–36.
12. Klein, M. (1958) On the development of mental functioning. 39: 84–90.
13. Reich, W. (1933) character analysis. New York: Orgone Institute Press, 1949.
14. Rosenfeld, H. A. (1971) A clinical approach to the psychoanalytic theory of the life and death instincts: an investigation into the aggressive aspects of narcissism. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 52: 169–78.
15. Weiss, E. (1935) Todestrieb und Masochismus. imago 21: 393–411.

I was offered to prepare this article for the scientific-practical conference "Actual Problems of Psychology", which was held in April at the Belgorod University of Cooperation, Economics and Law. Written like not boring :) so I bring to your attention.

***
For a long time, the opinion was widespread and not subjected to critical reflection that destructive people choose weak, broken, pronouncedly masochistic people who demonstrate the so-called victimhood as objects of their influence.

Unfortunately, this belief is still strong today. Many mental health professionals continue to argue that without a victim there is no tyrant, that this connection is always complementary and even symbiotic, since the victim of violence derives some hidden benefits from the relationship with the aggressor.

Fortunately, in recent years, studies have become available to the Russian reader that refute these ideas, which I would call harmful. Firstly, they lead to aggravation of trauma in the victims themselves, who do not receive adequate support and assistance from either specialists or the environment.

Secondly, these ideas involuntarily condone the aggressors themselves, to some extent exposing them as "orderlies of the forest", that is, an indispensable element in the functioning of a healthy society.

Thirdly, the cruelty of those around to the victims of destructive people is indirectly encouraged. Following psychologists, people call the victims masochists, exaggerately interpret the Karpman triangle, urge them to fight their "victimity", "rescuer complex" - or "not whine", if for some reason the victim remains with the aggressor. Like, you chose it yourself - it means that you really like it, and you derive psychological benefits from it.

I don't have a degree in mental health. I am a writer, journalist and researcher of destructive people and relationships. Over the past four years, I have received several hundred letters from people who have suffered from moral and physical violence, and I can confirm that the vast majority of my respondents do not look like masochists at all, they have not derived and do not derive any benefits from relations with the aggressor.

They entered into this relationship because they were the victims of deception - a vivid narcissistic self-presentation, a psychopathic seduction based on a set of powerful manipulations that are difficult to recognize without special knowledge. Why did the aggressors choose these people?

Important: today I will talk about the primary choice of a destructive person, and not about those people who create stable alliances with them. This is a separate big topic. In short, the choice of the aggressor can fall on any of us, but not everyone reaches the stage of complete dissolution in it, the loss of oneself. In my book, I call these stages of a destructive scenario the Juicer and Recycle.

For the same reason, I do not consider the widespread belief that the psychopath allegedly "sees" our personal problems, psychological traumas at first sight, and therefore, they say, is fixed on a certain audience. This is wrong.

When choosing a victim for the first time, the aggressor focuses on her external presentation (appearance, behavior, social status, other information about her collected during the Exploration stage), and not at all on her psychological vulnerabilities. They are still unknown to him.

At the most, he can only assume them. Thus, the "victim" is not a stigma, not a characteristic of the victim's personality, but a situational state that any person can fall into when meeting with a psychopath.

So, let's talk about the features of choosing a victim by the two main types of destructive people - a sociopath and a narcissist. In many ways, these features intersect, as, in fact, the motivation of destructive people, but there are some nuances.

For example, the narcissist, driven by narcissistic envy, which at first manifests itself as idealization, tends to choose people who are outstanding in every sense. Outward attractiveness, talent, popularity, optimism, vigor, vitality - all this causes narcissistic envy and an unconscious desire to merge with an idealized object in order to “finish” one’s extremely illusory, unsteady personality, or rather, its imitation.

“The narcissist is bound to have the best, most brilliant, amazing, talented, flamboyant, stunning partner in the entire world. He won't settle for anything less," writes Sam Vaknin.

“The choice of object often turns out to be narcissistic - an attractive trophy partner is chosen, whose main psychological role is to maintain the subject’s narcissism, causing the envy of others,” says Jeremy Holmes.

“The self-image of a narcissistic person requires that his love object also be idealized by those around him. To this end, the narcissistic personality needs to choose a person who is beautiful, intelligent, successful, or for some other reason, universally recognized because of his exceptionalism.

The narcissistic personality seeks to “expropriate” and appropriate these wonderful qualities that they don’t have,” writes Sandy Hotchkiss.

The commentators on my blog and I call this choice "the best." However, it would be wrong to say that the narcissist is only interested in beauties from influential families, with a prestigious job and a solid amount in the account.

In the “harem” of a narcissist, at the same time, there can be both the “trophy” Sondra Finchley (“An American Tragedy”, Dreiser), demonstrated to society and supporting the grandiose self-image of the narcissist Clyde Griffiths, and the “ordinary” Roberta Alden, the connection with which he keeps a secret.

A vivid example of narcissistic choice is also shown by Fitzgerald's hero Jay Gatsby, who chooses a beautiful, carefree girl from the world of aristocrats, where he himself is closed, as the object of narcissistic idealization.

In addition, Daisy is desired by many, popular, which in the eyes of Gatsby confirms her high "value". In narcissistic language, Daisy is "10 out of 10". With masterful strokes, Fitzgerald emphasizes what seduced Gatsby in Daisy. The marker here is the “narcissistic” word “most”:

“The biggest flag and the widest lawn was at the house where Daisy Fay lived. No other girl in all of Louisville was so successful. She wore white dresses, she had her own little white two-seater, and all day long the telephone rang in her house, and the young officers excitedly asked for the honor of spending the evening with her.

She was the first "society girl" on his path. From the first time she seemed to him dizzyingly desirable. He began to visit her at home. He was amazed - he had never seen such a beautiful house. He was also worried that many men had loved Daisy before him - this still increased her price in his eyes.

Exclusively wives with high-profile surnames were also interested in the owner of a bouquet of personality disorders, Sergei Yesenin.

“Once, Yesenin wanted to marry Chaliapin’s daughter, a red-haired freckled ugly woman. Then Isadora Duncan. And all for the biography. Yesenin - Chaliapin! Yesenin - Duncan! Yesenin - Fat! - writes Anatoly Mariengof in "A Novel Without Lies".

However, fueling one’s own narcissism in the form of the “self-made” best partner nearby (who by his choice, as it were, recognizes the narcissist as his equal, and, therefore, confirms his grandiose self-image) is not all that can attract the narcissist in the victim.

For the functioning of the false "I" (that is, the idealized, grandiose self-image created by the narcissist himself, which is a surrogate for the unformed true "I" and presented to people), he needs a constant influx of narcissistic resource.

Therefore, for a narcissist, even a “not enough” brilliant victim, but one that abundantly produces a narcissistic resource, can have value. Such victims are usually kept "for internal use" (eg Roberta Alden - "shadow" victim of Clyde Griffiths, "American Tragedy")

An example is the heroine of one of the stories published on my blog. Having skillfully formed and maintained illusions about his feelings in a disabled girl and from time to time expressing interest in her, the narcissist hoped to get in her person an unassuming victim, ready for unconditional and unlimited service, whom he “made happy” and who would not “pump rights” , but will behave in strict accordance with the requirements of the narcissist for the qualities of a “multifunctional thing”.

Here we come close to third motive, by which the narcissist unconsciously or semiconsciously guides when choosing a victim - use. That is, the victim is chosen as a “thing useful in the household” and may not be idealized even for a short time.

Surrounded by a narcissist, there are always "convenient", "useful" people whom he comprehensively exploits. As a "multifunctional thing", for example, Yesenin used Galina Benislavskaya. If he experienced idealization in relation to her, it was very short-lived.

Researchers note that aggressors are attracted to those who have the best human qualities. Apparently, this expresses the psychopath's envy of those who, by their very existence, remind him of his inferiority and how "imperfectly equipped he is," in the words of Vaknin.

“Most often the victims are people who are full of energy and have a taste for life. The aggressors seem to be trying to seize at least a part of this vitality. Goods are basically moral qualities that are difficult to steal: the joy of life, sensitivity, ease of communication, the ability to music and literature, ”writes Marie-France Yrigoyen.

“You know President Turvel - her piety, love for her husband, strict rules. That's who I encroach on, that's a worthy opponent, that's the goal I'm striving for, ”Viscount de Valmont explains his choice.

Sandra L. Brown paints a portrait of the victim most attractive to psychopaths.

“My research has shown that women who usually enter into love relationships with psychopaths have quite unique and inimitable “super traits” of character. Summing up, they can be described as follows: developed sense empathy + strong attachment + high sentimentality + underdeveloped ability to avoid trouble. I think we can agree that these traits describe an outstanding woman in every way!”

A destructive person is looking for not only the "best" and "worthy", but also a psychologically strong partner. The widespread opinion that the aggressor recruits victims from among the “stuck” people in most cases does not correspond to the true state of affairs.

“Any way to build a co-dependent relationship comes down to the fact that the psychological territory of the partner is occupied, and the partner is emptied and submits. Accordingly, a sadist can build relationships with people who are not at all inclined to self-abasement.

The more satisfaction he can achieve by succeeding in his goals. So the sadist is more attracted to people who are filled, having a living and elastic shell of the “I”, which needs to be broken, ”explains psychiatrist Elena Emelyanova.

“Paradoxically, a narcissist may initially be attracted to a partner with clear boundaries, demanding that their rights be respected even at the cost of confrontation. This is because such a partner is perceived as strong, stable and predictable - the exact opposite of his parents and the abusive, capricious environment that contributed to the development of his pathology. But then the narcissist tries to deprive the partner of these “virtues”, making him subordinate and co-dependent,” writes Sam Vaknin.

“A lot of tormentors are interested in strong and successful women. Men of this type feel more significant when they manage to take control of a confident and successful woman”, confirms Lundy Bancroft.

A few words about the peculiarities of choosing a sociopath, that is, a person with an antisocial (dissocial) personality disorder. He, like the narcissist, is interested in "trophy" victims, but the more thoughtful, cold-blooded the sociopath (according to Bernstein, the anti-social vampire of the type "used car salesman, i.e. conscious deceiver), the more "practical" he can make a choice. That is, he initially chooses a victim with money, business, connections.

At the same time, Duroy narcissistically idealizes Madeleine Forestier (pictured on the right), envying her intelligence, journalistic talent, beauty, secular tact - and, of course, through her envying her boss, her husband, Mr. Forestier. And this is a clear illustration of how close the personalities of a sociopath and a narcissist are in organization, how much their motives intersect.

Other sociopaths, whose drug is emotional arousal, "adrenaline" (in Bernstein's book they are described as anti-social vampires of the Reckless type), choose the victim on the principle of "wrap it up for me immediately." For example, Peer Gynt impulsively decides to kidnap Ingrid from her wedding with another, about the same activity is developed by Anatole Kuragin in relation to Natasha Rostova.

A destructive person is driven by a conscious or semi-conscious desire to destroy, generated by "primitive envy" (Nancy McWilliams). That is why the objects of intrigue, for example, Iago are people whom he envies and whom he hates: loving, creative, full vitality Desdemona, Othello, Cassio.

Some sociopaths' choices can be bizarre. So, one had a fixed idea - to ingratiate himself with the daughter of a high-ranking police officer, marry, kill her and go unpunished. Apparently, this was a perverse realization of his fear of the police, in the strength of which he saw a threat to his primitive psychic defenses - "almighty control", in particular.

There are psychopaths with very specific, perverted requests. For example, they may be excited by the theme of severe illness, infirmity, immobility of the victim. This is probably the embodiment of the psychopathic fantasy of complete power over the victim. It is no coincidence that there are tormentors who are only interested in victims who are in a difficult life situation, the most vulnerable, isolated and dependent.

In Dostoevsky's The Gentle One, a clearly narcissistic hero marries a 16-year-old orphan (on the left - Iya Savvina, in the guise of a Meek One), starts harassing her with boycotts from the very first days, and eventually drives her to protest suicide.

In Gorky's Troy, a merchant marries an equally poor, lonely girl in order to subject her to physical torture. SS man Max in the film "The Night Porter" selects the object of harassment of a young prisoner of the concentration camp Lucia.

As you can see, some aggressors are attracted by the prospect, in conditions of complete isolation, to mock with impunity the unrequited, already broken or about to break victims. That is, to be entirely the stewards of their fate.

“Among my clients, there are those who are attracted to women who have recently experienced trauma, some even start by helping women break up with their former torturers, just to take their place,” Bancroft confirms.

Thus, the ingrained opinion about a special type of prey, about its hidden “victimity”, which the predator supposedly smells, some kind of “smell of the victim” has no basis. The victim is "guilty" only because the aggressor "wants to eat." Destructive personalities themselves confirm their own “omnivorousness”.

“I am always ready to play to win, no matter who the game is against and how innocent and defenseless the potential victims are. This makes a lot of sense to me. If I were merciless only when necessary, or if my mercilessness was directed only at those who "deserved" it, then I would not be able to become an effective predator. I would always ask myself uncomfortable questions: does it deserve special person cruel treatment? Do I really need to attack him? On the contrary, aggressiveness directed at everyone without exception is natural for me,” M. Thomas, author of the book “Confessions of a Sociopath,” confesses.

That is why, in her own words, “in their attitude towards people, sociopaths do not make exceptions for “their own”. In other words, the victims of destructive people are often ... destructive people themselves. For examples, it is enough to turn to the world classics, where we see such pathological unions of two aggressors as the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil (“ Dangerous ties”, Choderlos de Laclos), Anfisa Kozyreva and Prokhor Gromov (“Gloomy River”, Shishkov), aunt Anfisa Porfirievna and her husband, Captain Saveltsev (“Poshekhonskaya Starina”, Saltykov-Shchedrin).

Quite often we observe tandems of destructive people in real life: Arakcheev and Nastasya Minkina, the murderer Paul Bernardo and his wife and confidante Karla Homolka (on the left - a frame from the film "Karla").

These bundles may look symbiotic, that is, mutually beneficial, but sooner or later one of the "partners" takes over the other. More precisely, the coexistence of two psychopaths is a constant rivalry in which one or the other wins.

History knows many examples when financial tycoons became victims of fraudsters (that is, sociopaths), who can hardly be reproached for “victimity”, “gullibility” and “naivety”. How two swindlers scammed Rockefeller himself and a group of successful businessmen, says Robert Green in the book "48 Laws of Power".

It turns out that none of us have to talk about complete and even relative vulnerability to destructive people, which means that anyone can become his primary victim. Other ideas about one’s own invulnerability, in my opinion, may indicate that a person is in the grip of the so-called magical thinking (“if I behave correctly, then nothing bad will happen to me”), subject to criminal optimism (“in every person there is something good, and it depends only on me which side he turns to me") and arrogance ("such people smell me a mile away and stay away"), which in itself puts him at risk.

Let me summarize what has been said. Any of us at any moment can become the object of the evil interest of the aggressor. However, we are able to minimize our risks by learning to recognize the aggressors as early as possible. And in most cases, this is possible if you master the basic knowledge about the behavior and organization of the personality of destructive people, as well as eradicate magical thinking and arrogance in yourself.

Try silhouette photography - it's simple and can be artistically beautiful. It is rare to find a photographer who would not try to photograph a person with the sun behind him so that only the silhouette remains.

Done right, silhouettes can be very bright and unforgettable, making your shots stand out.

Here are some tips for beginners on how to photograph silhouettes the right way.

• Illumination of the subject. The easiest way to photograph a silhouette is to use the sun as a backlight. Positioning the subject directly in front of direct sunlight gives a clear and visually strong silhouette.

• Due to the color temperature and the low position of the sun, silhouettes are best at sunrise or sunset.

• background exposure. You need to correctly measure the exposure so that the silhouette is clear and the photo is formed correctly. Point the camera at the brightest part of the composition (but not the sun!) and half-press the shutter button to get the exposure settings that the camera gives. Remember, and then set them manually on the DSLR (in M mode). Ideally, you need to get a high shutter speed (from 1/125 s) for a high-quality silhouette when photographing.

Brigitta Sontagh

• Turn off the flash. This is another reason to use manual settings on your camera, especially if your camera has an automatic flash. When using the camera in "auto" mode, it will most likely work automatically, trying to highlight the object and make it brighter. With manual setting, you have the option to keep the flash off, which plays a key role in creating the silhouette.

• Come closer. Getting closer to your subject makes it much easier to block direct light, and it also gives you more choice of shooting angles, allowing you to move around and find the best compositional solution.

• Focusing. Set a greater depth of field by manual adjustment. An aperture around f16 ensures that your entire image is in focus. A fuzzy silhouette will not look like an artistic image, but like a mistake.

• Think about forms. The silhouette should carry a strong image. Therefore, if you are photographing a person, try to capture him in profile or ask him to spread his arms so that the dark figure does not look like a monolithic block against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset, for example.

• If you are shooting a stationary subject, try to find the best angle that will emphasize the shape and make the dark figure stand out. Keep this in mind. Why do you think trees are so popular? Because their silhouettes look great!

Do not forget the most important thing - enjoy the experiment and expect great results. After all, the photo is worth it!

Based on materials from foreign sources, prepared by F. Svetogorov

I usually talk about how important it is to use a flash when shooting in the sun to show the details of the subject being photographed, but sometimes it will be more effective, on the contrary, to level out all the details, except for the contours, and present the subject against a bright background - in other words, take a picture silhouette.

Silhouettes- a great way to convey drama, mystery, emotions and mood to the viewer, they always stand apart in the album due to the fact that, with apparent simplicity, they tell us a whole story. I love them because they do not show the viewer a clear picture of everything that is happening, but leave room for fantasy.

The key to shooting silhouettes is positioning your subject (the shape you want to show) in front of some kind of light source and adjusting your camera exposure to the brightest part of your image (the background) rather than the subject. Thus, the subject will be underexposed (very dark, if not black).

There are many technical descriptions on how to get great silhouette shots, which you might want to familiarize yourself with, but let me go through a few basic steps to get you where you want to go. The key is to make your camera think that the brightest parts of the image are what you are interested in.

Here's how to do it:

1. Choose the right object

Almost every object can be represented as a silhouette, but some are more suitable for this purpose than others. Choose something with a clear and recognizable shape that will look interesting enough to the viewer, even in 2D. Silhouettes cannot be based on the colors, textures, or tones of objects, so the shape must be distinct.

2. Turn off the flash

If you are shooting in auto mode, then your camera may want to use flash, which will ruin the silhouette. In this case, you want as little light on your subject as possible - so flash should be omitted (however, I've seen some experimental shots of silhouettes with flash on).

3. Choose the right lighting

When it comes to lighting your subject, you need to forget most of what you know about normal photography and start thinking the other way around. Instead of lighting the subject from the front, when shooting silhouettes, you need to make sure that most of the light comes from the background and not from the foreground - in other words, you need to light the subject more from the back than from the front. A sunset or sunrise is ideal for this purpose, against which you can photograph the object, but in fact, almost any bright light source will do.

4. Frame the frame

Frame the frame so that your subject is in front of a pleasant and simple, but at the same time bright background. Usually the best background is a bright, cloudless sky with a setting sun. You need to place the brightest light source behind your subject (so that it is hidden behind it, or somewhere else in the background).

5. Create a clear and concise silhouette shape

If there is more than one shape in the frame that you are going to represent as a silhouette, try to keep the distance between the objects. For example, if you are making silhouettes of a tree and a person, you should not place the person in front of the tree or even ask him to lean on it, because. in this case, the objects will merge into one form, and the viewer will be perplexed what it is.

Also, when composing your shot, you may want to photograph the silhouettes of people in profile rather than looking directly into the frame. In this way, more features (nose, mouth, eyes) will stand out, and the person will be more likely to be recognized.

6. In automatic mode

Most modern digital cameras have an automatic metering system that adjusts the exposure so that everything is well lit. The problem is that most cameras are so smart that they will light up the subject instead of underexposing it to get a silhouette, so you need to outsmart your camera.

Most cameras adjust exposure levels automatically when you press the shutter button halfway (at the same time focusing). So aim your camera at the brightest part of the image and hold the shutter button halfway down (and don't let go). Then move the camera back to include your subject in the frame, and then press the button all the way down and take the frame. On most digital cameras, this will give you a silhouetted subject.

So you fool your camera and it thinks it's the best bright part the images are midtones, so anything darker will look like a nice deep shadow in the frame.

Some digital cameras also have spot metering or center metering modes, which can help you with the above technique because the camera will measure exposure from one point rather than multiple points. This means that you can tell the camera exactly which part of the light background you want to expose.

7. Manual mode

If this technique doesn't work and your camera has manual exposure or exposure compensation mode, you could try using your own settings. The beauty of digital is that you can experiment with the frame until you get the result you want.

An easy way to get started in manual mode is to look at the shutter speed and aperture offered by the camera in auto mode and start there. If your subject is too light in auto mode (i.e. you need to make it darker), lower your shutter speed by a stop or two and see what happens. Use the "bracketing" technique I described in my previous Sunrise and Sunrise article to get multiple shots with slightly varying exposure.

8. Focus

In most cases, you will want the silhouette to be clearly in focus. This complicates the process described in point 4, because when you hold the shutter button halfway to measure exposure, the background is in focus at the same time. To get around this point, you can follow two strategies. First, if your camera has manual focus, you can use it. Focus before metering exposure.

The second way is to use the aperture to maximize the depth of field (the fraction of the image that is in focus). Set a small aperture (i.e. a larger f/number) to increase the depth of field - this is how you are most likely to get a sharp background and foreground.

One last tip for silhouettes- A full silhouette, where the entire subject is black and sharp, can be very effective, but it's also worth considering a partial silhouette, in which only a subset of your subject's details are shown in this way. Sometimes one small ray of light makes the object a little more voluminous and “real”. This is the beauty of bracketing - it allows you to choose between general and partial silhouettes.

Sometimes very strange things happen in life. So, the most interesting and mysterious can happen within the walls of your own apartment. Mysticism, supernatural and paranormal, all this is able to "settle" in the house of any person. Sometimes an ordinary brownie can act in the form of an evil spirit.

The first type constantly helps a person and does not harm him. If he tries to strangle the household, then, most likely, it is necessary to exercise caution, changes are coming, and sometimes not of the best nature. As for the evil brownie, he is able to mischief always and everywhere.

What to do if otherworldly forces decide to visit? How to get rid of haunting shadows? In fact, there is nothing wrong with this. But leaving the problem unresolved is also not worth it. So, the first thing you need to understand is what is going on. Often a person is haunted by shadows that, in fact, do nothing wrong. But where do they come from and what is their purpose? If you see a shadow in the house, then there is nothing good in it.

The fact is that many shadows and evil spirits appear for a reason. Unsuccessful fortune-telling, cards, etc. can disturb the parallel world. A person without even knowing about it can attract negativity to himself, which is very difficult to return back. Therefore, before embarking on the process of divination, especially when it comes to complex manipulations, you should think carefully. In extreme cases, a person who knows the essence of this matter can come to the rescue.

Sometimes shadows and evil forces appear in the apartment after the death of someone close. This suggests that the soul cannot calm down. There are times when the “devil” jokes with people in this way. In general, there are quite a few reasons for the appearance of various mystical phenomena. The unresolved question remains what to do? Seeing a black silhouette in the house does not bode well, so you need to know how to get rid of it. How to overcome all this and is it dangerous for a person? For example, brownies can be both good and bad.

So, if an evil spirit, incomprehensible shadows or silhouettes appeared in the apartment, the first thing you need to do is try to get rid of it yourself. Because if you let everything take its course, the consequences can be terrifying. The first step is to try to consecrate the apartment yourself. This is done with the help of holy water or a church candle. So, you need to take a bowl of liquid and, while reading a prayer, begin to bless the corners, while following clockwise. It is advisable to repeat this action three times.

There is another way to do this. In this case, you need to take a church candle. The process is similar to the previous one. The candle is lit and a prayer is read. So, you need to go around all the corners clockwise and make three circles. The silhouettes in the apartment indicate that evil has settled in the house. Therefore, you need to get rid of it immediately.

If none of the above actions help, you need to seek help from a priest. Most likely, we are talking about something more serious. In many cases, a person is not able to cope on his own with this. Because "evil" is different and it appears for a number of reasons. So, in order to never encounter this, it is recommended to swear less at home. It sounds strange, but it is the negativity of a person that can attract mystical creatures in a dwelling. In general, it is not recommended to guess on your own and resort to summoning spirits. All this is fraught with serious consequences.

Getting rid of a brownie is sometimes very difficult and almost impossible on your own. Therefore, if only a shadow or a silhouette is seen that haunts, it is necessary to begin the process of “expelling” evil from the apartment. It is advisable to resort to the help of professionals in this matter.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that seeing houses of silhouettes indicates that an otherworldly force has settled in the dwelling. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to begin measures to “exile” her. Otherwise, things can get out of control.

Modern society, where every day there is some kind of technical discovery, already connected with the exploration of the Cosmos, magic remains an unsolved science. This is really a science that in antiquity...