Problem Definition

Abstract

We clarify two methodological issues. First, in order to overcome the epistemological closure of the Freudian system, closure that hinders the theoretical reflection on hypochondria, we must identify its sticking points. Then, to go beyond them we must not only define the creative but also negative method that we will rely on throughout our study. We explain why we chose to focus on a specific concrete material: the hypochondriac’s complaint, in the cases called “negative reports.” We explain why this complaint should be studied and interpreted as a discourse, but also in the numerous aspects and levels of the doctor–patient relationship, and as an episode in the hypochondriac’s life. The psychosomatic point of view then allows us to formulate hypotheses on how hypochondria articulates to the subject’s dynamics and to question the nature of this disorder.