Social SciencesPsychiatryPsychologyAbnormal PsychologyAdult PsychiatrySelfIdentity CrisisIdentity FormationMental IllnessNarrative IdentityPersonal IdentitySchizophrenia Spectrum DisordersBody-object RelationsIdentity DisruptionIdentity DisturbanceObject-actor RelationsObject-environment RelationsPsychological Breakdown
The author shows that the splitting of identity is reversible if the object relations are strong enough (example: Rahel Varnhagen). The schizophrenic subject escapes into another manner of being in a desperate effort to survive (example: Gregor Samsa in the novel of Kafka). A borderline patient recovers her identity by overcoming a symbiotic relationship with her psychotic mother.