Eissler draws upon observations of Jellinek, the electropathologist, for the development of possible proof of the existence of psychic energy. Jellinek observed that subjects with strongly directed attention were capable of surviving electric

shocks that would otherwise prove fatal. After considering various possible explanations Eissler concludes that this observation points to the mobilization of psychic energy which succeeds in binding the incoming electrical energy. In a similar vein, Eissler speculates that the intra-agonal lucidity sometimes observed in dying patients may depend upon an overcathected area of the superego which offers temporary resistance to the disintegrating physical processes.