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Patients with respiratory paralysis resulting from poliomyelitis, cared for in a special respiratory unit, are fundamentally alike in their reaction to the illness. A marked regression is fostered by the almost absolute dependence of the patients. Denial, projection, and primitive fantasy are used to cope with anxiety. With normal sexual outlets abolished, pregenital forms of gratification assume prominence. Patients go through one or several periods of depression, often followed by irritable or demanding behavior. Attitudes of families and of staff are especially important at these times, as the patients tend to interpret illness as a punishment for primitive instinctual impulses. The ease of separating a patient from the respirator or from any other form of respiratory aid appears to be intimately connected with the patient's current emotional state, his personality, and the attitudes of the ward personnel. Psychotherapeutic procedures seem to be of value in helping the patient to handle his anxiety, in fostering his acceptance of his illness, and in promoting his striving toward independence within the limits of his disease. Families of patients may be helped by discussions with the psychiatrist of guilt and resentment to the patient. The ward personnel too may be helped to understand the patients' needs and their own reactions to the patients.