This is Beirut - Psychoanalysis

Loss as the “Little Death” of the Psyche: An Anatomy of the Narcissistic Wound

David Sahyoun, 19/02 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Narcissism Loosing Culture Psychoanalysis

Loss, in its psychic dimension, can reveal a fundamental fragility within our being. Whether personal or collective, it does more than disrupt our balance—it can jeopardize our very sense of identity. In these critical moments, to lose becomes synonymous with losing oneself, exposing a profound narcissistic vulnerability. In fact, excessive ...

Deciphering the Ostrich Policy

David Sahyoun, 12/02 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Denial Culture Lebanon Politics

The expression “burying one’s head in the sand” describes a person who refrains from facing reality. While this phrase does not do justice to ostriches at all, in humans, it involves denial, an unconscious defense mechanism. It consists of refusing to acknowledge an unbearable reality, whether external or internal. We all use this mechanism ...

Is Hope Bound to Lead to Disillusionment?

David Sahyoun, 05/02 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanon Psychoanalysis Culture Hope

Is hope bound to lead to disillusionment? This fundamental question shapes our individual and collective lives, from the intimacy of the psychoanalytic couch to the political upheavals that shake public squares, to the conjugal bedrooms where the dramas of love unfold. Psychoanalysis, through its various theoretical currents, offers valuable ...

To What Extent Can a Leader Make Independent Decisions?

David Sahyoun, 29/01 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Leaders Liberty Lebanon Culture

Far from being purely rational actors, leaders—like all human beings—are constantly influenced by unconscious forces that shape their choices, distort their perceptions, and foster illusions of control. The freedom each person believes they possess is, in truth, far more constrained than it appears. Every individual constructs their own ...

Lebanon, a Nation Suffering from Its Leaders

David Sahyoun, 01/01 18:00 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Lebanon Politics Leaders Perversion Narcissisism

Amid the turmoil Lebanon is enduring, the psychological factors at play, which are crucial, are often overlooked. At the root of this profound crisis lies a political class responsible for the current decay, a class whose psychological dysfunctions border on true mental pathologies. Stuck at an infantile stage of development, the men and women in ...

'The Unconscious Is Politically Incorrect, and Sexuality Fundamentally Harassing'

David Sahyoun, 2024-12-25 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Quote Sexuality Culture Unconscious

"The unconscious is politically incorrect, and sexuality fundamentally harassing." This quote by psychoanalyst Jacques André reminds us how psychoanalysis remains a subversive discipline, shedding light on the darkest and most disturbing foundations of the human psyche. Far from complacency or moralizing, it confronts us with the radical ...

'Tyrants Are Great Only Because We Are on Our Knees'

David Sahyoun, 2024-12-11 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Syria Tyrants Fear Freedom Psychoanalysis

"Tyrants are great only because we are on our knees." This quote about individual and collective voluntary subjugation is attributed to Étienne de La Boétie, author of Discourse on Voluntary Servitude. Published in 1576, the text presents remarkably modern insights into the foundations of tyranny and the reasons for people's submission, ...

The War Within the Couple: A Reflection of Lebanon's War?

David Sahyoun, 2024-11-28 17:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

War Psychoanalysis Couple Lebanon

Testimony "Once, our apartment at Galerie Semaan was a peaceful haven. Now, it feels like a real pressure cooker. The atmosphere in our home has completely changed. My husband yells over the smallest things. I do too, actually. Yesterday, we argued simply because the kids were making too much noise while playing— as if noise could still bother ...

Shock and Survival: A Testimony of War and Trauma in Lebanon

David Sahyoun, 2024-11-20 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanon Traumatism Psychoanalysis War Testimony

Testimony  "I live in a neighborhood not far from areas that are frequently bombarded. Every day, I am immersed in constant terror. The incessant shelling, the persistent drone hum in the sky, and the whistling of missiles create an exhausting state of hyper-vigilance, fraying our nerves. At the slightest noise, I jump violently, my heart ...

The Good and the Bad: Two Sides of the Same Coin

David Sahyoun, 2024-11-13 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Quote

"The good only dream of what the bad actually do." This quote from Plato, later referenced by Freud, could be seen as an epitome of The Interpretation of Dreams, the cornerstone of Freud's theory that a dream is a disguised fulfillment of a repressed desire. For Freud, dreams, like fantasies, play a crucial role in the human unconscious. ...

Heraclitus: 'War is the Mother of All Things'

This is Beirut, 2024-11-06 18:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Philosophy Quote War

"War is the mother of all things, the queen of all things." Heraclitus's famous phrase, the ancient Greek philosopher, seems at first glance to praise violence and conflict. However, we will attempt to demonstrate that Heraclitus’s wisdom, in this quotation, aims to highlight the creative potential within any conflict. Far from glorifying war, ...

Can We Live with Our Traumas?

David Sahyoun, 2024-10-30 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Traumatism Psychoanalysis Lebanon War

As we wrote in our previous article, trauma causes a psychic collapse, a shock that leaves a person unsteady, defenseless against the seismic breach and the abrupt rupture in their sense of continuity of existence. Lebanese people have been living for far too long in a trauma-inducing environment. The repeated situations of hot and cold wars, ...

Psychoanalysis