You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Clinical material is presented from two patients where hypochondriacal symptoms were seen to be derivatives of unconscious fantasies of being beaten or tortured. The shift along the masochistic axis from these underlying fantasies to the conscious hypochondracal symptoms is seen as subserving the important
defensive purpose of reducing the patients' perception of their conscious guilt feelings.