ABSTRACT
The experience of self is fundamental to who we are. In many clinical disorders there are disruptions to the individual’s sense of self. On one hand, the self may be experienced as mad, bad, dangerous, or disgusting. On the other hand, disruptions may involve the continuity of selfhood (at their most extreme in dissociative disorders) or the person may fail to develop a sense of self and may experience the feelings of emptiness and numbness that are characteristic of many personality disorders (see Chapter 7 for further discussion).
