Play and the sense of self

Those who suffer a pervasive feeling of emptiness, who live as if on the surface, caught up in a ceaseless traf®c with the stimuli of the everyday world, are the main focus of this book. These people sense no core existence and are often without access to true emotions or an authentic feeling of being alive. Such disturbances of the experience of self are common. Indeed, people af¯icted with them make up the bulk of those who confront a psychotherapist in the modern age. Their severity ranges from a subtle and unobtrusive disturbance of personal being, to a severely disabling condition associated with repeated hospitalizations, suicide attempts and broken relationships.