From defense to healing : disarming individual and collective defenses rooted in trauma through first-person narratives
Od obrambe do ozdravljenja : razgradnja individualnih in kolektivnih obrambnih mehanizmov, ki izhajajo iz travme, skozi pripovedi v prvi osebi

english

2026

volume 86, issue 1

avoidance   collective trauma   defense mechanism   first-person narrative   moral self-examination   narrative style   Necropolis   shame   victimhood   vulnerability

Univerza v Ljubljani, Teološka fakulteta
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

The article examines the concept of collective trauma and argues, through a conceptual mapping grounded in psychological research, that both individuals and communities use parallel defense mechanisms and emotional strategies to avoid confronting painful realities. Historical examples, such as Hungary’s trauma after the Treaty of Trianon, illustrate how unresolved national traumas perpetuate dysfunctional behaviors, victimhood narratives, and rigid group identities, shaping ongoing political discourse and social division. The article further explores the trauma-healing potential of first-person narratives that engage openly with vulnerability, shame, and ethical self-examinati-on. Such narratives offer an alternative to collective avoidance by challenging entrenched victimhood, interrupting cycles of self-pity, and fostering more self-critical, ethically grounded identities. The article concludes that collective recovery calls for a national figure who demonstrates how victims can also confront their own complicity, as exemplified by Boris Pahor in Necropolis.

13.10.2026