ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the psychodynamics of worry and offers the thesis that under certain circumstances worry performs a useful and necessary function in the service of a healthy ego. Realistic worry is not merely a defensive mechanism; it is also an integrative one. It represents “work” on the part of the ego, endeavoring to bind the stimulus cathexis provided by the impending danger. The “work” of worry may be further likened to the work of mourning. The entire area of the psychodynamics of normal mental processes is one which has been relatively neglected by psychoanalysis but which deserves more attention. The task of mental hygiene, therefore, is always a twofold one—to reduce the stresses, and to strengthen the ego. It is hoped that a better understanding of the psychodynamics of worry may contribute to this goal.
