The process of symbol formation brings together and integrates the internal with the external, the subject with the object, earlier experiences with later ones. It is essentially a reflection of the relation of the ego to its objects. In the first stages of symbol formation, projections of parts of the self into the object lead to identifications with that object. This symbolic equation between the original object and its symbol in the internal and external world is the basis for much schizophrenic thinking: the disturbance in the ego is manifested by the failure to distinguish between the symbol and the thing symbolized, between the self and the object. Where such symbolic equations are with bad objects, one tries to annihilate them by total withdrawal of interest—'paranoid schizoid position' (Klein). In the 'depressive position' (Klein), however, there is a capacity for ambivalence, and introjection is more prominent than projection as one strives