Anal Abscess

An abscess at the anus combines two signals: the encapsulated, purulent inflammation of an abscess, and the theme of the anus — the place where the body lets go. When pus collects there of all places, your body is showing you something very concrete: you are holding on to something that should have left long ago — and the pressure building from that has become inflamed.

Medically, an anal abscess is painful, sensitive to pressure, often accompanied by fever. From a psychosomatic perspective, it is the physical condensation of an inner state: anger and rigidity surrounding something you cannot release — and which is now festering, because it has been held too long.