Defense mechanisms are
Top 10 Defense Mechanisms and Why We Use Them
Defense mechanisms refer to psychological strategies or behaviors that people may use to cope with difficult feelings, thoughts, or events.
Defense mechanisms are behaviors that people use to separate themselves from unpleasant events, actions, or thoughts.
The idea of defense mechanisms comes from psychoanalytic theory, a psychological perspective of personality that sees personality as the interaction between three components: id, ego, and super-ego. These psychological strategies may help people put distance between themselves and threats or unwanted feelings, such as guilt or shame.
First proposed by Sigmund Freud, this theory has evolved over time and contends that behaviors, like defense mechanisms, are not under a person’s conscious control. In fact, most people do them without realizing it.
According to these theories, defense mechanisms are a natural part of psychological development. Identifying which type you, your loved ones, and even your co-workers use may help you in future conversations and encounters.
Defense mechanisms are ways you react to situations that bring up negative emotions. According to psychoanalytic theory, when you experience a stressor, the subconscious will first monitor the situation to see if it might harm you. If the subconscious believes the situation might lead to emotional harm, it may react with a defense mechanism to protect you.
Usually, you are unaware of the defense mechanism, though the behavior may appear odd to others around you.
Many researchers place defense mechanisms on a continuum, with more mature defenses improving cognitive processes and less mature ones causing harm.
In the long term, mature defense mechanisms may not be particularly detrimental to your emotional or mental health. Using more mature mechanisms may help you face the anxieties and situations that might normally cause stress and emotional duress.
Other defense mechanisms, however, are not as mature and helpful. Prolonged use of these defenses can lead to lingering problems.
In fact, they may prevent you from ever facing emotional issues or anxieties because they block you from seeing the root cause.
Some signs that defense mechanisms are getting in the way of your everyday life and mental health may include:
- feeling sad or depressed
- having difficulty getting out of bed
- avoiding usual daily activities, things, or people that once made you happy
- having difficulty forming or maintaining healthy relationships
- communication problems that hinder your professional or personal life
Dozens of different defense mechanisms have been identified. Some are used more commonly than others. Here are a few common defense mechanisms:
1. Denial
Denial is one of the most common defense mechanisms. It occurs when you refuse to accept reality or facts. People in denial may block external events or circumstances from the mind so that they don’t have to deal with the emotional impact. In other words, they avoid painful feelings or events.
This defense mechanism is one of the most widely known, too. The phrase, “They’re in denial,” is commonly understood to mean a person is avoiding reality despite what may be obvious to people around them.
2. Repression
Unsavory thoughts, painful memories, or irrational beliefs can upset you. Instead of facing those thoughts, people may unconsciously choose to hide them in hopes of forgetting them entirely.
That does not mean, however, that the memories disappear entirely. They may influence behaviors, and they may impact future relationships. You just may not realize the impact this defense mechanism is having.
3. Projection
Some thoughts or feelings you have about another person may make you uncomfortable. When people project those feelings, they misattribute them to the other person.
For example, you may dislike your new co-worker, but instead of accepting that, you choose to tell yourself that they dislike you. You start to interpret their words and actions toward you in the worst way possible, even though they don’t actually dislike you.
4. Displacement
You direct strong emotions and frustrations toward a person or object that doesn’t feel threatening. This allows you to satisfy an impulse to react, but you don’t risk significant consequences.
A good example of this defense mechanism is getting angry at your child or spouse because you had a bad day at work. Neither of these people is the target of your strong emotions, but your subconscious may believe reacting to them is likely less problematic than reacting to your boss.
5. Regression
Some people who feel threatened or anxious may unconsciously “escape” to an earlier stage of development.
This type of defense mechanism may be most obvious in young children. If they experience trauma or loss, they may suddenly act as if they’re younger again. They may even begin wetting the bed or sucking their thumb as a form of regression.
Adults can regress, too. Adults who are struggling to cope with events or behaviors may return to sleeping with a cherished stuffed animal, overeat foods they find comforting, or begin chain-smoking or chewing on pencils or pens.
They may also avoid everyday activities because they feel overwhelmed.
6. Rationalization
Some people may attempt to explain undesirable behaviors with their own set of “facts.” This allows you to feel comfortable with the choice you made, even if you know on another level it’s not right.
For example, someone who didn’t get a promotion at work might say they didn’t want the promotion anyways.
7. Sublimation
This type of defense mechanism is considered a mature, positive strategy. That’s because people who rely on it choose to redirect strong emotions or feelings into an object or activity that is appropriate and safe.
For example, instead of lashing out at your coworkers during a stressful shift, you choose to channel your frustration into a kickboxing class. You could also funnel or redirect the feelings into music, art, or sports.
8. Reaction formation
People who use this defense mechanism recognize how they feel, but they choose to behave in the opposite manner of their instincts.
A person who reacts this way, for example, may feel they should not express negative emotions, such as anger or frustration. They choose to instead react in an overly positive way.
9. Compartmentalization
Separating your life into independent sectors may feel like a way to protect many elements of it.
For example, when you choose to not discuss personal life issues at work, you block off, or compartmentalize, that element of your life. This allows you to carry on without facing the anxieties or challenges while you’re in that setting or mindset.
10. Intellectualization
When you’re hit with a trying situation, you may choose to remove all emotion from your responses and instead focus on quantitative facts.
You may see this strategy in use when a person spends their days creating spreadsheets of job opportunities and leads after they are let go from a job.
Defense mechanisms can sometimes be viewed as a type of self-deception. You might be using them to hide emotional responses that you don’t want to deal with from yourself.
However, it’s done mostly on an unconscious level. You’re not always aware of the way your mind or ego will respond.
That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t modify or change the behaviors. Indeed, you can transform unhealthy defense mechanisms into ones that are more sustainable. These techniques may help:
- Find accountability. Friends and family members can help you recognize defense mechanisms you may be using. By drawing attention to the self-deception, they can help you identify the moment you unconsciously use self-deception. That allows you to then decide in the conscious state what you really want to do.
- Learn coping strategies. Therapy with a mental health expert, such as a psychotherapist, psychologist, or psychoanalyst, may help you recognize the defense mechanisms you use most often. They can then help you learn active responses to make choices on a more mindful level.
Defense mechanisms are natural. They are often used without any long-term complications or issues.
However, some people do develop emotional difficulties if they continue to use these mechanisms without coping with the underlying threat or anxiety. Treatment focuses on helping you address issues from a mindful place, not an unconscious one.
Top 10 Defense Mechanisms and Why We Use Them
Defense mechanisms refer to psychological strategies or behaviors that people may use to cope with difficult feelings, thoughts, or events.
Defense mechanisms are behaviors that people use to separate themselves from unpleasant events, actions, or thoughts.
The idea of defense mechanisms comes from psychoanalytic theory, a psychological perspective of personality that sees personality as the interaction between three components: id, ego, and super-ego. These psychological strategies may help people put distance between themselves and threats or unwanted feelings, such as guilt or shame.
First proposed by Sigmund Freud, this theory has evolved over time and contends that behaviors, like defense mechanisms, are not under a person’s conscious control.
In fact, most people do them without realizing it.
According to these theories, defense mechanisms are a natural part of psychological development. Identifying which type you, your loved ones, and even your co-workers use may help you in future conversations and encounters.
Defense mechanisms are ways you react to situations that bring up negative emotions. According to psychoanalytic theory, when you experience a stressor, the subconscious will first monitor the situation to see if it might harm you. If the subconscious believes the situation might lead to emotional harm, it may react with a defense mechanism to protect you.
Usually, you are unaware of the defense mechanism, though the behavior may appear odd to others around you.
Many researchers place defense mechanisms on a continuum, with more mature defenses improving cognitive processes and less mature ones causing harm.
In the long term, mature defense mechanisms may not be particularly detrimental to your emotional or mental health.
Using more mature mechanisms may help you face the anxieties and situations that might normally cause stress and emotional duress.
Other defense mechanisms, however, are not as mature and helpful. Prolonged use of these defenses can lead to lingering problems. In fact, they may prevent you from ever facing emotional issues or anxieties because they block you from seeing the root cause.
Some signs that defense mechanisms are getting in the way of your everyday life and mental health may include:
- feeling sad or depressed
- having difficulty getting out of bed
- avoiding usual daily activities, things, or people that once made you happy
- having difficulty forming or maintaining healthy relationships
- communication problems that hinder your professional or personal life
Dozens of different defense mechanisms have been identified. Some are used more commonly than others. Here are a few common defense mechanisms:
1. Denial
Denial is one of the most common defense mechanisms.
It occurs when you refuse to accept reality or facts. People in denial may block external events or circumstances from the mind so that they don’t have to deal with the emotional impact. In other words, they avoid painful feelings or events.
This defense mechanism is one of the most widely known, too. The phrase, “They’re in denial,” is commonly understood to mean a person is avoiding reality despite what may be obvious to people around them.
2. Repression
Unsavory thoughts, painful memories, or irrational beliefs can upset you. Instead of facing those thoughts, people may unconsciously choose to hide them in hopes of forgetting them entirely.
That does not mean, however, that the memories disappear entirely. They may influence behaviors, and they may impact future relationships. You just may not realize the impact this defense mechanism is having.
3. Projection
Some thoughts or feelings you have about another person may make you uncomfortable. When people project those feelings, they misattribute them to the other person.
For example, you may dislike your new co-worker, but instead of accepting that, you choose to tell yourself that they dislike you. You start to interpret their words and actions toward you in the worst way possible, even though they don’t actually dislike you.
4. Displacement
You direct strong emotions and frustrations toward a person or object that doesn’t feel threatening. This allows you to satisfy an impulse to react, but you don’t risk significant consequences.
A good example of this defense mechanism is getting angry at your child or spouse because you had a bad day at work. Neither of these people is the target of your strong emotions, but your subconscious may believe reacting to them is likely less problematic than reacting to your boss.
5. Regression
Some people who feel threatened or anxious may unconsciously “escape” to an earlier stage of development.
This type of defense mechanism may be most obvious in young children. If they experience trauma or loss, they may suddenly act as if they’re younger again.
They may even begin wetting the bed or sucking their thumb as a form of regression.
Adults can regress, too. Adults who are struggling to cope with events or behaviors may return to sleeping with a cherished stuffed animal, overeat foods they find comforting, or begin chain-smoking or chewing on pencils or pens. They may also avoid everyday activities because they feel overwhelmed.
6. Rationalization
Some people may attempt to explain undesirable behaviors with their own set of “facts.” This allows you to feel comfortable with the choice you made, even if you know on another level it’s not right.
For example, someone who didn’t get a promotion at work might say they didn’t want the promotion anyways.
7. Sublimation
This type of defense mechanism is considered a mature, positive strategy. That’s because people who rely on it choose to redirect strong emotions or feelings into an object or activity that is appropriate and safe.
For example, instead of lashing out at your coworkers during a stressful shift, you choose to channel your frustration into a kickboxing class.
You could also funnel or redirect the feelings into music, art, or sports.
8. Reaction formation
People who use this defense mechanism recognize how they feel, but they choose to behave in the opposite manner of their instincts.
A person who reacts this way, for example, may feel they should not express negative emotions, such as anger or frustration. They choose to instead react in an overly positive way.
9. Compartmentalization
Separating your life into independent sectors may feel like a way to protect many elements of it.
For example, when you choose to not discuss personal life issues at work, you block off, or compartmentalize, that element of your life. This allows you to carry on without facing the anxieties or challenges while you’re in that setting or mindset.
10. Intellectualization
When you’re hit with a trying situation, you may choose to remove all emotion from your responses and instead focus on quantitative facts.
You may see this strategy in use when a person spends their days creating spreadsheets of job opportunities and leads after they are let go from a job.
Defense mechanisms can sometimes be viewed as a type of self-deception. You might be using them to hide emotional responses that you don’t want to deal with from yourself. However, it’s done mostly on an unconscious level. You’re not always aware of the way your mind or ego will respond.
That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t modify or change the behaviors. Indeed, you can transform unhealthy defense mechanisms into ones that are more sustainable. These techniques may help:
- Find accountability. Friends and family members can help you recognize defense mechanisms you may be using. By drawing attention to the self-deception, they can help you identify the moment you unconsciously use self-deception. That allows you to then decide in the conscious state what you really want to do.
- Learn coping strategies.
Therapy with a mental health expert, such as a psychotherapist, psychologist, or psychoanalyst, may help you recognize the defense mechanisms you use most often. They can then help you learn active responses to make choices on a more mindful level.
Defense mechanisms are natural. They are often used without any long-term complications or issues.
However, some people do develop emotional difficulties if they continue to use these mechanisms without coping with the underlying threat or anxiety. Treatment focuses on helping you address issues from a mindful place, not an unconscious one.
Defense mechanisms of personality
Sigmund Freud introduced the term "defense mechanism" for the first time.
The functional significance of psychological defenses is to reduce anxiety, tension, restlessness, frustration caused by the contradiction between the impulses of the unconscious and the requirements of the external environment that arise as a result of interaction with the environment.
Psychological protection performs the function of regulating human behavior, making it more adaptive, increases adaptability, stabilizes the psyche and normalizes the state of the individual.
The main defense mechanisms include: repression, projection, substitution, rationalization, reactive formation, regression, sublimation, denial.
- Displacement.
One of the main and primary mechanisms is repression, which consists in rejecting events, thoughts, and experiences that are unpleasant for us. As a result, a person ceases to be aware of internal conflicts, and also does not remember traumatic events of the past. The repressed impulses do not lose their activity in the unconscious sphere and appear in the form of dreams, jokes, slips of the tongue, and so on.
Repression can be compared to a dam that can break - there is always a risk that memories of unpleasant events will break out.
The psyche spends a huge amount of energy on their suppression.
- Projection.
In terms of its importance, the next mechanism is projection - attributing one's own socially undesirable feelings, desires, aspirations to others. This psychological defense mechanism makes it possible to relieve oneself of responsibility for one's own character traits and desires that seem unacceptable.
For example, unreasonable jealousy may be the result of the projection mechanism. Protecting himself from his own desire for infidelity, a person suspects his partner of infidelity.
- Replacement.
In this defense mechanism, the manifestation of the instinctive impulse is redirected from a more threatening object or person to a less threatening one. For example, an overly demanding employer criticizes an employee, and she reacts with outbursts of rage to minor provocations from her husband and children.
She does not realize that, being the objects of her irritation, they are simply replacing the boss. In this example, the true object of hostility is replaced by a much less threatening one for the subject.
- Rationalization.
Rationalization as a defensive process consists in the fact that a person unconsciously invents logical judgments and conclusions to explain his failures. This is necessary to maintain your own positive self-image. One of the most commonly used types of such protection is rationalization according to the “green grapes” type. This name originates from Aesop's fable about the fox, which could not reach the bunch of grapes and therefore decided that the berries were not yet ripe.
- Jet formation.
Reaction formation becomes a psychological defense mechanism when a person demonstrates actions that are opposite to his true experiences.
In the case of this defensive reaction, a person unconsciously transforms one mental state into another (for example, hatred into love, and vice versa).
Such a fact is of great importance in assessing the personality of a person, because it indicates that a person's real actions can only be the result of a veiled distortion of his true desires.
For example, excessive anger in other cases is only an unconscious attempt to disguise interest and good nature, while ostentatious hatred is the result of love that frightened a person who unconsciously decided to hide it behind an attempt to openly splash out negativity.
- Regression.
In regression, a person returns to earlier forms of behavior. Regression allows you to adapt to a traumatic situation due to an unconscious return to the forms of behavior familiar from childhood: crying, whims, emotional requests, etc. We have learned at an unconscious level that such forms of behavior guarantee support and safety.
This type of protection is especially often manifested in a situation of illness, when an adult begins to behave like a child. Regression makes it possible to throw off the burden of responsibility for what is happening: after all, in childhood, parents were responsible for a lot.
Abuse of regression leads to the lack of a successful life strategy, difficulties in relationships with other people and the emergence of psychosomatic diseases.
- Sublimation.
Sublimation is an unconscious switching of negative psychic energy to engage in socially useful work. Sublimation is expressed in the fact that a person experiencing some kind of neurotic conflict finds a replacement for internal anxiety by switching to another activity (creativity, chopping wood, cleaning an apartment, etc.).
This mechanism is considered as the only constructive strategy of behavior in a situation of psychological discomfort.
Sublimation is a productive defense mechanism that has given the world a huge number of works of art.
- Negative
This defense mechanism allows you to ignore (deny) obvious facts, protecting the psyche from injury. This is a complete rejection of unpleasant information. Denial is often the first reaction to the pain of loss or to the presence of a dangerous illness.
When a person refuses to admit that an unpleasant event has occurred, this means that he turns on such a defense mechanism as denial.
Reality denial occurs there and then when people say or insist, "This just can't happen to me," despite obvious evidence to the contrary (as happens when a doctor tells a patient that he has a terminal illness).
Considering the mechanisms of psychological defense of a person, it is necessary to remember the following:
a person does not realize that he uses defense mechanisms;
2) defense mechanisms do not appear in isolation; a person usually uses 1-2 defense mechanisms;
3) protective mechanisms protect a person from overwhelming anxiety, tension, prevent disorganization of behavior and help maintain the integrity of the individual.
4) a person's awareness of the existence of his psychological defenses helps him to better understand and accept himself.
If you have any questions or are interested in studying your personality, the psychologists of the medical-psychological department will be happy to help you.
References:
- Melnik S.N., Personality Psychology
- SA Zelinsky Protective mechanisms of the psyche. Characteristics of the main protections
- Chumakova Elena Viktorovna "Psychological protection of the individual in the system of parent-child interaction"
- Belov V.G., Biryukova G.M., Fedorenko V.V. Psychological protection and its role in the process of formation of the human adaptive system.
- S.L. Bogomaz Psychological protection of personality: methodology, mechanisms, tools.
The material was prepared by the psychologist I. D. Chernykh,
medical and psychological department.
10 Mental Defense Mechanisms We Use Every Day - T&P
The human psyche is equipped with mechanisms that help us to instinctively protect our Self. Using them helps to make our experience less traumatic, but at the same time reduces our chances of successful interaction with reality. According to Anna Freud, the author of The Psychology of the Self and Defense Mechanisms, Sigmund Freud's daughter, each of us uses about five of these strategies every day. T&P explains why sublimation is not always associated with creativity, how projection causes us to criticize innocent people, and why auto-aggression is associated with family problems.
Denial: without acknowledging the problem
Denial is one of the simplest defense mechanisms of the psyche. This is a complete rejection of unpleasant information, which allows you to effectively fence yourself off from it. The classic example here is when you drink several glasses of wine or beer every day for a long time, but at the same time you remain confident that you can give up your habit at any time.
Denial is characterized by a sharp reaction to the problem statement: if someone in this case hints to you that you have become addicted to alcohol, this person is likely to suffer from your tantrum.
Denial is often the first reaction to the pain of loss and is the first "stage of grief" according to some experts (however, in this case it is also called the "stage of distrust"). A person who unexpectedly loses his job will say: “It can’t be!” A witness to a car accident trying to help the victims may not immediately come to terms with the fact that one of them has stopped breathing. In this case, this mechanism does not protect anyone except the person who unconsciously uses it - however, in situations where a cold mind is needed, denial of danger or one's own shock can be very useful for all participants in the events.
Projection: Taking Out
Projection allows us to project our destructive or unacceptable thoughts, desires, traits, opinions, and motives onto other people.
The goal is to protect yourself from yourself or delay the solution of the problem. For example, a person may think that a partner is critical of his earnings - while in fact there is nothing like that from the partner's side. If such a person overcomes his projection and becomes aware of the situation, he will see that the criticism comes from himself, and it is based, say, on the negative opinion of his parents, who insisted on his failure.
A negative consequence of the projection may be the desire to "correct" the object that allegedly serves as a carrier of unpleasant traits, or to get rid of it altogether. Moreover, such an external "carrier" sometimes has nothing to do with what is projected onto it. At the same time, the projection mechanism underlies empathy - our ability to share their feelings with others, to delve deeply into what is happening not to us, and to achieve mutual understanding with those around us.
Auto-aggression: blame yourself
Self-aggression, or turning against oneself, is a very destructive defense mechanism.
It is often characteristic of children experiencing difficult moments in relations with their parents. It can be difficult for a person to admit that his parent is being dismissive or aggressive towards him, and instead he assumes that he himself is bad. Self-blame, self-humiliation, self-harm, self-destruction through drugs or alcohol, overindulgence in the dangerous aspects of extreme sports are all results of this mechanism.
Self-aggression occurs most often when our survival or well-being depends on an external object that caused its appearance. But, despite the many negative consequences of this process, from an emotional point of view, it can be better tolerated than aggression directed at the original target: a parent, guardian, or other important figure.
Sublimation: the basis of pop culture
Sublimation is one of the most widely used psychological defense mechanisms. In this case, the energy of unwanted, traumatic or negative experiences is redirected to achieve socially approved constructive goals.
It is often used by people of creative professions, including famous ones. Songs about unrequited love or books about dark periods of life often become the fruits of sublimation. This is what makes them accessible to understanding - and ultimately popular.
However, sublimation can be more than just literary or "pictorial". Sadistic desires can be sublimated in the course of surgical practice, and unwanted (for example, from the point of view of religion) sexual desire - in the creation of brilliant works of architecture (as was the case of Antonio Gaudí, who led an extremely ascetic lifestyle). Sublimation can also be part of the psychotherapeutic process, when the client splashes out his internal conflicts through creativity: he creates texts, paintings, scripts and other works that allow him to bring the personality into balance.
Regression: return to childhood
The mechanism of regression allows you to adapt to a traumatic situation of conflict, anxiety or pressure by returning to behavioral practices familiar from childhood: screaming, crying, whims, emotional requests, etc.
This happens because we, as a rule, we learn early that they guarantee support and security. Demonstration of defenselessness, sickness, inferiority very often brings psychological "dividends" - after all, people, like other living beings, at the neurophysiological level tend to protect the weak and small - that is, offspring, and not only their own.
Regression allows you to throw off the burden of responsibility for what is happening: after all, in childhood, instead of us, parents are responsible for a lot. This defense mechanism can be called very effective and fairly hassle-free. Difficulties arise when he works too long. The abuse of regression leads to the appearance of psychosomatic diseases, hypochondria, the lack of a successful life strategy, and the destruction of relationships with people around.
Rationalization: explanations for everything
Rationalization is the ability to carefully select suitable reasonable causes for a negative situation.
The goal here is self-belief that we are not to blame, that we are good enough or significant enough and that we are not the problem. A person who was rejected for an interview may convince himself and those around him that he did not need such a job or that the company turned out to be too “boring”, while in reality he experienced the strongest regret. “I didn’t really want to” is a classic phrase for rationalization.
Passive behavior can be rationalized by caution, aggressive behavior by self-defence, and indifferent behavior by the desire to give others more independence. The main result of the work of this mechanism is the imaginary restoration of a balance between the desired and real state of affairs and the degree of self-esteem. However, rationalization often does not completely remove the negative effects of the traumatic situation, so that it continues to hurt for a long time.
Intellectualization: theoretical feelings
Intellectualization allows us to neutralize anger, grief or pain by redirecting attention to a completely foreign area.
A man who has recently been abandoned by his wife can devote all his free time to studying the history of Ancient Rome - and this will allow him "not to think so much" about the loss. This psychological defense mechanism is based on the desire to abstract from feelings and intellectualize them, turning them into theoretical concepts.
The behavior of an intellectualizing person is often perceived as adult and mature, and this makes this form of defense socially attractive. It also has another plus: intellectualization allows you to reduce dependence on your own emotions and “clear” behavior from them. Nevertheless, prolonged use of this mechanism is fraught with the destruction of emotional ties with the outside world, a decrease in the ability to understand and discuss feelings with other people.
Rocket formation: fight instead of hugging
Rocket formation is a kind of behavioral magic. This defense strategy allows you to turn the negative into the positive and vice versa.
We often encounter its effects, harmless and not so. Boys pull the braids of the girls they like; older people speak with condemnation about the promiscuity of youths and seek to humiliate them, when in reality, revealing clothes and provocative style attract them. Reactive formation often betrays its inadequacy of the situation and periodic “breakthroughs” of true feeling through the mask.
Homophobia, anti-Semitism and other forms of rejection of social and national groups are also sometimes the result of reactive education. In this case, with the help of a defense mechanism, one's own attraction or one's own connection with a national group, which for some reason is considered unacceptable, is neutralized. This application of a defense mechanism harms other people, but it does not eliminate the internal conflict in the person who uses it, and does not increase his level of awareness.
Substitution: transference of anger
Substitution allows you to transfer unwanted feelings (especially anger and irritation) from one object to another in order to protect yourself.
The person who was yelled at by the boss may not answer him anything, but yell at his child at home in the evening. He needs to take out the anger that has arisen, however, it is dangerous to do this in communication with the boss, but the child can hardly give a worthy rebuff.
A random object can also become a replacement object. In this case, the result of this protection mechanism is, for example, rudeness in transport or rudeness at the workplace. An unfinished drawing torn in anger is also a form of substitution, however, much more harmless.
Fantasy: Brave New World
Fantasy allows you to temporarily improve your emotional state through the use of imagination. Dreaming, reading, playing computer games, and even watching porn give us the opportunity to move from a difficult situation to where we feel more comfortable. From the point of view of psychoanalysis, the emergence of fantasies is due to the desire for the fulfillment, satisfaction and fulfillment of desires that cannot yet be satisfied in the real world.
