The Body’s Memory

Free recall of the past opens up the possibility of forgetting. The mental urging not to forget, to remember, can sometimes be a curse. In the two clinical examples reported, the presence of a body injured in the past that cannot be forgotten becomes the symptom. Karim cries and Mr. A. is anxious. In their consultations with me, these intense emotional states make it difficult for them to practice respiratory exercises. Their return to the hospital, where they suffered in the past and which conjures up painful memories of physical pain, is definitely a factor when it comes to their narration. The fact of verbalizing, in addition to its psychic effects, seems to lead to a release, making their consultation easier (taking the inter-subjective dimensions of the encounter into account). The psychosomatic unity is manifested in this release of body and psyche.