ABSTRACT
Emotional stress is therefore generally understood to mean experiencing extra pressure which carries with it the fear of overloading one’s psychic structure to breaking point, culminating in a nervous breakdown. However, the American Professor of Psychology and comedian, Dr Murray Banks (in ‘How to live with yourself or what to do until the psychiatrist comes’, LP Records), made the serious humorous point that nerves do not break down! In other words, the idea of a physical structure standing symbolically for mental structure is helpful, so long as it really is symbolical. However, it is hard to compare the mind to a physical substance that could break down under too much weight, without it concretely being experienced as a physical structure that will break down.
