The idea that one can "soak up" someone else's mood or sense the tension in
a room is familiar - as in "negative energy". This ability to borrow or share
states of mind is now pathologized, as the author shows in relation to
affective transfer in psychiatric clinics.The idea that one can soak up someone else's depression or anxiety or sense
the tension in a room is familiar. Indeed, phrases that capture this notion
abound in the popular vernacular: "negative energy", "dumping", "you could cut
the tension with a knife". This book deals with the belief that the emotions
and energies of one person or group can be absorbed by or can enter directly
into another.; The ability to borrow or share states of mind, once historically and
culturally assumed, is now pathologized, as Teresa Brennan shows in relation to
affective transfer in psychiatric clinics and the prevalence of psychogenic
illness in contemporary life. To neglect the mechanism by which affect is
transmitted, the author claims, has serious consequences for science and
medical research.; Brennan's theory of affect is based on constant communication between
individuals and their physical and social environments. Her book details the
relationships among affect, energy and "new maladies of the soul", including
attention deficit disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, co-dependency and
fibromyalgia.
