ABSTRACT
Perhaps the most central of the facts of life that we all fi nd diffi cult to face is the passage of time, which confronts us with the reality of loss of our objects and the inevitability of our ultimate death. We try to deny or delay acceptance of this reality, defending ourselves against it with phantasies of permanence and immortality. The omnipotent solution offered by a narcissistic type of pathological organisation denies the reality of the passage of time. In this way the need to face loss and all the painful affects associated with mourning is avoided.
