Melancholia in Psychoanalytic Theory

This work aims to bring to the surface, from psychoanalytic theoretical references, some conceptual problems implicit in the constitutive process of melancholy. For decades, melancholy has stimulated theoretical, diagnostic, philosophical and artistic productions that have sought to explain it. Human interest in its signs and symptoms, described since ancient Greek times with Hippocrates, has produced diverse interpretations of its constitution. In each "field of knowledge" and at each historical moment, it stood out with its particular and paradigmatic way of manifesting itself. Psychoanalytic theory was no different, which led Freud to write a specific text on the subject (Mourning and Melancholia) in search of foundations for understanding this suffering. Therefore, in view of the conceptual issues that arose in his studies, we identified the need to raise a discussion about the hypotheses raised by Freud for the psychic constitution of the melancholic. We therefore invite the reader to join us in this study in search of interpretations that can shed light on this obscure path.