Narcotic Anonymous and experience of a transitional object

Winnicott argues that the capacity to enter in the world of illusion for creativity is first experienced in optimal environment between mother and child. The good-enough- mother is attuned with the needs of the infant and also responsive to demands for satisfaction (Meissner, 1992). The infant comes to believe in illusion in that it is responsible for libidinal satisfaction; however, Winnicott does not equate the infant’s illusion with hallucination. The infant’s experience is both subjective and objective at the same time, in what is termed a transitional space. Transitional space and transitional object are very important concepts in understanding how an infant can transition from omnipotence to object relations. Although, transitional space and object may evolve overtime, these concepts are inherently enduring and play equally important roles in adulthood. Most of human creativity is found in the medium of transitional space.

Illusory experience in the form of play in childhood may turn into creative cultural experience of the adult (Meissner, 1992). The use of symbols emerge within the transitional space, thus includes all forms of cultural, religious and even scientific creativity. When the infant starts to use a teddy bear as transitional object and a substitute for the mother, for example, then the infant is said to have developed the capacity to enter into a symbolic realm. With symbolism, the child develops the ability to make distinction between fantasy, illusion and fact and between internal and external objects.

Transitional space is the gateway for experiencing reality using the creativity of imagination. Consequently, adaptation is itself a creative process of continuing and constant interaction by which one adapts autoplatically to the demands of reality as well as allopalstically in modifying reality to suit one’s needs and wishes (Meissner, 1992). Transitional object create transitional forms of experience necessary for adapting to reality (Meissner, 1992). Therefore, if the child is not able to generate transitional forms of experience, then adaptation to reality would inevitably become frustrating (Meissner, 1992).Freud’s approach to illusion was in stark contrast to that of Winnicott; whereas Winnicott found illusion - for instance in religion, as a way of adapting to reality, Freud saw illusion as something that one needs to overcome. In 1923 Freud wrote to a friend where he stated his wish to destroy his won illusion and that of humankind (Meissner, 1992). Freud held a negative view of illusion even though he understood the distinction between illusion and delusion.