A Qualitative examination of obsession, repetition, and anxiety through lacanian discourse analysis perspective

Date

2019

Author

Baltacı, Sinem

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Obsession, repetition, and anxiety can be seen frequently and with various forms in daily life. Although punctuality, parsimony, meticulousness, or perfectionism are highly valued in school, work, or family environment, persons who have such features extremely (cleaning, control, order, hand washing, number counting, hair pulling, skin picking) have been diagnosed under the Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders. The purpose of the current study is to analyze the Subject’s distinctive structuring and dominant discourse from a social constructive, structural, and critical positioning considering socio-historical and cultural perspectives of Obsessional Neurosis. For this purpose, the study is built on qualitative and Lacanian Discourse Analysis approaches. Six interviews were conducted with participants diagnosed with OCD as a purposive sampling. These interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed in terms of five focal points. According to first level analysis, even though participants are classified under the same diagnosis, their signifiers, metaphors, unspoken points, positioning, and relations to the Other are also formed as uniquely in-talks. In the second level analysis, obsessional neurosis is seen to be characterized with some specific features; ‘repetition and existence of anxiety’, ‘rejection of Other in phantasm’, ‘repression and impossibility of desire’, and ‘masculine sexuation’. In the analysis of dominant discourse, “religious discourse”, “medicalization discourse”, and “traumatic life events discourse” were noted. Through explaining their psychological situation with these three discourses, persons get a validity and recognition. In the light of the current analysis, theoretical and diagnostic discussion were conducted. This study will provide crucial informations for clinical applications.

Subject Keywords

Obsessive-compulsive disorder., Obsessional Neurosis, Obsession, Repetition, Discourse, Lacanian Discourse Analysis.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12623181/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/43347

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis