Monday, March 10, 2008

Thought form Vs. thought content

I think that Bou Jidra is writing as if he dreams. Also Silvador Dali had drawn his paintings as if he was dreaming, to jump above the obstacle of repression, and declare the naked truth. Regarding the way that we, students of psychiatry, study thinking, we divide a thought into a content, and a form. In Fish’s psychopathology, our best text of psychopathology, there is also disorder of the stream of thought (tempo and continuity). Schneider suggested that there were three features of healthy thinking: 1. Constancy: this is the characteristic persistence of a completed thought whether or not it is simple or complicated in its content. 2. Organization: the contents of thought are related to each other in consciousness and do not blend with each other, but are separated in an organized way. 3. Continuity: there is a continuity of the sense continuum, so that event the most heterogeneous subsidiary thoughts, sudden ideas or observations which emerge are arranged in order in the whole content of consciousness. The patient last week, Mr. F, when interred the ward, started playing sport, some patients joined him. He refused to stay one day unshaved, some patients joined him. He made a list of things he wanted the hospital to provide for him. On of the seniors said: some people with formal thought disorder may have beneficial thought contents. That saying by that senior, sparked contradictory thoughts in my mind, I argued my self again and again, sometimes am with what he said, sometimes am against it. As an ordinary academic student of psychiatry, I got to be against what he said. But. I remembered how I was always confused about what some artist do. Let us take for example, Rashid Bou Jidra, an Algerian novelist, and a writer of scenario also, one of the scenarios is that for the film of L’akhthar Hamina: sineen il jamr. Bou jidra, write long novels, with sometimes a complicated form, to a degree that I can say, with a type of formal thought disorder. But it carries a content that is full of meanings. Of surprises. Of lights focused into dark dots in our consciousness. Bou Jidra, himself, was admitted once to a psychiatric hospital. He wrote about that experience a novel called “el ra3an” . many of his novels talks here or there about an admission to a psychiatric hospital, or being mentally ill. If we talk about dreams, it is full of formal thought disorder. But reality in dreams sometimes is so deep, so intense, more than reality in awakening. We can find in dreams that we don’t like this person, or we are afraid from this trip, a revelation that appears in dream, but it hides itself in awakening. I think that Bou Jidra is writing as if he dreams. Also Silvador Dali had drawn his paintings as if he is dreaming, to jump above the obstacle of repression, and declare the naked truth.

15 comments:

Santa Rosa New School Aikido said...

Primary process thinking is non-linear (disordered), but still thinking and still associative. It can be useful thinking, and even goal directed thinking, although difficult to follow. Like taking a bus with a lot of stops, instead of an express.

I enjoy your blog very much. (I am a psychoanalytic psychologist in California). Best wishes to you.

saminkie said...

Yes you are right Laura. I was thinking that there is no hope to understand a frormal thought disorder, but it seems that I was way too wrong. Thank you for your support Laura and for your nice words. Am really happy that my writings was read by a psychoanalytic psychologist from the USA. That increase my self esteem. Made me more happy. thank you.

Santa Rosa New School Aikido said...

Saminkie: You have access to my e-mail address, yes? Please feel free to write me, if you would like to talk "shop" with an American colleague!

Best wishes,

Laura

saminkie said...

Dear Laura today i have no computer access to the net, am using now my mobile which doesnt give me access to many things.

Santa Rosa New School Aikido said...

Well, whenever it's convenient for you, feel free to drop me a line. I am often at my desk, writing reports and check my emails (and the blogs) often.

Your experiences remind me vividly of the early years of my career, when I worked on an in-patient unit and in psychiatric emergency services. (I later worked in intensive treatment with psychotic adults and now am in private practice, doing clinical and forensic work). I have no doubt that circumstances are even more challenging for you, given the conditions you face...still, some things--like the human spirit and will to survive and create--don't change.

I look forward to talking with you in more depth some time!

L.

saminkie said...

Dear Laura, am looking forward to talk to you more, cause you have the oppurtunity to talk to psychiatrits, but i dont have the opportunity to talk with a psychoanalytic psychologist, cause we dont have any in Iraq.

Santa Rosa New School Aikido said...

It will be a pleasure to share points of view with you! I am very interested to learn more about the types of people you work with and how you go about treating them. Looking forward to emails when you can...and glad we can at least zip notes back and forth!

saminkie said...

I cannot find your email Laura. Your blog profile is unaccessable for me.

Santa Rosa New School Aikido said...

l.dotyphd at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

You're more popular than you might expect, I als enjoy your Blog, I am a dutch psychiatrist. Kind Greetings Roland

saminkie said...

Thank you Stas, am happy for your nicee comment. It is for you all that I keep publishing. I never met nor talked to a Dutch, I got greeat reespect for your nation. And the Germans were the first to study psychiatry. I like all those teerms in psychopathology in German. thank you for your support and take care.

Santa Rosa New School Aikido said...

Hi Saminkie: Hope you drop me an email when you can, as i have a question about books on psychology for you. Thanks, L.

saminkie said...

I have already send you two. It seems it did not reached you. Laura my email is samialbedri@hotmail.Com

Santa Rosa New School Aikido said...

Dear S: you've got mail!

Santa Rosa New School Aikido said...

Are our emails getting through to each other? I haven't received any and wonder if you were able to get mine...?