Speaker
Description
Obesity today is not merely a medical issue but a multidimensional crisis dynamic that must be addressed at individual, social, and cultural levels. Societal crises such as pandemics, economic uncertainty, war, and migration profoundly affect eating behaviors and body image. In this context, obesity not only creates sustainability challenges for global health systems but also becomes a bodily expression of anxiety, loneliness, and feelings of worthlessness at the individual level.
This study focuses on the following question: How does obesity make visible the individual and collective impacts of contemporary crises? Within a psychoanalytic framework, Didier Anzieu’s concept of the skin-ego and Pierre Marty’s psychosomatic approach reveal that obesity may represent a bodily manifestation of early object relations and traumatic experiences. The body functions as a protective barrier, while adipose tissue may serve as a “crisis armor” against psychic pain.
The study draws on clinical observations and projective test (Rorschach) data from obese patients in Turkey and France. Findings indicate that obesity provides a critical space for observing resilience, defensive structures, and identity formation in times of crisis.
In conclusion, obesity should be understood not only in biomedical terms but also as a crisis marker situated at the intersection of social transformation and individual subjectivity. This perspective opens up an interdisciplinary field of discussion for understanding the multilayered nature of contemporary crises.
| Keywords | Obesity, Crisis Dynamics, Psychoanalytic Psychosomatics |
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| topyay@gmail.com |