Regarding Pooh
==============

* Stephen Black

Sarah Shea and colleagues have provided an imaginative analysis of the Dark Underside of the Hundred Acre Wood.1 However, they fail to acknowledge the work of Karl Anschaaung,2 who many years ago courageously deduced that all was not well among the superficially happy creatures of the Hundred Acre Wood. Anschaaung insightfully pointed out that Pooh's creator, A.A. Milne, suffered from a honey-balloon-pit-gun-tail-bathtub complex. He concluded, “His case is a relatively simple one of advanced animal phobia and obsessional defence, somewhat complicated it is true by anal-sadistic and oral-helpful phantasies, skoptophilia and secondary exhibitionism, latently homosexual trends in identification with the mother, severe castration anxiety and compensatory assertiveness, and persistence of infantile misconstructions of birth, intercourse, and excretion.”2

At the least, Shea and colleagues might have reviewed this seminal work before proceeding to their own analysis. 

## References

1.  1. Shea SE, Gordon K, Hawkins A, Kawchuk J, Smith D. Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne. CMAJ 2000;163(12):1557-9.
    
    [Abstract/FREE Full Text](http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiQUJTVCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6NDoiY21haiI7czo1OiJyZXNpZCI7czoxMToiMTYzLzEyLzE1NTciO3M6NDoiYXRvbSI7czoyMzoiL2NtYWovMTY0LzgvMTEyNC4xLmF0b20iO31zOjg6ImZyYWdtZW50IjtzOjA6IiI7fQ==) 

2.  2. Anschaaung K. A.A. Milne's honey-balloon-pit-gun-tail-bathtub complex. *In*: Crews FC, editor. *The Pooh perplex*. New York: E.P. Dutton; 1963.