In this paper I claim that the As-If syndrome is characterised by a pervasive use of disavowal and that the manifestation of this in analysis is what Bion described as “reversible perspective.” I suggest that this is sustained by the As-If thinker's use of an inverted form of symmetrical logic. By employing inverse symmetrization the person treats all the real and moral distinctions he or she observes as bi-logical phenomena, thus evading their emotional significance. The aim of this cognitive defense is to avoid the acceptance of catastrophic reality while also avoiding the catastrophe of psychosis that would result from the outright rejection of reality: the patient evades the internal and external realities of the depressive position while escaping the dreaded phantasies of the paranoid-schizoid position.