Publication Announcement by Ruth Lijtmaer (USA)

(2022). American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 82(2): 305–319, doi.org/10.1057/s11231-022-09357-8.

Immigration and exile can qualify as social traumas. The individual is deprived of a holding, secure environment in which to continue life. The process of mourning is a necessary step to connect with ‘‘going on being.’’ Another psychic experience in migration is nostalgia, which helps the immigrant defend against the aggression resulting from current frustrations. The feeling of nostalgia can also be used to protect the ego from inadequacy. The complex components of nostalgia consist of positive feelings such as joy and gratitude, connected with sadness about the associated loss of security, familiarity, and historical continuity. At other times, nostalgia cannot evolve, particularly in forced migration or exile. In this case, the individual enters a depressed state with accompanying feelings of self-pity, resentment, envy, and guilt, which prevents the mourning process from developing. To deal with these painful experiences, the individual resorts to linking objects or phenomena that help them continue having contact with the past, while adjusting to their new environment.

Ruth Lijtmaer, Ph.D.
Ridgewood, New Jersey, USA
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