Delusions of everyday life

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shengold, Leonard, Author.

Contributor:

Fine, Bernard, Editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Delusions.

Narcissism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (234 p.)

Place of Publication:

[Place of publication not identified] Yale University Press 1995

Language Note:

English

Summary:

We are all more primitive and irrational than we care to acknowledge, says Dr. Leonard Shengold in this profound and eloquent book. We all suffer to some degree from delusions—vestiges of infantile mental functioning that continue into adult life and that at times of crisis manifest themselves in narcissistic thoughts of omnipotence, immortality, or perfection. Dr. Shengold argues that we can never eliminate these delusions of everyday life, but we can lessen their effect if we acknowledge, or "own", them. He asserts that insight into what we are and what has happened to us is a prerequisite for caring about others and for accepting the transient conditions of life—both necessary to attain happiness. Dr. Shengold discusses delusions we all experience as well as delusions associated with paranoia, perversions, being in love, and identification with delusional parents. He illustrates his ideas by referring to the lives and works of such literary figures as Shakespeare, Swift, Tolstoy, Pascal, Rilke, Randall Jarrell, Dickens, Hardy, and, especially, Samuel Butler. Dr. Shengold also brings in relevant clinical material because, as he points out, delusions of everyday life are at the heart of misunderstanding and conflict in life and of resistance to change in psychological treatment. These delusions must be attenuated if therapy is to be successful.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. AN EXAMPLE OF DELUSION IN A NEUROTIC PERSON

2. NARCISSISTIC DELUSIONS

3. MALIGNANT ENVY

4. PARANOID DELUSIONS AND DELUSIONS ACQUIRED BY IDENTIFICATION WITH DELUSIONAL PARENTS

5. SAMUEL BUTLER, A LITERARY EXAMPLE

6. DELUSIONS INVOLVED IN PERVERSIONS AND IN BEING IN LOVE

7. "OWNING" AND ITS THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS

APPENDIXES

REFERENCES

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 15. Sep 2020)

ISBN:

0-300-15766-5

OCLC:

1198931945