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December 18, 1967. ONCE DOESN'T COUNT. Leonard Shengold, M.D.
Dr. Shengold has observed several patients who needed to demonstrate that something which happened only once had no meaning. That this attitude is a common one is indicated by the German folk saying, Einmal ist keinmal. The principle is seen in two forms: in one, the patient performs a forbidden act once and does not repeat it; in the second, the patient repeatedly attempts to gain permission to do something by swearing that it will only be 'just this once' and then breaking the vow. Both types of patient are counteracting the fantasy of something irrevocable, something that has happened or can happen only once: for instance, defloration, castration, death.