In this landmark book the impulse toward self-destructiveness is examined as a misdirection of the instinct for survival, a turning inward of the aggressive behavior developed for self-preservation. The self-imposed illness, despair, even suicide, that result from this conflict are compassionately yet objectively analyzed and documented through case histories. Drawing on the work of such pioneers as Ferenczi, Groddeck, Jelliffe, White, Alexander, and Simmel, Menninger shows that intelligent self-knowledge can bring self-respect and understanding into man's psychological war against himself--on the side of self-preservation.
