June 2002
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In this lecture, I have tried to demonstrate that certain patients have difficulty in changing character traits, symptoms, or superego attitudes because to do so involves the fantasied loss of a connection to a highly cathected, usually idealized object representation. Such a loss involves specific feelings, but all are akin to grief and mourning. The pain of continuing the pathological compromise formations is lesser than the pain of loss. I would add once again that such a defensive process may well be part of the dynamics of all patients, since it is part of the human condition to have to defend against object loss. However, in some cases, such as these, it becomes a crucial factor in their resistance to change.