Les signifiants culturels dans le vécu de l’anxiété chez les patients atteints de cancer

Abstract

This study entitled: `` cultural signifiers in the experience of anxiety in cancer patients`` starts from the fact that cancer is one of the most formidable chronic diseases which affects the individual both physically and psychologically. Its diagnosis is difficult to accept by the patient, which leads him to mobilize resources to identify the various causes himself. Misfortune always coming from outside, the sick people will attribute their suffering to the exogenous invoices, summarized in the cultural elements. Although the question has already been approached in this sense, in particular as a lever for easing the psychic tension generated by suffering, none of them approached the question that these same cultural signifiers would be a source of anxiety and panic, therefore anxious experience. Hence, this study poses the problem of the role of cultural signifiers in the experience of anxiety in cancer patients. From this problem, arises the following research question: how do cultural signifiers fuel the anxiety experience in cancer patients. In response to this question, we formulated the following research hypothesis: The cultural signifiers, by virtue of place they occupy in the psychic organisation, feed the anxious experience so that the conflictual relationship, the anguish of persecution, the relation of witchcraft, occupy a very important place in the psychic organisation. Thus, our objective is to understand the psychic processes by which cultural signifiers feed the anxiety experience in cancer patients. To do this, we used the clinical method. The data were collected through semi structured interviews with three people suffering from cancer met in the Hematology department of CHU. Said data were subjected to a thermal content analysis. The results obtained showed that the cancerous diseases has enormous repercussions on the psychological level of the individuals and this manifests its self in different ways. First of all, the anxiety of castration which characterizes them. The constraints linked to the treatment make them captives, which prevents them from continuing to carry out their activities. The feeling of fear and panic very prevalent. They attribute their suffering to a witchcraft relationship. And as a result, the symptoms manifested are a result of this interpretation that patients give of their disease. They therefore have a firm conviction that their illnesses come from the other and that they can pass from life to death at any time. This justifies their anxious experience. These results were interpreted on the basis of anxiety cultural theory and discussed in light of previous studies.