Operative Thinking, Alexithymia, Feeling and Expression of the Theme of Persecution

Abstract

Operative thinking and alexithymia have been understood as revealing psychic mechanisms dysfunction of most somatic patients in Western culture. In the African context, the feeling and expression of the theme of persecution in Africa are in order. This consists of considering a witchcraft attack as an etiological factor. The collectivist and spiritualist African culture favors the subjects of freedom and creativity, notably through the feeling and expression of the theme of persecution. These subjects are sources of a considerable richness of imaginary and affective expression, all phenomena in opposition to operative thinking and alexithymia, characterized by a poverty in fantasies and affects, and at the level of the nomination of affects. However, as much as operative thinking, the persecutory theme does not favor a higher level of mentalization and symbolization. For this reason, it is quite inappropriate to use symptoms to differentiate between Africa and the West, but rather the relevance of the psyche and culture’s richness.