ABSTRACT
To understand disintegration anxiety, it is necessary to consider insights derived from conventional psychoanalytic theory and technique, particularly drawing on the work of Heinz Kohut and J. Lacan. This chapter describes the origins and function of the bedrock resistance. The selfobject transferences, of mirroring, idealizing and twinship, tend to be invisible until they are disrupted. In Kohut's thinking, the selfobject functions provide the bulwark against fragmentation. Psychic change is feared because it brings the threat of fragmentation. The motif of the fragmented body-self occurs in the theorizing of many analysts. The chapter explores the examples of the breakdown of the illusory self in certain forms of reactions to excessive use of recreational drugs, such as marijuana. As the traditional structures of society rapidly change in our "post-modern" world, there are increasing signs of disintegration anxiety, easily recognized in cultural and artistic expressions. This toxic shame can be lethal, poisoning the soul and corroding any vestige of self-esteem.
