Voluntary Body Marks

In the final qualifying work "Voluntary marks on the body", the problems of psychoanalysis of "marked" bodies are considered. When we think about "tagged" bodies, we certainly come up with thoughts about tattoos, piercings and other extreme body interaction practices. However, voluntary "marks", that is, those that the subject inflicts on himself, can also include a much more harmless mustache, hairstyle, curl of hair at the forehead — that is, the feature that is invested as a "corporate, distinctive sign" in which the entire personality of the subject is condensed, the quintessence of being this individual in the world. An analysis of the various components that make it possible to give this topic a psychoanalytic interpretation leads to the conclusion that the line of psychosexual development in accordance with the passage of certain stages is complemented by another line – the development of the Ego, narcissism and masochism. Along this line, there is progress from the Ego ideal, which reflects the child's Ego at the beginning, the mirror stage, to the development of the adult Ego. The adult Ego can control its drives thanks to the good work of the representative apparatus, which allows it to restrain the direct, immediate discharge of drives, the transition to action and agitation, and take into account the principle of reality. From the point of view of practical significance, the materials and practical recommendations of the study can be useful for psychoanalytic psychotherapists working with patients of the oedipal organization who have problems with narcissistic threat; with patients with the phenomenon of "stagnation" of narcissistic libido as an economic process, which can be expressed in increased attention of the subject to small "marks" on their body; with patients with problems of destructive agitation, identity uncertainty, including adhesive identification and the phenomenon of masochism.