Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanisms are psychological mechanisms used unconsciously to protect oneself from perceived threats of unacceptable latent anxieties by distorting or managing actual desires, in order to find mental tranquility. Anxiety signals threats to the ego. Anxiety arises continuously from conflicts among the three aspects of the psyche. The ego attempts to reduce conflicts between the id, which impulsively seeks pleasure, and the superego, which seeks perfection. In essence, it strives to avoid anxiety. Freud viewed all behaviors as defensive in that they aim to avoid anxiety just as they are motivated by instincts.

 

Humans fundamentally seek to avoid anxiety and desire to escape it. Therefore, various defense mechanisms are employed to protect oneself from anxiety arising from conflicts where the situation or ego concepts are threatened. When anxiety cannot be controlled rationally or directly, unconscious thought and behavioral means are used to protect the ego from the risk of collapse.

 

Defense mechanisms manifest in various forms depending on the developmental stage of personality or the intensity of anxiety, but they commonly share two characteristics. Firstly, defense mechanisms involve denial or distortion of reality, and secondly, they operate unconsciously.

 

 

Types

Defense mechanisms are psychological tools individuals typically use for mental and emotional stability and safety. They can overlap, as individuals may employ abnormal defense mechanisms in times of psychological distress (anxiety). Even mature personalities may resort to pathological or immature defense mechanisms. Representative types include flight, denial, repression and suppression, sublimation, compensation, projection, displacement, and substitution (redirecting impulses to a less threatening target than the original anxiety object), fixation, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, dissociation (dissociation), and identification.

 

 

Explanation of each type

 

Denial

The most primitive defense mechanism, mainly used by children and severe emotional disorders. It is a means of defending against anxiety by closing one's eyes to threatening reality. People refuse to accept the reality that causes anxiety. For example, denying the death of a loved one or ignoring the horror of war to escape the anguish.

 

Repression and Suppression

Freud considered repression as the primary ego defense because it directly avoids anxiety in the conscious mind. Repression refers to unconsciously suppressing thoughts and feelings too painful or shocking to be conscious. In contrast, suppression means consciously suppressing thoughts or emotions by holding down emotions or resentments you consider unfair to cope with the dissatisfaction with the 'desire to be.

 

Projection

The means of projecting into another person's character to attribute oneself to unacceptable features. In other words, you think you are angry but don't know that person's psychological properties.

 

Fixation or Pathological Attachment

A defense mechanism aimed at avoiding anxiety in the next stage of personality development by remaining in one stage of development. For example, a child who wants to depend on others rather than become an independent existence and refuses to grow up to be an adult may cling to the childlike behavior and way of thinking in high school age.

 

Regression

Behavior to return to the simple initial developmental stage. That is, it is a defense mechanism that tries to settle by regressing to the past stage of growth already passed when it is expected to be anxious. It is a means of defense.

 

Rationalization

Making an excuse to escape from a Avoid allowing others to feelings of thrilling distress a own having steal out wine the gods desire but am to days a banquet.