An Approach to Toxicomania from Psychoanalysis

Abstract

This article explores toxicomania from a psychoanalytic perspective, contrasting with the traditional psychiatric approach. Instead of categorizing the individual, psychoanalysis focuses on the active subject who builds a specific relationship with the object known as a "drug". Based on Freud's studies, substance use operates as an intoxicating substance against three unavoidable sources of suffering: one's own body, the external world, and human relationships. Thus, addiction manifests a suspension of desire and an auto-erotic enjoyment aimed at anesthetizing pain. In conclusion, the psychoanalytic clinical approach does not seek a medical "cure", but rather aims to provide solidity by opening a space where the subject assumes their subjective responsibility and discovers the meaning behind their consumption.