After-Death Communication

Object Relations and Self-Psychology

Object relations theories developed from ego psychology. Freud presented the notion that human beings are driven by sexual and aggressive drives and mental conflict results from thwarted expression of these basic drives. This conflict is associated with anxiety or depression. For Freud, ego developed from drive frustration. Freud used the term object referring to that which satisfies a need or the significant person that is the target of another's feelings or drives. Freud used this term within the context of the mother-child relationship but also used it in terms of instinctual drives (id). This differs from the term object relations, which refers to an interpersonal relationship (Nichols & Schwartz, 2001; St. Clair, 2000; Summers, 1994).

Ego psychologists went beyond the study of the id to understand the development to the ego, pointing out that mechanisms such as motility, memory, and perception were not developed out of a frustrated id. These functions were developed separately and integrated to form ego autonomy. While ego psychologists agreed that libidinal frustration may organize ego, aggression was considere

e, and had blood-oxygenation-level-dependent signal increases in the occipital regions only. The authors concluded that MRI findings support the notion that survivors of a trauma experience unique psychological and physiological responses. Butler, Braff, Rausch, Jenkins, Sprock, and Geyerá(1990) reported findings of physiological evidence of exaggerated startle response in a group of Vietnam veterans with combat-related PTSD.á Diagnostic criteria for PTSD includes an exaggerated startle response and these authors investigated this phenomenon. The study included 20 Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD and 18 combat veterans without PTSD. The eyeblink reflex electromyo-graphic response of the startle reaction was measured. Findings showed that PTSD victims had significantly greater startle response amplitude compared to controls. Positive and negative symptoms were also noted (hyper-responsivity, withdrawal). The authors concluded that PTSD responses include exaggerated startle response and tendencies for positive symptoms such as persistent emotional hyper-responsivity and perceptual abnormalities. Central adrenergic overactivity may mediate these symptoms; central catecholaminergic neurotransmitters modulate startle reactivi