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.
The unconscious apparently in unable to symbolize one's death as a state of being dead, although a part of the ego is capable of symbolizing intense anxiety about death and killing. In dreams, death is represented in infantile oral concepts. The anxiety of the child at the early oral level is that of annihilation—desertion by the mother would result in the infant's death. Annihilation is perceived as being devoured, and all later stages of fear of death are modeled on this. During the anal phase fear of death coincides with toilet training and the loss of feces; with the establishment of ego identity, fear of death is equated with loss of identity or loss of mastery of outer or inner reality. At another level, the conscious fear of dying may represent the unconscious wish to kill.
The dying patient regresses to the undifferentiated phase of development. In his apologies for causing trouble, he is unconsciously apologizing because of guilt about complete and final dependence. He also feels guilty because he is forcing the healthy to face death, for which they will hate him.
Fear of death is directed toward a realistic threat from the outside; anxiety about death is a warning against the longing for death from the inside. In order to function, the ego develops defenses against this double threat.