ABSTRACT
Separation is necessary in order to exist. Illustrated with material from work with a ‘lukewarm patient’ – aroused by Lennon and Bono, in a destructive manner. Leads to a reflection on the superficial nature of generational objects and how their changeability has become not only their form but their content. Psychoanalysts are uniquely well placed to observe civilization's discontents. Adolescence is a privileged area of observation because of its function as a cultural link between generations.
Listening to adolescent discourse shows how trauma can be considered on two different levels: the impact on the ego of what is not yet representable, and the consequent undeveloped differentiation between fantasy and reality. These problems are exacerbated by the current rate of cultural change, and civilization's discontents have become a real illness, les nouvelles maladies de l’âme. Analysts must see it as the goal of analysis to help patients cope with such a profound change.
