To overcome the denial

To overcome the denial
Tuesday July 14, 2009

Just this morning in a discussion with colleagues, they asked me how I could possibly think any kind of personality development (we were discussing an acquaintance with extreme narcissism who ‘freely’ prostitutes herself) was related to trauma in childhood. The extreme case we were discussing brought home to me just how profound the denial is–in this case among anthropologists who are often the first to point out the role of socialization in culture. Thank you for your courage and clear voice.

Best,

AM: Have you ever wondered about the fact that anthropologists who show so much interest in discovering the unknown, very old stories of the bones they find are not at all interested in what happened to us all only some decades ago, on the beginning of our lives? The profound denial was unavoidable in childhood indeed but is no longer so in adulthood.