Lack of whole object relations.
Lack of object constancy.
Lack of basic trust in other people.
A preoccupation with interpersonal safety.
Fear of intimacy.
The use of physical and emotional distancing to feel safe.
The frequent use of dissociation as a defense.
Splitting off thinking from feeling.
The belief that other people are inherently unsafe, unpredictable, untrustworthy, uncaring, domineering, and intrusive.
Mainly going inside to meet one’s own emotional needs through fantasies instead of trying to meet them externally through other people.
Not knowing that differences can be negotiated and not knowing how to negotiate with other people to get their needs met.
Being intensely private to the point of secrecy.
A weak sense of identity.
A fear of losing that identity by becoming overwhelmed by other people.
Believing that in a relationship one person is dominant and the less dominant person must always be submissive.
A sense of existential dread.
The belief that life is inherently meaningless.
Fear of getting so disconnected from other people that it will be impossible to reconnect.
Creation of a false self to use in social situations.
Reporting feeling like an alien or a robot or a non-human.
