The I, or the eye, and the other: A mother-infant observation vignette analysed using Winnicott's concept of false self

Abstract

Winnicott links the false self presentation with possible feeding difficulties. A vignette of the last breast feed in an infant observation is analysed alongside the earlier feeding relationship using Winnicott's theory of the false self. This infant became compliant to her mother's needs in the feeding relationship, having her experience of feeding linked to an ego ideal disconnected from her true self experience. To survive, she developed a false self mask to hide her true self, with a rigid barrier forming between the ‘not me’ (outside) experience and the ‘me’ (inside). The only residue of the ‘True self’ attached to feeding was the protest not to eat. This observation suggests an understanding of the internal world of the infant who may present later with an eating disorder.