You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The great naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, trying to categorize the animals he was studying, is reported to have cried out in frustration
“if only they would stop and open their mouths so we can count their teeth!” Were we to emulate the energy and discipline of 19th-century naturalists in their efforts to categorize nature's expression of herself, we would study the many types of psychoses in their environments. In Bollas's recent book, When the Sun Bursts: The Enigma of Schizophrenia, he does just this for our young science of psychosis. He details for us psychosis's expressions in individuals, in the culture, and in specific historical moments. More importantly, he invites us to follow the life of psychosis in a few individuals who open themselves up for detailed appreciation of their internal world and the personal histories they are creating as they live among us.
Frieda Fromm-Reichmann wrote, “loneliness is one of the least satisfactorily conceptualized psychological phenomena” (Fromm-Reichmann, 1990, p. 306). Speaking of the “disintegrative loneliness” that “leads ultimately to psychotic states,” she asks, “What has gone wrong in the history of the lonely ones?” (Fromm-Reichmann, 1990, p. 309). The stories in Bollas's book provide answers, and the first principles of his technique address Fromm-Reichmann's question directly.
Loneliness is one of the bridges that Bollas employs to invite readers into the rich worlds of his patients. It is difficult not to become deeply curious about their minds. We discover that they see things about our shared world that are not so foreign and alien as we might expect. The psychotic's effort to engage loneliness reflects meanings embedded in the patient's life history in ways that could not be predicted. Although loneliness is a common thread in psychosis, it is at the same time singular, particular to the patient and his or her life story.
Bollas's presentation of case material sheds light on his success with often recalci