Understanding climate injustice as social pathology through the lens of psychoanalysis, recognition theory and critical psychology

The concept of climate injustice and a socio-critical, psychoanalytical perspective associate the climate crisis with other forms of social injustice classifying these as ‘social pathologies’. Two approaches towards social transformation, both recent Frankfurt Schooldevelopments, are presented: (1) the double asymmetry of the social (Herrmann), a concept that sees the strength of social bonds as stemming from the acceptance of difference and (2) the value-oriented philosophical approach to radically change patterns of everyday life practice (von Redecker). The latter finds expression in social protest movements such as Fridays for Future or Extinction Rebellion. Seen through the lens of the anti-psychiatry movement, some ‘psychopathology’ can be re-framed as a meaningful, resistant expression of social grievances. Our integrative approach provides a framework that makes room for non-violent difference, destigmatisation of real (as opposed to neurotic) anxiety and the anger it produces, recognition of and responsibility for the other instead of bilateral subjugation, and mutual vulnerability as a driving force for change in both subjects and systems, on the road to healing social pathologies

Lower oxytocin plasma levels in borderline patients with unresolved attachment trauma

Interpersonal problems and affective dysregulation are core characteristics of borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD patients predominantly show unresolved attachment representations. The oxytocin (OT) system is associated with human social attachment and affiliative behavior, and OT dysregulation may be related to distinct attachment characteristics. Here, we investigated whether attachment representations are related to peripheral OT levels in BPD patients. Twenty-one female BPD patients and 20 age-, gender-, and education- matched healthy controls (HCs) were assessed with clinical scales and measures of interpersonal and attachment-related characteristics, including the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). Plasma OT concentrations were measured prior to and during social exclusion in a virtual ball tossing game (Cyberball). The majority of BPD patients (63.2%) but no HCs showed unresolved (disorganized) attachment representations. In this subgroup of patients, baseline OT plasma levels were significantly lower than in BPD patients with organized attachment representations. This pilot study extends previous findings of altered OT regulation in BPD as a putative key mechanism underlying interpersonal dysregulation. Our results provide first evidence that altered OT plasma levels are related to disorganized attachment representations in BPD patients