As children, we were all afraid of something. Left alone, darkness, dentists, leeches and red hands crawling out from under the bed at night. Growing up, we acquire a bouquet of completely different fears - loneliness, illness, lack of money, unemployment. The red eyes from the mezzanine and the shadows in the semi-dark empty corridor are also forgotten. We even visit dentists, albeit with a tense string inside us. But are childhood fears forgotten?

Against reason

Fear is more of a gift from nature than a punishment. This is the tool that helped our distant ancestors survive in the wild. It was fear that forced them to be attentive, collected and accurate. Healthy, mobilizing, he signals: “Caution! Dangerously!" This fear is controllable. If necessary, it can be overcome with the help of reason, will or emotions. In an extreme or simply unfamiliar situation, we say to ourselves: “Pull yourself together, rag!” - and act as experience and the voice of reason suggest.

Meanwhile, according to research Carolla Izard conducted in 1971, fear is exactly the emotion that people would least like to experience. Nevertheless, fear accompanies us all our lives and underlies a much more complex and socially determined feeling of anxiety, which, in addition to fear, is also based on guilt, shame, and a whole kaleidoscope of other emotions.

In addition to the mobilizing fear, there is also a paralyzing fear. It is generated by a more complex range of emotions than just fear for one's own life. It is more social in nature, and it is he, due to his complexity, that most often leads to the formation of phobias - uncontrolled, unmotivated fear. It can be a fear of thunderstorms, the dark, or red rubber boots.

The manifestations of fear - anxiety, palpitations, perspiration and a wild adrenaline rush - often occur even in the absence of the stimulus itself: just think about it. Most modern psychological schools derive phobic fears from childhood. If in order to get a phobia in adulthood, you need to go through really hard stress, then in infancy, when the child is open to everything, it is quite simple to acquire such a “gift”. Moreover, a phobia can develop in relation to even the most harmless phenomenon or creature. It doesn't have to be someone really scary, like Baba Yaga. This was proved by an American psychologist Burres Skinner, putting at the beginning of the last century an experiment on the artificial education of phobias. An eight-month-old child was shown a rabbit and at the same time a metal tray was dropped out of his field of vision. If before the experiment the animal aroused a keen interest in the baby, then after it - only tears and hysteria. The rabbit has become a symbol of discomfort and fear for the baby. We must pay tribute to the experimenter: he not only instilled a phobia in the subject, but also subsequently cured it.
coming from childhood is a memory of danger, real or, in most cases, imaginary or imaginary. Many of them are based on an erroneous interpretation of events and accompany us all our lives in the same irrational form. In many ways, there is the fault of adults, who constantly put a complex system of prohibitions and rules in the way between the child and the world. “Isn’t a normal child interested in knowing the world through trial and error, following his curiosity,” writes an American psychologist in his book The Discovery of Being Rollo May. “And if you interfere with him in meeting these needs, you will only get a traumatic reaction.” He emphasizes that curiosity about the world at a certain age is a much more important need than the desire for security, which is largely overestimated by psychologists.

Children's fear can be fixed and develop into a phobia “due to” the actions of parents who do not know how or do not want to share the feelings of the child. They convince him that nothing terrible is happening, they can get angry, scold the baby or act on the contrary - put a spider in his hand or push him off an air mattress to teach him to swim. Such actions, as a rule, lead to the formation of a phobia. “Sometimes parents broadcast their own fears to the child: for example, when crossing the street and leading the baby by the hand, the mother, at the sight of cars that she is afraid of, can instinctively squeeze his hand - and this can also affect the emergence of fear,” says analytical psychologist Zhanna Sergeeva.

What grows out of childhood fears

There are a great many children's fears that can manifest themselves in one way or another in adults. The most common reasons for the appearance of these fears are the results of intimidation (of course, with pedagogical purposes), nervousness and anxiety of adults when communicating with a child, a large number of prohibitions, severe fright, shock states, conflict situations in the family, prolonged experiences or mental shocks, etc. From such an assortment, the most unpredictable bouquet grows with age.

The degree of influence of irrational childhood fears on the behavior of an adult is great. Often they are uncomfortable, accompanied by funny rituals, make you feel ashamed, and you cannot overcome them on your own. The most ridiculous option is a real "reincarnation" of children's fears. During the day, among the crowd, we are all respectable mature people. But it is worth being alone in the forest, at night in a village or in an empty city - as the Child wakes up in us. And we begin to be afraid of ghosts, spirits, the slightest creak, shadows, the play of light, a pile of clothes on a chair, darkness. Not everyone is able to overcome this horror. Alone with the universe, much more ancient feelings, imprinted at the genetic level, wake up in a person - a physical understanding of one's scale in the face of the universe and a feeling of defenselessness before the forces of nature. The usual veil of social protection falls down.

Ghosts and monsters often appear in children's fantasies if there are problems in the family - someone's illness, death that the child was not told about, the threat of divorce. Children seem to thicken the anxiety that is in the air, materialize it into a ghost. And the closer the monster is to the baby's bed, the more serious experiences he experiences. But in adulthood, this ghost, from which the child suffocated, can transform into claustrophobia, and then, for example, a person moves around the city by taxi or ground public transport, because he feels bad in the subway.

kill the dragon

The "Children's Footprint" is traced in an attempt to defend against irrational fears with equally irrational behavior. From thriller to thriller, the plot roams when the victim runs down the night street from the pursuer in the light of street lamps, like a model on the catwalk, although common sense dictates to stick to darker areas where you are less visible and where it is easier to hide. However, the darkness is more frightening than a specific person with a knife - you never know who else is hiding there.

In the same way, a system of small rituals appears, designed to protect and protect. And in case of their violation, we experience internal discomfort. The logic of these actions is incomprehensible to outsiders, therefore this kind of neutralization of fears can introduce quite tangible inconveniences into everyday life.

Zhanna Sergeeva talks about the precedent for treating childhood fear: “The parents allowed their son to defend himself against Baba Yaga, whom he was afraid of. The kid slept with a toy sword, and on the windowsill he built an army of robots and soldiers. When the fear subsided, the boy began to draw Baba Yaga, talk about her, and his parents supported him in this: any phobia should not be denied or tried to be crushed, but communicate with her and understand her origin. So soon the child ceased to be afraid. But if in children ritual actions are quite understandable and logical, then in an adult such methods clearly come into conflict with both life experience and common sense.

Depending on the seriousness, the psychological constitution of a person and the specific life situation, hidden childhood fears can cause a whole range of manifestations - from cute eccentricities to severe mental disorders. What do we do with all these "skeletons in the closet"? Firstly, psychologists recommend educating an Adult in oneself - that part of the personality that is responsible for independence, responsibility, analytical perception of reality, making and implementing volitional decisions.

Any irrational fear is related to the Inner Child. And almost all areas of psychology work with childhood phobias, helping to raise them from the bottom of memory and re-realize already within the framework of existing life experience, gradually accept their "monsters".

TEXT: Denis Grachev

There is an interpretation of projective drawing tests. And perhaps the most popular in this category is the Non-Existent Animals test set.

Such popularity is well deserved - this set is quite easy to pass and gives a lot of information.

In this post, I will show how the interpretation of the Non-Existent Animal test (as well as the Angry Animal, Happy Animal, and Unhappy Animal) test might look with a specific example.

I thank my client for granting me permission to use her materials for this post.

About the non-existent animals test

In general, it is more correct to speak of four separate tests - "Non-existent animal", "Angry animal", "Happy animal" and "Unhappy animal".

The first of them is the main one and can be used separately, while the subsequent ones are considered as additional in relation to it.

For the first time, the "Non-existent animal" test was proposed by M.Z. Dukarevich, then it was refined and tested for many years. Personally, when conducting and interpreting this test, I use the methodological instructions of A. L. Wenger.

The theory behind this (and other tests under consideration) can be stated quite simply: these tests are projective, i.e. in the process of their implementation, the subject in a certain way projects (i.e. brings out) some features of his own inner world.

These features and properties appear in encrypted form, in the form of images and symbols, and the task of the interpreter is to decipher them.

I am often asked about the reliability of these tests and projective methods in general. Let me quote here a few quotes from Wenger:

« Of course, drawing methods are not without drawbacks. The main one is the relatively low reliability of the results obtained due to the subjectivity of the interpretation. Unlike more formalized tests, such as intelligence tests or personality questionnaires, drawing tests, as a rule, do not allow quantitative measurement of the estimated mental properties. The terms in which the pictures are interpreted are usually devoid of the rigor and unambiguity that is typical for formalized tests. Because of this, it is difficult to scientifically confirm the reliability and validity of drawing techniques.

<…>

The proposed method for the analysis of drawing tests can be characterized as sequential hypotheses and their testing. The general impression of the drawing and its most characteristic features serve as the basis for putting forward the first series of hypotheses. The involvement of each new indicator contained in the figure leads to the confirmation or rejection of a particular hypothesis. In this procedure, many other data act on the same rights as test indicators: the results of observations of the subject, his statements, the psychologist's information about the circumstances of his life, behavioral characteristics, relationships with other people, etc.

This interpretation procedure is not typical for test methods. It is more in line with the traditional approach to the analysis of clinical material. This shows the duality of drawing techniques: they occupy an intermediate position between test and clinical methods. »

It should be said that all the methods I use have been validated and tested.

How does this happen? Very simply: a group of people with known mental illnesses and life circumstances is taken. For example, let's imagine that in this group we will have schizophrenics, hysteroids, narcissists, psychopaths and depressive patients.

After the sample is made, the subjects are given the task to draw something. For example, a non-existent animal. Then they take drawings, make a formalized description and carry out statistical processing. If patterns can be found (for example, "psychopaths draw fangs and claws"), then a hypothesis is put forward that this pattern has diagnostic significance. If yes (i.e., the vast majority of psychopaths drew fanged-clawed animals, while no one but them drew this), then the hypothesis is accepted and proceed to the second stage.

At the second stage, another group of people is assembled, about whom nothing is known in advance. These people are given the same task, after which the hypotheses discovered at the first stage are tested. To expand on our example, those who drew an animal with fangs and claws are tested (using other methods) for the presence of psychopathic. And if it matches again, i.e. most of those who drew these elements really turn out to be psychopaths, then the hypothesis is considered tested and valid. And, accordingly, they continue to apply.

As you can see, no shamanism, esotericism and other anti-scientific dregs, everything is quite within the framework of the scientific approach.

Another thing is that the very criteria for evaluating the elements of a drawing are quite subjective (for example, “negligence” or “general unfavorable impression”), which allows the occurrence of interpreter errors.

And so that my readers and customers can evaluate how well I personally cope with the interpretation of such tests, I post an example within this article (of course, with the permission of the subject).

IMPORTANT NOTE : if you want to take tests from the "Non-existent animals" group, DO NOT READ TEXT UNDER SPOILERS BEFORE YOU FINISH DRAWING! The fact is that this hidden text contains indications of specific diagnostic signs, and if you know them, then your unconscious can greatly distort the results.

IF YOU FIRST READ THE TEXT UNDER THE SPOILERS AND THEN DRAWED THE ANIMALS, THEN YOUR RESULTS ARE INCORRECT AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETATION.
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And once again, for those who have developed banner blindness: please do not read the text under the spoilers before you finish drawing. If you read first and then start drawing, the test will show garbage that has little to do with reality. Thank you.

What can be learned with this test

It is quite logical that the future customer wants to know what kind of information he can get by passing this test. Well, let's try to answer this question.

The first thing to be said here is that we cannot predict in advance how informative his drawing will be. It depends on a huge number of factors, the influence of which at the time of the survey remains unknown.

So, for example, some subjects have problems in the sexual sphere (up to pointing out specific perversions), while others do not contain information about this area of ​​their personality in the drawings.

But in general, it is possible to single out a certain set of information clusters, the appearance of which is quite justified to expect in the test results:

1. The level of general mental development;
2. The predominance of a rational or emotional approach to reality;
3. The level of psychomotor tone, increased or decreased activity, asthenia;
4. Lack of self-control and action planning, impulsiveness;
5. Increased emotional lability or, on the contrary, rigidity;
6. Anxiety (as a personality trait) and anxiety (as a state at the time of the examination);
7. Fears;
8. Depressive tendencies;
9. Features of reaction to stress;
10. Aggressiveness (with the ability to differentiate its forms such as physical and verbal aggression, defensive aggression, neurotic aggression);
11. Extraversion or, on the contrary, introversion;
12. Demonstration;
13. Dissatisfaction with the need for communication;
14. Autization, avoidance of communication;
15. The degree of socialization and conformity;
16. Antisocial tendencies;
17. Attitude towards the sexual sphere;
18. Attitude towards the family sphere as a whole and towards individual family members (rarely manifested).

Now let's move on to a specific example.

Information about the subject

Female gender;
Age: 26 years;
Marital status: Married;

Test procedure

Testing was carried out in absentia. The subject was given standard instructions for completing the tasks: "Non-existent animal", "Angry animal", "Happy animal" and "Unhappy animal".

Significant facts that emerged during the assignment:
1. A large number of clarifying questions;
2. Attempts to complete the task not according to the instructions (questions about the use of colored pencils);
3. Long time to complete tasks;
4. Violation of the order of tasks.
Non-existent animal - Drebyerji

This task is emotionally neutral and shows those personal characteristics of the subject that manifest themselves in her in the absence of external and internal stress, i.e. it shows the characteristics of the subject in a calm state, when nothing causes any certain strong emotions in her.

Information about Drabyerji from the words of the subject (spelling and punctuation preserved)

"Any animal. Draberi.

It is an esthete and a gourmet. With a minimal need for communication, which can be explained by the natural presence of 3 heads, 3 different characters and personalities that get along well in one organism.
Heads, whose description is very superficial:

1) calm disposition, logical thinking, evaluation of events in relation to one's own value system

2) noisy, talkative, expressive, daring, sympathetic with his personality and charisma

3) a lover of winning, but appreciates close ties; ready to give in if it's important to others

The organism as such is very chaotic, the organs in it wander and the shape of the body is flowing. The lower and upper limbs are absent. The mouth sometimes serves as a substitute for the function of the hands.
When hunting, they envelop the victim. Since the organism itself is black in color and with a smell that is not accepted by animals as coming from a living dangerous organism, it is possible to successfully get close to the victims in 99.8% of cases. The size of the body also lends itself to transformation in length and width, but the heads do not change their stable shape.

Hunting for him is not only a way of subsistence, but also one of his favorite pastimes. He devours animals unprecedented on Earth, preferably while they are still fighting in agony and the warmth of the body is kept.
He lives alone in a large, elegant palace with a garden where there is a pond with toads. Which he paints in different bright colors, because their real color is too boring. Toads are his best friends, but they don't share this opinion. There are also servants in his palace, but he does not consider them to be people, he treats them as shadows or decorations. The gloomy appearance of the palace and its inhabitants gave rise to the creation of unprecedented myths and tales, it is not surprising that the locals shy away from it.

Despite the fact that it is surrounded by other people, the action takes place not on Earth, on another distant planet. There they live together with other creatures unknown to us.
It does absolutely everything that comes to mind. Of course, sometimes there are disputes about the primacy in the implementation of the desired. In this case, the heads guess the numbers and the winner is the one who first guesses the guess of any of the other 2 heads.

Their favorite joint activities: watching bloody films, causing a pleasant surge of emotions inside; enjoyment of listening to music - they are all selective music lovers; drawing joint pictures and decorating toads, of course. The brush is held in the mouth; reading books written by beings other than humans; and reasoning about experiences.

The range of their emotions strongly resembles that of a human. But so far, none of the events has caused them to release emotions that contribute to the generation of corresponding traumas: their entire lifestyle is filled with events that cause them excitement, delight and an incentive to dig deeper and further on the topic. A lot of things can amaze him: the unique beauty of animals and forests; castle architecture; pond depth; the smallest barely perceptible sounds; even facial expressions and appearance of people; drowning in a look that, at times, is more beautiful than the surrounding world; the color of blood, its spray, sprinkled on the ground; fear of the last breath of an animal clinging to life; the ability to create, search, find, choose, build paths; the darkness of the night and the hooting of winged creatures; vocals capable of expressing even more than a look; and the infinity of the imaginary world..

Although it is an aesthete, it itself is practically incapable of creating anything, and deep down this makes it very sad. So deep that it does not cause conscious experiences. It so happened that it was born a connoisseur, without the presence of special talents.

This creature has one secret - each of the heads can separate from the common organism along with part of its constituent matter and become a separate full-fledged organism, but only one of them knows about this, and she prefers to hide this possibility from the rest.

It never aspired to become separate organisms. He accepts his existence as a given, only surrounding himself with something that causes emotional thrill inside and is of value, but not material. On any given day, it is ready to abandon the castle and go on an unknown journey without a goal, the meaning of which would itself manifest itself later. "

Interpretation

1. H the presence of multidirectional trends(three heads). In this case, we can say that the subject has a certain internal conflict(which, in fact, is the source of this contradiction), but he is repressed deep into the unconscious and is suppressed by powerful compensatory mechanisms (the heads do not contradict, but complement each other).

In addition, the presence of several heads in this case indicates some theatricality of behavior, the tendency to constantly play a role, i.e. certain demonstrativeness. Since demonstrativeness in this form is quite rarely realized, we can conclude that there is enough high level of awareness and good abilities of the subject to self-knowledge.

Such demonstrativeness, in combination with other characteristics of the picture, indicates infantility the subject (which is confirmed by the data of the SMIL methodology).

2. introversion(the animal does not have arms or their analogue), while the subject maintains a limited number of contacts with selected partners (it can be assumed that there are 5-6 of them according to the number of outgrowths of the animal's shell, and the connection with one of them is questionable for the subject herself);

3. Schizoid accentuation(the sketchiness of the image of the animal, the formality of the compiled name, a small number of pictorial details as opposed to a rather voluminous description). In this case, this emphasis does not go beyond the psychological norm she is a source of pretty high creative abilities subject and its obvious originality, but does not take pathological forms (according to this technique)

The hypothesis of schizoid accentuation is also confirmed by the indication that this animal is an aesthete and its love for bloody spectacles, as well as by the way of eating, associated with the torment of the victim.

It should be noted that in this case this does not indicate the sadistic inclinations of the subject, since for schizoids such features are not something that goes beyond the norm.

Here one can make an assumption about lack of empathy of the subject, but for its final acceptance it is necessary to conduct additional studies using other methods;

4. Asthenia, propensity to autism(lack of pupils in one of the heads). A characteristic feature is that the subject associates asthenia and autism with the first head, which, in fact, personifies a reasonable approach to the world.

This indicates the importance of such psychological defense mechanisms as intellectualization and rationalization in the functioning of the psyche of the subject. With the help of these mechanisms, she is able to cope with negative experiences, transferring them from an emotional level that is uncomfortable for the subject to a rational level, where a developed intellect can process them. These defenses are mature and their active use indicates a high (no less than neurotic) level of the subject's personal organization, which excludes the presence of a serious mental pathology at the time of the examination.

However, in the same mechanisms, the subject’s weakness is also manifested, lack of contact with one's emotional state, fenced off from this sphere of one's inner world deprives the subject of strength and reduces her productivity. It is not for nothing that asthenia is most clearly associated with the head that most effectively suppresses emotions. The subject is not knows how to use his own emotions as a source of creative transformative forces;

5. The subject's fears(blackened pupils in the eyes of two heads). And again, fears are associated with those heads that are more emotional, which indicates, on the one hand, alienation of the subject from his own emotional sphere, and, on the other hand, that the reason for this alienation is that, at a deep level, the subject herself is afraid of her emotions.

Perhaps this is due to the fear of losing control, but it is more likely that this is a simple consequence of schizoid accentuation, which is generally characterized by some alienation of the emotional sphere;

6. Infantilism and negativism( protruding tongue at the head). It can be assumed that in the process of her development, the subject learned to use her infantilism as a mechanism of social adaptation and protection(like “I’m small, don’t touch me”), and now this infantilism is an element necessary for the functioning of the personality, with the help of which the subject simplifies the subjectively difficult task of interacting with others.

It should be noted that this mechanism can be quite effective, and the people who use it can make a very favorable impression and seem quite "nice";

7. autism(an indication that the animal has three heads, an indication that the heads do not need anyone, that their needs are fully satisfied within the being itself). At the same time, as a typical schizoid, the subject has an internal conflict about closeness-distance(especially expressed in other drawings): she yearns for others, but unconsciously fears being swallowed up by them, and tries to resolve it in favor of distance.

The strength of this position lies in the fact that with the help of this solution, the subject acquires greater independence and independence from others. Weakness is manifested in the fact that, refusing to approach others, the subject deprives itself of the ability to meet some needs, which can only be satisfied in social interaction (including such a basic need as the need for acceptance and belonging).

8. General immaturity and weak structure of the inner world(indication of the randomness of the structure of the body and the mobility of internal organs). On the one hand, this gives the subject a certain flexibility (and, probably, this is precisely the basis for maintaining such an organization), on the other hand, it indicates her immaturity.

9. Lack of emotional contact or their severe limitation (an indication of the invisibility of the animal when hunting, its lack of smell). This hypothesis is also confirmed by the structure of the animal's body (see paragraph 2), but here it acquires a significant addition: even with these few partners there is no real emotional intimacy. Again, on the one hand, such a strategy of behavior protects the subject from emotional shocks, and, on the other hand, limits her development potential.

Superficiality and formality of contacts confirmed by the place of residence of the animal, and its relationship with toads. Probably, the subject does not have really close people in her life, which may be due to early childhood psychotrauma caused by rejection and rejection by parents (or persons replacing them);

10. A penchant for fantasy(including defensive fantasizing), supported high level of intellectual and creative abilities(coloring toads in bright colors, the presence of myths associated with the place of residence of the animal);

11. Lack of communication, feeling of loneliness(the creature's place of residence is another planet). Taking into account the information presented in paragraph 7, it can be said that this feeling is a logical consequence of the behavior of the subject, however, it is felt painfully and is not accepted as a necessary consequence of the decision made in the proximity-distance conflict.

In general, this situation is typical for schizoids. The opposite could be the fear of absorption and dissolution in others, but the subject preferred this option.

This feeling could be overcome by realizing a deep, emotionally significant contact with another person, but the subject's fear of entering into such contact is too great.

12. A propensity to reason, reasoning(description of decision-making by the heads), characteristic of schizoids, is supplemented stuck on small parts characteristic of anxious individuals.

13. Alienation from the emotional component of the inner world partially offset by the occurrence exalted states or even hypomania(description of what can delight the animal). This is a favorable prognostic sign: with an adequate psychotherapeutic effect, the subject's mood (which is likely to be characterized by sudden changes) can be stabilized without serious pharmacological interventions.

14. Doubt about your own creativity(the animal is not able to create anything). The subject is so afraid of the emotional sphere, alienates it so much that it is easier for her to lower her own self-esteem, recognizing her “own incapacity and mediocrity” than to turn to her emotions, accept them and get powerful nourishment from them for her creative abilities. Here we are talking about intellectual emasculation, and not about the true limitations of thinking.

15. Internal conflict, despite the fact that it is pushed out quite deeply, is pretty strong. Most likely, it is he who is the source of fear that the subject is afraid of, she cannot afford to look at this conflict and prefers to experience all the inconveniences and restrictions associated with the rejection of the emotional sphere than to see it. It has tremendous power, which in the future can become the basis for the development of adverse mental processes and even lead to illness (heads can come out and separate).

16. Low importance of the sphere of material well-being(the animal does not have "legs" or elements replacing them, a direct indication of this fact in the description). Most of the actual needs of the subject are of an "existential", aesthetic and social nature.

17. High level of creativity(the animal is built according to the original scheme and is accompanied by a detailed highly artistic story).

Lucky Animal - Pikki

This task is emotionally loaded, it shows those aspects of the subject's personality that in one way or another are associated with her state of happiness - they favor the acquisition of this state or hinder it.

Information about Pikki from the words of the subject (spelling and punctuation preserved)

"The happiest animal. Picky.

This furry beast is about the height of a human kneecap. The habitat is our world, only rarely anyone succeeds in meeting it. Pikki is a herbivore. Most of all he likes to gnaw leaves from trees. Moves by jumping. The tail is similar to the flagellum of the green euglena, but it is necessary for balance. There is a blush on his cheeks, and in the center of his stomach is a symbol of happiness (he is the generator of happiness).

It is worth noting that Pikki does not know how to be sad, but happiness produces in excess and he himself does not need so much. Happiness is impossible without understanding the other side - pain. He is aware of this inevitable part of existence, but he does not experience this himself - he is immune from suffering, which is also associated with the absence of enemies and fears. His life is guided by non-random events and meetings, so he always has something to do, he just fulfills his true destiny. Others are always welcome. At the first meeting - surprised.

He comes at night to the houses of unfortunate people, he always draws a sign similar to the one on their stomach on the wall and waits for people to wake up, and they always wake up at night. He bestows them with happiness, and the sign on the wall remains forever a reminder of his humble visit. Maybe one day he will visit you too.

*Stars in the background mean a non-painful exaltation"

Interpretation

1. A good mood or hypomanic episode at the time of the start of the examination (this animal, contrary to the instructions, was drawn first). The probable reason for choosing this particular task as the first one is that the subject wanted to reduce the level of fear from confronting her own emotionality, and unconsciously chose the most favorable and safe version of the task;

2. introversion, lack of frustration of the need for communication, it simply does not exist in a strongly pronounced form (a happy animal does not have hands or their analogues, it is difficult to access). The subject is not aware of and does not experience on a conscious level the need to increase the number of contacts.

This somewhat contradicts the presence of her needs, which can only be satisfied within the framework of social interactions (see descriptions of other animals). The explanation for this contradiction can be found in the fact that, probably, some of the existing contacts are difficult for the subject, and she would like to get rid of them.

On the other hand, perhaps she is inclined to intellectualize and rationalize the need for contacts (this is clearly indicated by the presence of evidence of such a need in the text - see paragraph 10 - and its absence in the image);

3. Unconscious fears(blackened animal eyes). They are more pronounced in the "ordinary" animal, but they remain in the happy one. This indicates that one of the necessary criteria for happiness for the subject is a decrease in the strength of fears.

This situation is typical for anxious personalities. Together with the data obtained from the analysis of other animals, it can be assumed that the subject was initially a very sensitive (sensitive) child, and schizoid accentuation was formed later, as a compensatory mechanism.

4. About what to achieving a sense of psychological comfort requires placement in a more friendly environment the ears of a happy animal also speak (the ears are a symbol of alertness, but here they are folded, there is no need to be afraid). Again, a typical situation for anxious personalities- the desire to get into a safe and predictable environment;

5. A happy animal is the first (the second is unhappy) that has pronounced sexual symbols (tail and underlined, drawn with pressure mouth), but in this case we are not talking about active sexuality (the tail is thin and lowered down), but rather about accepting your gender identity. In other words, the subject would like to better integrate with her gender, disunity between the biological sex and its psychological self-representation is a source of discomfort for the subject.

6. Often states of happiness and elation / exaltation are for the subject not a true reflection of her inner world, but compensatory mechanism designed to cope with anxiety (the stars in the figure, filling the entire sheet);

7. The Need for Security(wool is pressed to the body in a happy animal);

8. Tall but unsatisfied the need to accept one's own body(a happy animal has a “symbol of happiness” on its stomach). Perhaps the subject is trying (or planning) to satisfy her through body modifications(tattoos, piercings, provocative and unusual hairstyles, clothes).

A deeper explanation can be a reference to the fact that schizoids tend to oppose the mind to emotions, referring the latter rather to the bodily level. Thus, perhaps in this pattern on the stomach, the need for the integration of the emotional sphere was symbolically manifested.

9. Strong unmet need for acceptance and belonging(a happy animal is built according to the standard scheme). What is interesting here is that the unfortunate animal is also built according to the standard scheme, while the “ordinary” animal is built according to the original one.

Probably, the following situation takes place here: the subject feels a certain discomfort from her otherness (and this resulted in the construction of an indifferent animal according to the standard scheme), while wishing to become more “normal”, similar to the rest (which led to the creation of a happy animal according to the standard scheme). );

10. The need for acceptance and contact with others(the animal lives in our world and actively interacts with others);

11. Availability is possible hypomanic episodes(an indication that the animal produces an excess of happiness that it does not need so much). This assumption is confirmed by the data obtained using the SMIL technique;

12. Possible indication of the presence affective disorder like bipolar disorder or cyclothymia (happiness is impossible without understanding the other side). Periods of exaltation, which the subject no doubt experiences, seem to alternate with periods of melancholy and decline;

13. Existential need for meaning in life(the animal is guided by “non-random events and meetings”, it “fulfills its destiny”), which is an indicator infantilism and immaturity of the subject (such a need is more typical for adolescence);

14. Need for acceptance(others are always happy with this animal). One of the main areas of work with the subject should be the explanation that part of the needs can be realized only in social interactions. For example, if you don't connect with others, they won't be able to treat you well.

Continuation - in

A phobia is an irrational fear of a non-threatening object or situation. The word "phobia" comes from the Greek phobos, meaning horror, fear or panic. Phobos is a god from Greek mythology who had the ability to intimidate his enemies. A person suffering from a phobia usually realizes that his fear is ridiculous and unfounded, but the unreasonable fear does not go away from this. He understands that his phobia is disproportionately large compared to the real event, but the arguments of reason do not help, and he almost always tries to avoid the object of fear.

Many Greek and Latin roots are attached to the word phobia in order to give names to specific fears. For example, if a person is afraid of animals, they say that he has zoophobia. The morbid fear of spiders is called arachnophobia (from the Greek arakhne, "spider"). Fear of heights is an acrophobia. Aquaphobia is the fear of water. The fear of lightning is called astraphobia. The fear of enclosed spaces is called claustrophobia (from the Latin claustrum, which means "to imprison" or "to imprison"). Many people suffer from agoraphobia (which literally means fear of the marketplace). They are afraid of open spaces, afraid to be alone anywhere or travel without a companion. Phobias can be generated by a surprisingly large number of stimuli.

There is no consensus on how people acquire fears and phobias. Some authors consider them a symbolic reflection of our internal conflicts. For example, a fear of sharp objects may mask covert aggression. Other experts say that phobias are the result of negative associations or conditioning. In other words, they believe that certain frightening events can heighten our sensitivity for a long time. So, a person who has sat for several hours in a stuck elevator may develop claustrophobia, and he will avoid not only elevators, but all enclosed spaces. If he is stuck in the elevator of a large department store, he may start avoiding all the big stores. Fear can spread to a wider range of objects, and the person will avoid elevators, department stores, vehicles, crowds, and more. However, the popular belief that in order to overcome a phobia, it is necessary to understand its underlying mechanisms and understand its dynamics is incorrect.

Many people who suffer from a phobia often receive some secondary benefit from it, such as increased attention to themselves or something else. Imagine, for example, a claustrophobic woman. Ever since she developed this disorder, her husband has taken to shopping on his own and taking extra care of his poor, frightened wife who likes to have the dust blown off her. It's easy to see what fuels this woman's phobia. Of course, not all cases are so clear cut. However, if you suffer from a phobia and really want to overcome it, the first thing you should do is to carefully and honestly examine the situation and understand what secondary benefits you (or those around you) can derive from your fear. Without giving up the benefits that a phobia can give you, it is extremely difficult to cope with it.

However, not everyone gets these benefits. Many people are afraid of certain things, places, situations or events and have no doubt that they want to get rid of their fears. What constructive steps should they take?

In 1955, while I was in graduate school in South Africa, in Johannesburg, Dr. Joseph Wolpe, professor of psychiatry at Temple University School of Medicine, taught me the technique of "systematic desensitization." This method of overcoming phobias consists of three distinct stages. (1) The client is shown how to relax the major muscles of the body in order to achieve a state of rest. It should be noted that deep muscle relaxation can have a huge effect if practiced regularly and systematically. At first we used hypnosis, but then we realized that relaxation is more effective because it does not make the patient dependent. In addition, a person can use the relaxation skill in other difficult situations. (2) The phobia is broken down into its component parts. For example, if a person is afraid of hospitals, the first item on the list of frightening situations will most likely be a sign that says "Hospital", then the patient will have to "look" at the hospital from a distance or from a car window. More complex tasks follow, such as waiting in a hospital corridor, watching someone being wheeled past, breathing in hospital odors. Finally, we come to the most terrifying - the sight of patients who have just had surgery, a visit to a friend in intensive care, or being in a large operating room. (3) When the patient has learned to relax properly (and for most people this takes several weeks of daily training), we ask him to systematically imagine each of his frightening situations.

We start with the simplest. "Imagine that you and your friends are driving past a sign that says 'Hospital' and an arrow pointing towards the hospital building." Relaxing, a person imagines this scene as vividly as possible. If such a simple situation causes him anxiety, you can start with something even less unpleasant, such as attending a hospital holiday or a fair. Each item on the list needs to be imagined again and again until it ceases to cause concern. It usually takes only a few weeks for a person to be able to imagine the most terrible situation without experiencing internal discomfort. In most cases, after this, he ceases to feel anxiety in the real situation, which used to frighten him.

Almost every one of us has a heightened sensitivity to something, like a phobia. The most common are social phobias, because we often worry about what others think of us. The fear of dropping yourself in the eyes of other people is very strong; it is associated with heightened sensitivity to criticism, rejection, and disapproval. We often have little fear of heights or enclosed spaces, of spiders, snakes, or blood, but we are afraid to get into arguments or ask questions in public, withdraw into ourselves at a party, or petrify when we are given the floor in a meeting. These types of anxiety can be considered as phobias and treated accordingly. Ask yourself: “What am I especially sensitive to?”, “What situations do I try my best to avoid?”. Maybe you are afraid of large crowds or try not to ask for help; perhaps you are afraid to go on dates or speak in front of an audience; or you agree too easily to do the dirty work for others because you don't feel like saying no and it's embarrassing to stand up for yourself. Whatever you are trying to avoid, you will benefit from one of the methods described below.

Most of my patients are characterized by increased shyness and fear of failure, they are constantly afraid that someone may not approve of their actions, that everyone will turn away from them, or that they will be criticized and no longer respected. Desensitization is often the best way to rid such people of hypersensitivity. Its procedure is the same as for a pronounced phobia. I recently treated a young man who was afraid to eat in public places. He was most comfortable when he ate at home alone, somewhat less comfortable when his parents were sitting at the table with him, he was even less pleased to eat in the presence of a male friend, but he found it most difficult to eat in the company of an attractive young woman - and that was precisely the goal to which he aspired. He made the following list: