Winnicott (2004, p. s. 196) writes in article, "The Manic Defense", originally published in 1934:

"And what about the radio that's always on? What about life in a city like London with its never-ending noise, with its never-extinguished lights? Both exemplify how people, by means of reality, defend themselves against inner death and apply a manic defense that can be described as normal."

McWilliams (2005, p. s. 61) describes that people who came to psychotherapy clinics in the 60s had problems that the existing psychological models could not explain well:

"They lacked an experience of inner orientation and reliable, guiding values and they started in therapy in the hope of finding meaning in life. They could superficially seem confident, but within they were constantly seeking confirmation that they were accepted or admired or valuable."

Those who had these people in treatment testified to special difficulties:

"Therapists who had this kind of patients in treatment told us that they felt unimportant, invisible, and either disparaged or idealized by them. They didn't feel appreciated as real concrete people trying to help, but instead seemed to be considered interchangeable causes of their clients' emotional oscillations between inflation and deflation."