DEFENSE MECHANISMS

Defense MechanismsDefinition: A mental

maneuver that one consciously or unconsciously chooses to use to distort or falsify the truth of one’s experience in order to protect oneself from feeling painful emotions like shame, guilt, or anxiety.

LYINGOne doesn’t tell the truth for

either self-gain or to spare feeling ridicule, rejection, or punishment. Phrases like “I swear I didn’t do it,” or “It doesn’t mean anything” are often used when we know we haven’t lived up to our higher selves.

In what circumstances do you think people lie the most?

RATIONALIZATIONOccurs when we tell an

element of the truth, but deny the larger truth of the matter.

For example, “I could have won the race but the track was wet.” The larger truth was that someone was faster.

“I got fired, but the boss was a jerk.” Failures are a threat to the ego rationalization doesn’t hurt as bad.

REGRESSIONWhen adult defense

mechanisms stop working for us, we regress to a personality we had at childhood.

For example, when an adult doesn’t take responsibility, he says, “It’s not my fault, it’s her fault.”

Immature patterns of behavior emerge such as bragging.

REPRESSIONThe person forces the

unacceptable or threatening feeling out of awareness to a point where he/she becomes unaware of it.

Examples could be a simple reprimand or as serious as a rape.

A person is asked, “how do you get along with your mother” and he responds, “just fine” as he turns pale. Negative feelings about the mother are so unacceptable that they block his awareness.

DENIALThe person doesn’t

acknowledge the validity of the matter but acknowledges its presence. They oppose force with force.

For example, the alcoholic expresses, “I may like to drink, but I’m not an alcoholic.”

Or a smoker concludes that the evidence linking cigarette use to health problems is bogus.

SUPPRESSIONThe person is aware of the

unacceptable desire and validates it but intentionally tries to keep it from expressing itself.

For example, “I know I’m an alcoholic so I’m going on the wagon.”

A homosexual who intentionally doesn’t date members of the same sex so that the unacceptable does not express itself.

An introvert is conditioned to be an extrovert.

He often suppress anger.

PROJECTIONThe person attributes one’s

own perceived negative attributes onto someone else.

For example, Bill blames the instructor for a bad grade when he didn’t study.

Sara says, “You envy me,” when Sara really envies the other person.

Sam cheats on his spouse and blames the spouse for cheating.

Acting out: Direct expression of an unconscious wish or impulse in action, without conscious awareness of the emotion that drives that expressive behaviour.

Fantasy: Tendency to retreat into fantasy in order to resolve inner and outer conflicts.

Wishful thinking: Making decisions according to what might be pleasing to imagine instead of by appealing to evidence, rationality, or reality

Idealization: Unconsciously choosing to perceive another individual as having more positive qualities than he or she may actually have.

Passive aggression: Aggression towards others expressed indirectly or passively such as using procrastination.

Projection: Projection is a primitive form of paranoia. Projection also reduces anxiety by allowing the expression of the undesirable impulses or desires without becoming consciously aware of them; attributing one's own unacknowledged unacceptable/unwanted thoughts and emotions to another; includes severe prejudice, severe jealousy, hypervigilance to external danger, and "injustice collecting". It is shifting one's unacceptable thoughts, feelings and impulses within oneself onto someone else, such that those same thoughts, feelings, beliefs and motivations are perceived as being possessed by the other.

Projective identification: The object of projection invokes in that person precisely the thoughts, feelings or behaviours projected.

Somatization: The transformation of negative feelings towards others into negative feelings toward self, pain, illness, and anxiety.

Displacement- Defence mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses to a more acceptable or less threatening target; redirecting emotion to a safer outlet; separation of emotion from its real object and redirection of the intense emotion toward someone or something that is less offensive or threatening in order to avoid dealing directly with what is frightening or threatening. For example, a mother may yell at her child because she is angry with her husband.

Dissociation: Temporary drastic modification of one's personal identity or character to avoid emotional distress; separation or postponement of a feeling that normally would accompany a situation or thought.

Hypochondriasis: An excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness.

Intellectualization: A form of isolation; concentrating on the intellectual components of a situation so as to distance oneself from the associated anxiety-provoking emotions; separation of emotion from ideas; thinking about wishes in formal, affectively bland terms and not acting on them; avoiding unacceptable emotions by focusing on the intellectual aspects (e.g. isolation,rationalization, ritual, undoing, compensation, magical thinking).

Isolation: Separation of feelings from ideas and events, for example, describing a murder with graphic details with no emotional response.

Rationalization (making excuses): Where a person convinces him or herself that no wrong was done and that all is or was all right through faulty and false reasoning. An indicator of this defence mechanism can be seen socially as the formulation of convenient excuses - making excuses.

Reaction formation: Converting unconscious wishes or impulses that are perceived to be dangerous or unacceptable into their opposites; behaviour that is completely the opposite of what one really wants or feels; taking the opposite belief because the true belief causes anxiety. This defence can work effectively for coping in the short term, but will eventually break down.

Regression: Temporary reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of development rather than handling unacceptable impulses in a more adult way. (ex. Using whining as a method of communicating despite already having acquired the ability to speak with appropriate grammar)[

Repression: The process of attempting to repel desires towards pleasurable instincts, caused by a threat of suffering if the desire is satisfied; the desire is moved to the unconscious in the attempt to prevent it from entering consciousness;seemingly unexplainable naivety, memory lapse or lack of awareness of one's own situation and condition; the emotion is conscious, but the idea behind it is absent.

Undoing: A person tries to 'undo' an unhealthy, destructive or otherwise threatening thought by acting out the reverse of unacceptable. Involves symbolically nullifying an unacceptable or guilt provoking thought, idea, or feeling by confession or atonement.

Withdrawal: Withdrawal is a more severe form of defence. It entails removing oneself from events, stimuli, interactions, etc. under the fear of being reminded of painful thoughts and feelings.

Upward and downward social comparisons: A defensive tendency that people use as a means of self-evaluation. These individuals will look to another individual or comparison group who are considered to be worse off in order to dissociate themselves from perceived similarities and to make themselves feel better about their self or personal situation.

Humour: Overt expression of ideas and feelings (especially those that are unpleasant to focus on or too terrible to talk about) that gives pleasure to others. The thoughts retain a portion of their innate distress, but they are "skirted round" by witticism, for example Self-deprecation.

Identification: The unconscious modelling of one's self upon another person's character and behaviour.

Introjection: Identifying with some idea or object so deeply that it becomes a part of that person.

Sublimation: Transformation of negative emotions or instincts into positive actions, behaviour, or emotion (e.g., playing a heavy contact sport such as football or rugby can transform aggression into a game).

Thought suppression: The conscious process of pushing thoughts into the preconscious; the conscious decision to delay paying attention to an emotion or need in order to cope with the present reality; making it possible to later access uncomfortable or distressing emotions whilst accepting them.

Emotional self-regulation: The ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with the range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable.

Altruism: Constructive service to others that brings pleasure and personal satisfaction.

Tolerance: The practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves.

Mercy: Compassionate behavior on the part of those in power.

Forgiveness: Cessation of resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offence, disagreement, or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution.

Anticipation: Realistic planning for future discomfort.

Which Defense Mechanisms Do You Use the Most?LyingRationalizationDistractionRegressionRepressionDenialSuppressionProjection

Remove Defense Mechanisms by………Reading about themWriting about your feelings and actionsTalking to a close friend or therapistMeditatingPrayingEFT

Name the Defense MechanismJoe is mad at Sue as he grits his teeth. Sue asks,

are you mad at me, and he replies, “No, I’m not mad at all as he puts a smile on his face.

Name the Defense MechanismThe person who doesn’t study says, “the ‘F’ grade I

got on the test was totally unfair.”

Name the Defense MechanismKarl, a tax accountant teacher instructs his students

to follow the rules of tax law but later Karl cheats on his taxes.

Name the Defense MechanismBill Gates tells you your reply is illogical and you

reply, “you’re the illogical one!” I’m smarter than you anyway.

Name the Defense Mechanism“Cheating on my taxes is no big deal. Everybody

does it”