Success, Retreat, Panic: Over-Stimulation and Depressive Defence

The concept of over-stimulation or hyperexcitement has until recently been used predominantly in connection with children. It has been discussed as an intense reaction of over-involvement resulting from too-strong stimuli from the outside, especially from over-close and over-taxing parents. However, in the past decade there has been a tendency to consider the concept also as an inner psychic phenomenon frequently observed in adults. This change of emphasis is mainly the result of the work of American writers on the so-called self-psychology, notably Heinz Kohut and his followers. Over-stimulation in this latter sense is, in the language of Kohut, defined as a ‘mobilization of archaic exhibitionists libido’ (KOHUT 5, p. 5) which threatens to flood the ego. This process may be triggered off by something in the outside world, or an inner stimulus or phantasy may be externalised. It is, however, in contrast to the classical concept of over-stimulation, essentially an endopsychic process. In the language of Jung one might say that over-stimulation in this sense is a process whereby conscious or unconscious psychic contents of an inflationary or grandiose nature arc aroused and threaten to overwhelm the ego. The ego, however, is strong enough and has sufficient reality sense, as it were, to defend itself against both identification with the grandiose content and general non-psychotic states of inflation, and against irreversible submersion psychosis. The process, however, does call forth an excitement which is felt as highly uncomfortable and which gives rise to strong anxiety. The manner in which the ego defends itself against this anxiety is mainly by retreating. An ego which is especially prone to become hyperstimulated seems above all to protect itself by secluding itself from the wave or source of excitement. This is then generally experienced either as a state of resentful depressive hopelessness or as apathetic isolation and utter passivity, or both.