ABSTRACT
We turn now to vulnerable patients, who are uncertain about who they are. They are described as having an insecure or unstable sense of self, or as being fragile. In consequence they are also uncertain about the stability of the others around them, a condition sometimes known as low object constancy. They have difficulty forming and maintaining close relationships—that is, relationships in which they feel and fear a demand to reciprocate the warmth and affection offered them. These patients are found mostly in the diagnostic categories of borderline personality disorder through the spectrum of schizotypy.
