15 common defense mechanisms. 20 Common Defense Mechanisms: Definition and Examples 2022-12-14
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Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies that people use to protect themselves from anxiety, stress, and other negative emotions. These mechanisms can be conscious or unconscious, and they can be healthy or unhealthy, depending on how they are used. Here are 15 common defense mechanisms:
Repression: This is the act of pushing unwanted thoughts, feelings, or memories out of conscious awareness. People who use repression may not be aware that they are doing so.
Denial: This is the act of refusing to acknowledge or accept reality. People who use denial may deny that a problem exists or that something has happened.
Projection: This is the act of attributing one's own thoughts, feelings, or behaviors to someone else. People who use projection may blame others for their own problems or mistakes.
Displacement: This is the act of transferring feelings or emotions from one object or person to another. People who use displacement may express anger or aggression towards someone who is not the source of their frustration.
Regression: This is the act of returning to earlier patterns of behavior or coping mechanisms. People who use regression may act younger or more immature when under stress.
Rationalization: This is the act of explaining away one's own behavior or thoughts with logical, but often false, reasoning. People who use rationalization may justify their actions to themselves or others.
Sublimation: This is the act of channeling negative or unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or behaviors into more socially acceptable outlets. People who use sublimation may express their aggression through sports or artistic pursuits.
Compensation: This is the act of trying to make up for perceived deficiencies or weaknesses by overemphasizing other qualities or abilities. People who use compensation may focus on their strengths to compensate for their perceived weaknesses.
Intellectualization: This is the act of separating emotion from a situation and thinking about it in a detached, logical way. People who use intellectualization may distance themselves from their emotions to avoid dealing with them.
Reaction formation: This is the act of behaving in a way that is opposite to one's true feelings or desires. People who use reaction formation may try to convince themselves or others that they do not have certain feelings or desires.
Humor: This is the act of using humor or jokes to deflect or minimize negative emotions or situations. People who use humor may try to make light of a difficult situation to cope with it.
Altruism: This is the act of focusing on helping others as a way to avoid dealing with one's own problems or emotions. People who use altruism may try to find meaning and purpose in their lives through helping others.
Suppression: This is the act of consciously trying to stop oneself from thinking about or acting on certain thoughts or feelings. People who use suppression may try to push unwanted thoughts or feelings out of their minds.
Fantasy: This is the act of escaping from reality through imagination or daydreaming. People who use fantasy may create imaginary worlds or scenarios to cope with their problems or stress.
Withdrawal: This is the act of removing oneself from a situation or relationship to avoid dealing with negative emotions. People who use withdrawal may isolate themselves or disengage from social interactions.
In conclusion, defense mechanisms are a natural part of human psychology and can be helpful in coping with stress and negative emotions. However, they can also become unhealthy if they are used excessively or in a way that prevents individuals from facing and dealing with their problems. It is important to find a balance and to be aware of how one is using defense mechanisms in order
Top 15 Common Defense Mechanisms Students Face.
Compensation Compensation is making up for perceived weaknesses in one area by putting more effort and focus into other aspects of your life. For example, an adult might struggle to trust others enough to form close relationships if they have 10. New York, NY: Wiley. Despite the injured fist, beating the door facilitates quick, transient respite from worry. Reaching out to a therapist or a trusted friend or family member is a great way to start feeling better. Reaction Formation Reaction formation is acting in a way that is opposite to what you are feeling or thinking. Someone repressing grief may need grief counseling, while a person with severe dissociations may need PTSD treatment.
Examples of Common Defense Mechanisms: Why and How to Find Help
It is not necessary to give any reasons or to make any excuses. Boxer crabs don't exactly need anemones to survive, and sometimes they'll use coral or sponges instead. As an example, they might agree to pick up the friend from the airport at a particular time and then decide to not show up. You may instinctively prefer to hide them rather than confront them in the hopes of completely forgetting about them. For example, you might describe someone as being "in denial" of a problem they face. An adolescent who is overwhelmed by fear, anger, and developing sexual drives, for example, may become clinging and revert to earlier childhood behaviors he has long ago outgrown, such as bedwetting.
For example, someone who feels insecure academically might compensate by excelling in athletics. A person might hide their genuine feelings even from themselves by acting oppositely. Though it looks gruesome, the sea cucumber isn't harmed in the process. Healthy mechanisms allow you to deal with the emotions healthily, especially if you are not at a good moment to process them through therapy, journaling, or some other means. When a person acts out, it can act as a pressure release, and often helps the individual feel calmer and peaceful once again.
They may erupt in a rage over tiny situations, such as a chore not being done, and extreme cases may escalate into domestic violence. When someone falls back into old ways of doing things, you might term them as "regressing" into an earlier point of development. It is not an avoidance of the emotion, but simply a brief relief from it. Furthermore, therapy is a great tool to work through your defense mechanisms and unprocessed emotions. They may brag about how well they perform at work or home while ignoring the negative implications of their substance abuse. In contrast, the more advanced defense mechanisms are healthier and less likely to cause problems; however, even they might be overused.
The detachment can last for minutes, hours, days, or longer. The blocked memories remain in our subconscious minds and continue to influence our feelings and behavior. People who have been through trauma, such as rape or childhood trauma, are more prone to dissociation. When the ego cannot resolve the differences in a realistic way, a state of heightened anxiety results. This is usually out of a subconscious fear of being hurt again.
10 Common Defense Mechanisms And How To Treat Them
Fantasy When used as a defense mechanism, fantasy refers to retreating into your own imagination to avoid stressful situations or to reach your unattainable goals. This is usually done to avoid feelings of anxiety or guilt. Time and even their self-image may not flow in the same way for them as it does for the majority of individuals. By rationalizing, they avoid feelings of rejection and the threat to their self-image. In biology, it's called autohaemorrhaging or "reflex bleeding.
20 Common Defense Mechanisms: Definition and Examples
It's this corrosive chemical irritant, rather than the explosion itself, that immobilizes or kills the attacker. However, your ego develops to mediate between your id and superego. Whether intentional or not, these defense mechanisms are psychological forms of protection that keep us from dying. If the predator attacks, the anemones pack a powerful sting. For example, a lady who is furious with her boss and wants to leave may instead be exceedingly nice and generous to her boss and proclaim a wish to continue there indefinitely.
Instead of telling someone that you are upset, for example, you might give them the silent treatment. Punching the wall provides quick, temporary relief of anxiety in spite of the bruised fist. For example, a person who declines to do a favor for a friend might be assertive by saying that they cannot help with that request although they do value the friendship and would like it to continue. The ego then uses one or another defense mechanism to reduce the anxiety to a more tolerable level. In childhood, these behaviors may have brought attention and comfort from a parent. It feels relatively safer to get angry at their spouse, who is unlikely to set a serious consequence.
For example, a student may assume that they failed a test due to difficult questions rather than a lack of preparation. Instead of expressing their regret and loss, a person who has just received a terminal medical diagnosis, for example, focuses on the minutiae of all potential futile medical operations. They might feel unable to identify their own feelings and to put them into words. New York, NY: Wiley. Repression Similar to denial, a person who uses the repression defense mechanism will hide painful memories, thoughts, or beliefs unconsciously, hoping to forget them. For example, a person who is angry at their boss may hide their anger for fear of getting fired. SUBLIMATION Top 15 Common Defense Mechanisms Students Face Sublimation is channeling unacceptable thoughts or impulses into more socially acceptable behaviors.
So, you take it out on a safer object. Defense mechanisms are one way of looking at how people distance themselves from a full awareness of unpleasant thoughts, feelings and behaviors. They express the emotion in an extreme manner, hoping to relieve the intensity of the emotion. For example, someone who had a bad day at work may come home and punch a hole in their wall out of frustration. This is usually done to avoid feelings of anxiety or guilt. Displacement Displacement is the redirecting of feelings or impulses about one person toward another less-threatening person.
