I will briefly summarize my conclusions from the analysis of this case.

Schizoid processes, including depersonalization, can be used by the ego as a defence-mechanism at comparatively late stages of development. They are, however, processes which affect the very structure of the ego, causing varying degrees of splitting and projection of the ego. These processes are related to the working within the ego of destructive impulses, which are felt to be alien (split off) and therefore persecutors. Oral and anal sadistic impulses, directed against the inside of mother's body, also increase the persecutory anxiety. These factors suggest an origin of these schizoid mechanisms on a paranoid level, which weakens the subsequent development of the ego. The