Hybrid concepts that combine observable data with abstract metapsychological constructs have increasingly pervaded psychoanalytic discourse in recent years. For example, the "fear of loss of ego boundaries" combines "fear," which may be directly experienced and observed, with "ego boundaries," a metapsychological abstraction. The authors regard the widespread use of these concepts, which are most commonly applied to borderline and psychotic conditions, as a trend which may undermine the usefulness of psychoanalytic approaches to these entities.