Psychosomatic Symptoms - The Allergic Object Relationship

Photo by flickr.com / Andy Magee

P. Marty elaborated on his theory of psychosomatic symptoms in his 1958 article called “The allergic object relationship”. In this article he suggested that psychosomatic patients suffering from allergies, especially asthma and eczema, display a special relationship pattern. This pattern is characterized by their need to merge with other people and identify with their characteristics.

According to Marty this process of merging has two phases. Firstly, psychosomatic patients project their own qualities to the other person and secondly identify themselves with the qualities that they have projected. Through this two-fold process of projection and identification they have the delusion of becoming one with the others.

The merging of the subject with the other person is at the beginning forceful and violent but later becomes smoother. The psychosomatic patient is very eager to find people who are susceptible to this kind of control and are willing to be “objectified”. This usually happens because they have a very weak and inconsistent ego structure and they try to control other people in order to overcome this vulnerability.

This way of relating of the psychosomatic patient originates from early infancy. At that age the mother – child relationship is built mainly on touching and holding. If this relationship is not safe, the infant cannot create a stable initial representation of the self. This makes it difficult for the baby to make sense of their internal feelings. In these cases the infant creates a shell that protects but also hinders the self from connecting to other people. The somatic symptoms developed in adulthood reflect this poor self- organization.

Marty showed the validity of his theory by bringing up clinical material from his work with psychosomatic patients. Some of them said: “I am so dependent on you…I am you”, “I cannot live within myself but only united with another person”. Even in the first psychoanalytic interviews patients made slips of tongue like “I am here because you suffer from eczema” or “You certainly wish me to tell you about your mother'”, which reflected their lack of boundaries in the therapeutic relationship and their instant identification with the therapist.

What is your experience with psychosomatic symptoms? Please share in the comments below.