ABSTRACT
The author aims to demonstrate that the primary narcissistic attachment to the body and its vital functions plays a crucial part in an individual’s psychic and somatic survival. What is at stake is the drive-instinctual basis of confidence in life, the collapse of which may lead to severe consequences, as shown by the case material presented. The crux of this chapter lies in the experience of time as a perspective in life, linked with the body, implying a preconscious knowledge that one’s time is limited, of which the body is the most intimate reminder.
