On those wrecked by success: a clinical inquiry

Freud's description of those wrecked by success outlines conflicted oedipal triumph as the central underlying dynamic in this character type. It does not distinguish those patients who avoid success from those driven to achieve and then wreck their success. We present a complex picture that we believe is prototypic of patients who destroy their success. A clinical case illustrates our point of view. We emphasize the developmental problems we believe typical of patients who dramatically wreck the success they achieve. We hope to extend rather than replace Freud's landmark contribution to our understanding of this type of character pathology.