Manic defence

In Melanie Klein's theory, a group of defences against the pain of the depressive position: the anxiety and guilt of having harmed the loved object, and the dependence on it. They include omnipotence, denial of psychic reality, and triumph over the object, which is controlled and held in contempt as though it did not matter and could easily be replaced. Klein described them in her papers of 1935 and 1940. In 1935 she spoke of a manic position, but later treated these defences as part of the depressive position. In moderation they help the ego through unbearable states. In excess they block mourning and genuine reparation, and they turn reparation itself manic, an omnipotent repair with no real concern for the object. Winnicott's paper "The Manic Defence" (1935) took up the idea in his own terms.