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This paper is concerned with the problem of persistent fatigue. It is based on a number of clinical cases which the author uses to demonstrate that even if the symptoms accompanying chronic fatigue do not have a meaning, the trajectory of their antecedents is inscribed in the subject's history. This history will have to constitute for the patient a psychical past libidinally cathected. This trajectory concerns the ego and its defense mechanisms when the constellation of these defenses is not sufficiently resistant to the storms of raging drives or to the tormoil of the environment. A clinical case is presented showing how the ego, engaged in a persistent battle with the world surrounding it and the forces within it, finds its potential reduced and worn out because of the precariousness of its defenses. Certain aspects of a therapeutic approach are discussed.