It was a part of a 12-month lecture series on Indian psychoanalysis (2012 -2013). The speaker is Pulkit Sharma, a well-known clinical psychologist, psychoanalytic therapist, spiritual counselor and author now based in Pondicherry, India.
In this talk, Pulkit Sharma raises several important points on the marginalization of trauma within the Indian cultural context. Who defines trauma and the politics behind the diagnosis of PTSD. Sharma goes on to critically examine the way western and Indian psychoanalysts have looked at trauma, the defense mechanisms which victims of PTSD often use, and the time-tested psychodynamic techniques employed in healing trauma.
#psychologytalks #psychoanalysis #lecture #pulkitsharmaclinicalpsychologist #authorpulkit
In this talk, Pulkit Sharma raises several important points on the marginalization of trauma within the Indian cultural context. Who defines trauma and the politics behind the diagnosis of PTSD. Sharma goes on to critically examine the way western and Indian psychoanalysts have looked at trauma, the defense mechanisms which victims of PTSD often use, and the time-tested psychodynamic techniques employed in healing trauma.
#psychologytalks #psychoanalysis #lecture #pulkitsharmaclinicalpsychologist #authorpulkit
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:02Good evening everyone, I am Rukit Sharma, clinical psychologist at Wim Hans.
00:08I welcome you all to the fifth talk in the series on psychoanalysis.
00:13The present talk is on psychoanalysis of trauma, loses fate but pain remains.
00:23So since I guess that we all must have experienced some trauma or at least one trauma in our life,
00:35generally many more traumas than one obviously.
00:39So I would really expect a lot of inputs from your side as we go on and we kind of
00:46touch upon various facets.
00:49So first of all let's start with this, that what is trauma?
00:55What can be called as trauma or what is felt as trauma?
01:00So anyone would like to comment on that to share your reflections that what is trauma?
01:13Or how would you define trauma, relate to trauma?
01:22Anything which upsets you.
01:24Anything which upsets you. Very right. So something that upsets you.
01:28So anyone else?
01:30Breaks you down.
01:32Breaks you down.
01:33Breaks you down. So it is something intense which breaks you down.
01:38Right.
01:39It is trauma.
01:40Yeah.
01:41The trauma that might not set you to step inside you.
01:47Probably not experiencing.
01:49Right. So like something has happened you are not experiencing the full intensity.
02:00of that.
02:07Right.
02:08Anything you ever say.
02:10Yeah.
02:11Unexpected.
02:12Unexpected.
02:15Unexpected.
02:16Something very subtle.
02:17Very true.
02:18And all of a sudden you feel that your device.
02:24Right.
02:24Right.
02:24So it is something that really shakes you down.
02:28That thing.
02:29You were saying something.
02:30Unexpected.
02:31Intense.
02:32Negative.
02:33Unexpected.
02:34Negative.
02:35Right.
02:36Right.
02:36So yeah.
02:37I am not sure but is it always something that comes from outside.
02:41Something that is externally inflicted.
02:44Either by accident or something that was intending.
02:51You were asking or...
02:52I am not sure, so I am speculating.
02:56You are speculating that is it always something external?
02:59Yeah.
03:00Okay.
03:01That is a very important question.
03:03Because if you look at the standard definitions of trauma, they do take this into account.
03:12It is some intense happening which has an external source to it.
03:19Right.
03:20Fine.
03:21So, here are my reflections on what is trauma and based on what psychology says.
03:27Which is not very different from what you have said.
03:30Because that is what is there in the nutshell.
03:34So, first of all, I think when we talk about trauma, you want the light to be lit?
03:42Can someone just switch off the light?
03:46That's fine.
03:46So, fine.
03:48We can maybe have one or two lights off.
03:50Not all, right?
03:52Yeah.
03:53If you could point that we can have two swine off.
03:56Yeah.
03:58If they can do that.
03:59Right.
04:00So, the first thing is that, who defines trauma?
04:03Now, that is very important.
04:04You know, like, someone comes, someone walks up and says that today someone told me that you are a fool.
04:12And I am just devastated by that, you know.
04:15Someone comes and says that.
04:18Another person says, oh, come on.
04:19That is such a small thing, you know.
04:22To be called a fool.
04:23That person may have said that in a humorous way, in a light way.
04:27That person may have had a bad day.
04:28That person may have had a bad day.
04:29Why are you kind of, you know, taking it to her heart, you know.
04:32So, that's what it is.
04:33You know.
04:34Who is it that?
04:36You know, who is it who defines trauma?
04:39You know.
04:39So, because when we are talking about trauma, you know, it, it is intracyclic, but its sources
04:46and its definitions and its dynamics, they are very interpersonal kind of thing, you know.
04:52Someone says that, you know, that I remember a female client of mine who said that, you know,
04:59that I have devoted 20 years of my life to this family.
05:03You know, I have been working 7 days a week, 24 hours.
05:07That has been dramatic for me.
05:09The husband who sits next to her says, oh, really?
05:14That is what you are supposed to do.
05:17That is what every woman is supposed to do.
05:21You are exaggerating.
05:23You must be out of your senses.
05:25So, what is, who would really define trauma?
05:31You know, like, and that happens on a very large scale also.
05:34You know, like, we have something like this, you know, that we have a news flash that someone
05:40has been molested and there are already so many speculations onto it, you know.
05:45Maybe the victim, you know, so what was the character of the victim, you know.
05:52Did she know the perpetrator?
05:56Did she go along with the perpetrator by her own will?
06:00What happened?
06:02Can it be really called trauma?
06:04So, you see there are, like, you know, the moment one talks about trauma, there are too many speculations.
06:09So, first is this huge question that who defines trauma?
06:14Second is, as I said, that very sadly, you know, very sadly, and it's something very political,
06:22that the official definitions we have of trauma is, you know, that they include,
06:28many of these definitions include some kind of an external event, you know,
06:32that there has to be something very shocking devastating externally, you know,
06:35that if there is an earthquake, a very brutal sexual assault, you know, armed group violence,
06:44you know, that there has to be something that we have of trauma, you know.
06:47But, you know, if something is not happening, then it comes on a shaky ground and people say it,
06:53then can we really call trauma?
06:58Or should we focus more on the inner turmoil, you know, should we focus more on the experience
07:03of the one who says that I am traumatized, you know, is it more about that internal feeling, you know.
07:08I may have been, you know, someone may have just said a comment to me,
07:12but that has really broken me down, you know.
07:16So, you know, that can be traumatic, you know, for someone.
07:24And as I said, you know, around all these definitions, there are politics, you know.
07:30So, whenever we are talking about trauma, there always are politics, you know,
07:35because people are at times denying trauma, at times they are denying responsibility for trauma.
07:42So, there are various politics, you know.
07:44And to just show you this very, you know, a short clip, you know,
07:49on how it really operates, before we go on further.
07:56This is like a video which documents one of the first cases that, you know,
08:02the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud had seen.
08:05And interestingly, what happened with his theories was that when he started working,
08:13he developed his perspective around trauma.
08:17But then later on, he came to a very sad position, which was a very politically motivated position,
08:23that he said that there isn't a real trauma in many cases, kind of thing, you know.
08:28And he actually went on to deny trauma of, you know, many of the people who went back to him.
08:35But then, you know, thankfully, nowadays there is a lot of awareness around trauma.
08:41So, I am just showing this brief clipping to just show that, you know,
08:46that how various politics operate around, you know, this trauma.
08:59like this, that's not a
09:01moment of speech.
09:02You know, this is walking, you know, this is not...
09:03You know, this is not a moment of speech.
09:05It's of course not being a part of the trauma.
09:07But then Freud's first case analysis, Dora, only lasted 11 weeks
09:13after which she rejected him.
09:15Freud was able to discover the concept of transference.
09:44Good morning, Dr. Freud.
09:46Good morning, Laura.
09:48It's rather cloudy outside today.
10:02Now let us begin in our usual way.
10:07Let your mind relax and begin your free associations by speaking about whatever comes to your mind without censorship.
10:20Well, that is easy because I know what I would like to talk about.
10:26I am depressed because I am angry with everyone in my life today.
10:30I am especially angry with my mother.
10:33I am stressed with sex and he just could not see the trauma of what she had gone through.
10:40So, that's the interesting thing, you know, that whenever someone comes and says that I have been traumatized, there are
10:47already so many people who are there to question that person's experience.
10:51You know, so many people who build it in the experience, who thrash it down, to question it, to reassure
10:57it, to change it kind of thing.
10:59You know, like, any idea why does this happen, you know, why is it that people rush to the bridge,
11:08you know, the moment someone comes and says that I have been devastated or traumatized or unfairly deterred, you know.
11:14Why does this happen, you know, why does this happen, yeah.
11:18It's an uncomfortable thing with negativity because we want to, in a way, have an illusion that everything is off
11:28the line pattern.
11:29It's something very negative or uncomfortable happening to me.
11:33It's a lot of tension inside us and that's something we can deal with.
11:37It's something that we can't show exactly, you know, like what happens is that because whenever we come across any
11:44narrative of trauma, that makes, that threatens to make us feel so helpless, you know, that someone could be devastated
11:52like that.
11:53That we just want to, you know, just want to kind of, we just want to do something with that,
11:59you know, we want to change it, we want to deny it, we want to make it a little rosy,
12:03you know, we want to make it a little comfortable for us ki,
12:05achha, yeh toh ho sakta tha, aisa ho ho ka, aisa khiya ho ka, you know, ya yeh, all the
12:11time we are thinking of escape routes from that very intensely negative feeling.
12:15And what happens is that in the process we re-traumatize the person a lot as this lady was, you
12:22know, buying a product.
Comments