Depersonalization as a form of defense was employed by a patient to prevent the coming into consciousness of both passive, masochistic longings and aggressive, sadistic impulses with which he was not able to cope. The release of the invidious introject from the decompensating ego followed. Once released, it turned upon the weakened ego, in this case very likely in combination with an archaic but, for the most part, ineffectual superego. Self-mutilation evolved, in time, in response to the specific nature of the introject and in response to the patient's need for a sense of historical continuity and personal identity, albeit artificial, inadequate, and self-defeating.