Freud’s ego can let itself die both from external danger and from superego persecution

Evidence

But, when the ego finds itself in an excessive real danger [realen Gefahr] which it believes itself unable to overcome by its own strength, it is bound to draw the same conclusion. It sees itself deserted by all protecting forces and lets itself die [lässtsich sterben]. … Freud in no way minimizes the importance of external threats or perils. It is thus not a matter of contesting the existence, in Freud, of an idea of psychic destruction but rather of examining and discussing the unconscious status of this idea and the role that it plays within the psyche itself. — Catherine Malabou, The New Wounded, 2593

Categorization

• DEFINE: “lässt sich sterben” — the ego letting itself die — is a key mechanism where internal and external destruction converge.
• QUESTION: Worth checking whether this letting-oneself-die is what Malabou wants to oppose to brain damage’s obliteration of the psyche.