Self-pity and self-comforting are affective states which offer a powerful resistance to analysis because they provide libidinized oedipal gratification via the rewarding function of the superego, which is activated by a narcissistic wound viewed by the subject as unjust. In addition, they offer a strong defense against self-directed punitive aggressive drives. Narcissism is heightened and there is an interference with object relationships. The genetic basis seems to be a significant trauma in the anal period which interferes with self-directed aggression (later reflected in an intolerance for guilt feelings) at a time when the stability of the self-representation has not yet been established. In the ensuing regression, the individual retreats to the early oral phase, focusing on maternal comforting and partial fusion of self and object images.