Home » Misc » The defence mechanism

The defence mechanism


Defense Mechanisms - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

Continuing Education Activity

Anna Freud defined defense mechanisms as "unconscious resources used by the ego" to decrease internal stress ultimately. Patients often devise these unconscious mechanisms to decrease conflict within themselves, specifically between the superego and id. Psychodynamic therapy is used by clinicians to help orient patients to their own unconscious processes. By recognizing and identifying these processes, patients improve their self-awareness and gain a new understanding of their own behaviors. This activity defines major defense mechanisms to increase clinician's understanding of their patients during patient encounters and the role of the interprofessional team in the care of these patients.

Objectives:

  • Identify and define the common psychological defense mechanisms.

  • Describe the goal of psychodynamic therapy in relation to defense mechanisms.

  • Review the clinical significance of defense mechanisms in relation to psychodynamic therapy.

  • Outline interprofessional team strategies for improving coordination and communication in the care of patients with defense mechanisms.

Access free multiple choice questions on this topic.

Introduction

Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, began the discussion of defense mechanisms in the nineteenth century in relation to the subconscious defenses of the id, ego, and superego.[1] These initial defense mechanisms were more clearly defined and analyzed by his daughter, Anna Freud, in the twentieth century. She created 10 major defense mechanisms, but the number of mechanisms has since been increased by later psychoanalysts.

Function

Anna Freud defined these defense mechanisms as "unconscious resources used by the ego" to decrease internal stress ultimately.[2] Patients often devise these unconscious mechanisms to decrease conflict within themselves, specifically between the superego and id. Psychodynamic therapy is used by clinicians to help orient patients to their own unconscious processes. By recognizing and identifying these processes, patients improve their self-awareness and gain a new understanding of their own behaviors. These insights can be helpful to patients with a variety of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and personality disorders.[3] 

Issues of Concern

As we progress from childhood to adolescence and then progress from adolescence into adulthood, these psychological defense mechanisms can persist from one phase to the next, regress to earlier phases in response to stressors, or can evolve over time.[4] Defense mechanisms can be internalized or externalized, resulting in corresponding behavior problems, which can complicate psychiatric treatment.[5] Having a thorough understanding of defense mechanisms can help clinicians progress through treatment and avoid pitfalls. For example, recognizing the presence of defense mechanisms during a patient encounter can help maintain an appropriate therapeutic and professional relationship. [6]

Clinical Significance

If defense mechanisms are identified and adolescence, it can help predict further development of personality disorders.[7] Therefore, the early identification of defense mechanisms can have great clinical significance. Depending on the context and the severity, defense mechanisms can be either maladaptive or adaptive.[8]

Primitive Defense Mechanisms [1] [9]

Acting out: The development of detrimental behaviors that distract attention and energy away from other stressors. This defense mechanism may be present in conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, or oppositional defiant disorder. 

Avoidance: Dismissing thoughts or feelings that are uncomfortable or keeping away from people, places, or situations associated with uncomfortable thoughts or feelings. This defense mechanism may be present in post-traumatic stress disorder, where one avoids the location of a traumatic motor vehicle accident or avoids driving completely.  

Conversion: The development of physical symptoms that cannot be explained by pathophysiology or physical injury. This defense mechanism is recognized in conversion disorder, also known as functional neurologic symptom disorder. 

Denial: Dismissing external reality and instead focusing on internal explanations or fallacies and thereby avoiding the uncomfortable reality of a situation. This defense mechanism may be present in someone who continues to shop for expensive designer clothes despite being in serious financial debt. 

Identification: The internalization or reproduction of behaviors observed in others, such as a child developing the behavior of his or her parents without conscious realization of this process. Identification is also known as introjection. 

Projection: Attributing one’s own maladaptive inner impulses to someone else. For example, someone who commits an episode of infidelity in their marriage may then accuse their partner of infidelity or may become more suspicious of their partner.  

Regression: Adapting one’s behavior to earlier levels of psychosocial development. For example, a stressful event may cause an individual to regress to bed-wetting after they have already outgrown this behavior. 

Repression: Subconsciously blocking ideas or impulses that are undesirable. This defense mechanism may be present in someone who has no recollection of a traumatic event, even though they were conscious and aware during the event. 

Schizoid fantasy: Creating an internal retreat into one’s imagination to avoid uncomfortable situations. This defense mechanism may present commonly in children or later in development, may be present in schizoid personality disorder. 

Splitting: Failing to reconcile both positive and negative attributes into a whole understanding of a person or situation, resulting in all-or-none thinking. Splitting is commonly associated with borderline personality disorder. 

Higher-level Defense Mechanisms [10]

Anticipation: The devotion of one’s effort to solving problems before they arise. This defense mechanism may be present in someone who prepares for an important job interview by practicing their answers to the toughest questions. 

Compensation: Focusing on achievement in one area of life in order to distract attention away from the inadequacy or fear of inadequacy in another area of life. This defense mechanism may be present in a student who receives poor grades on their report card and then devotes more time and effort to extracurricular clubs and activities. 

Displacement: Transferring one’s emotional burden or emotional reaction from one entity to another. This defense mechanism may be present in someone who has a stressful day at work and then lashes out against their family at home. 

Humor: Decreasing or combating the negative emotions associated with a situation by using comedy. For example, telling a funny story about someone during a eulogy. 

Intellectualization: The development of patterns of excessive thinking or over-analyzing, which may increase the distance from one's emotions. For example, someone diagnosed with a terminal illness does not show emotion after the diagnosis is given but instead starts to research every source they can find about the illness. 

Isolation of Affect: Avoiding the experience of an emotion associated with a person, idea, or situation. This defense mechanism may be present in someone who describes the day their house burnt down in a factual way without displaying any emotion. 

Rationalization: The justification of one’s behavior through attempts at a rational explanation. This defense mechanism may be present in someone who steals money but feels justified in doing so because they needed the money more than the person from whom they stole. 

Reaction formation: Replacing one’s initial impulse toward a situation or idea with the opposite impulse. This defense mechanism may be present in someone who teases or insults a romantic interest whom they like. Conversely, reaction formation may be present in someone who is overly kind to someone whom they dislike.  

Sexualization: Associating sexual aspects to one’s experience of certain people, places, objects, or ideas. Sexualization can refer to the development of one’s sexual identity in general. Alternatively, sexualization can refer to the development of specific fetishes or sexual references to conventionally non-sexual entities. 

Sublimation: Transforming one’s anxiety or emotions into pursuits considered by societal or cultural norms to be more useful. This defense mechanism may be present in someone who channels their aggression and energy into playing sports. 

Suppression: Consciously choosing to block ideas or impulses that are undesirable, as opposed to repression, a subconscious process. This defense mechanism may be present in someone who has intrusive thoughts about a traumatic event but pushes these thoughts out of their mind.

Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes

Recognition and interpersonal communication about any defense mechanisms the patient is using amongst the psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, primary care provider, nurse, and family can help to orient the team and enhance patient-centered care. Psychodynamic therapy can involve the patient in their own care by achieving greater awareness of their own patterns of psychological defense mechanisms. Some meta-analysis studies have shown psychodynamic therapy to have equal efficacy compared to cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of mild to moderate mood disorders. It is important to recognize that therapeutic treatments based on self-awareness and communication will avoid the possible complications of pharmacotherapy, such as side effects and drug-to-drug interactions, and some patients may be more willing to try these therapies compared to pharmacotherapy.[11]

References

1.

Cramer P. Understanding Defense Mechanisms. Psychodyn Psychiatry. 2015 Dec;43(4):523-52. [PubMed: 26583439]

2.

Parekh MA, Majeed H, Khan TR, Khan AB, Khalid S, Khwaja NM, Khalid R, Khan MA, Rizqui IM, Jehan I. Ego defense mechanisms in Pakistani medical students: a cross sectional analysis. BMC Psychiatry. 2010 Jan 29;10:12. [PMC free article: PMC2836996] [PubMed: 20109240]

3.

Abbate-Daga G, Amianto F, Delsedime N, De-Bacco C, Fassino S. Resistance to treatment and change in anorexia nervosa [corrected]: a clinical overview. BMC Psychiatry. 2013 Nov 07;13:294. [PMC free article: PMC3879222] [PubMed: 24199620]

4.

Cramer P. Change in children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems: the role of defense mechanisms. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2015 Mar;203(3):215-21. [PubMed: 25668653]

5.

Bruschweiler-Stern N, Lyons-Ruth K, Morgan AC, Nahum JP, Sander LW, Stern DN. The foundational level of psychodynamic meaning: implicit process in relation to conflict, defense and the dynamic unconscious. Int J Psychoanal. 2007 Aug;88(Pt 4):843-60. [PubMed: 17681896]

6.

Boeker H, Richter A, Himmighoffen H, Ernst J, Bohleber L, Hofmann E, Vetter J, Northoff G. Essentials of psychoanalytic process and change: how can we investigate the neural effects of psychodynamic psychotherapy in individualized neuro-imaging? Front Hum Neurosci. 2013;7:355. [PMC free article: PMC3731532] [PubMed: 23935571]

7.

Strandholm T, Kiviruusu O, Karlsson L, Miettunen J, Marttunen M. Defense Mechanisms in Adolescence as Predictors of Adult Personality Disorders. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2016 May;204(5):349-54. [PubMed: 26894315]

8.

Perry JC, Metzger J. Introduction to "defense mechanisms in psychotherapy". J Clin Psychol. 2014 May;70(5):405. [PubMed: 24677084]

9.

Zanarini MC, Weingeroff JL, Frankenburg FR. Defense mechanisms associated with borderline personality disorder. J Pers Disord. 2009 Apr;23(2):113-21. [PMC free article: PMC3203733] [PubMed: 19379090]

10.

Brody S, Costa RM. Rationalization is a suboptimal defense mechanism associated with clinical and forensic problems. Behav Brain Sci. 2020 Apr 15;43:e31. [PubMed: 32292143]

11.

Steinert C, Munder T, Rabung S, Hoyer J, Leichsenring F. Psychodynamic Therapy: As Efficacious as Other Empirically Supported Treatments? A Meta-Analysis Testing Equivalence of Outcomes. Am J Psychiatry. 2017 Oct 01;174(10):943-953. [PubMed: 28541091]

Defense Mechanisms in Psychology Explained (+ Examples)

Sigmund Freud (1894, 1896) noted a number of ego defenses which he refers to throughout his written works.  His daughter Anna Freud (1936) developed these ideas and elaborated on them, adding ten of her own.  Many psychoanalysts have also added further types of ego defenses.

Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies that are unconsciously used to protect a person from anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings. According to Freudian theory, defense mechanismss involve a distortion of relaity in wome way so that we are better able to cope with a situation.

Table of Contents

10 Defense Mechanisms: What Are They and How They Help Us Cope

We use defense mechanisms to protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety or guilt, which arise because we feel threatened, or because our id or superego becomes too demanding.

Defense mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings (i.e., anxiety) or make good things feel better for the individual.

Ego-defense mechanisms are natural and normal.  When they get out of proportion (i.e., used with frequency), neuroses develop, such as anxiety states, phobias, obsessions, or hysteria.

Here are a few common defense mechanisms: There are a large number of defense mechanisms; the main ones are summarized below.

Denial

Denial is a defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud which involves a refusal to accept reality, thus blocking external events from awareness.

If a situation is just too much to handle, the person may respond by refusing to perceive it or by denying that it exist.

As you might imagine, this is a primitive and dangerous defense – no one disregards reality and gets away with it for long!  It can operate by itself or, more commonly, in combination with other, more subtle mechanisms that support it.

What is an example of denial?

Many people use denial in their everyday lives to avoid dealing with painful feelings or areas of their life they don’t wish to admit.

For example, a husband may refuse to recognize obvious signs of his wife’s infidelity. A student may refuse to recognise their obvious lack of preparedness for an exam!

Repression

Repression is an unconscious defense mechanism employed by the ego to keep disturbing or threatening thoughts from becoming conscious.

Repression, which Anna Freud also called “motivated forgetting,” is just that: not being able to recall a threatening situation, person, or event. Thoughts that are often repressed are those that would result in feelings of guilt from the superego.

This is not a very successful defense in the long term since it involves forcing disturbing wishes, ideas or memories into the unconscious, where, although hidden, they will create anxiety.

Repressed memories may appear through subconscious means and in altered forms, such as dreams or slips of the tongue (“Freudian slips“).

What is an example of repression?

For example, in the oedipus complex, aggressive thoughts about the same sex parents are repressed and pushed down into the unconscious.

Projection

Projection is a psychological defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud in which an individual attributes unwanted thoughts, feelings and motives onto another person.

Projection, which Anna Freud also called displacement outward, is almost the complete opposite of turning against the self. It involves the tendency to see your own unacceptable desires in other people.

In other words, the desires are still there, but they”re not your desires anymore.

What is an example of projection?

Thoughts most commonly projected onto another are the ones that would cause guilt such as aggressive and sexual fantasies or thoughts.

For instance, you might hate someone, but your superego tells you that such hatred is unacceptable.  You can ‘solve’ the problem by believing that they hate you.

Displacement

Displacement is the redirection of an impulse (usually aggression) onto a powerless substitute target. The target can be a person or an object that can serve as a symbolic substitute.

Displacement occurs when the Id wants to do something which the Superego does not permit. The Ego thus finds some other way of releasing the psychic energy of the Id. Thus there is a transfer of energy from a repressed object-cathexis to a more acceptable object.

Turning against the self is a very special form of displacement, where the person becomes their own substitute target. It is normally used in reference to hatred, anger, and aggression, rather than more positive impulses, and it is the Freudian explanation for many of our feelings of inferiority, guilt, and depression.

The idea that depression is often the result of the anger we refuse to acknowledge is accepted by many people, Freudians and non-Freudians alike.

What is an example of displacement?

Someone who feels uncomfortable with their sexual desire for a real person may substitute a fetish.

Someone who is frustrated by his or her superiors may go home and kick the dog, beat up a family member, or engage in cross-burnings.

Regression

Regression is a defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud whereby the the ego reverts to an earlier stage of development usually in response to stressful situations.

Regression functions as a form of retreat, enabling a person to psychologically go back in time to a period when the person felt safer.

What is an example of regression?

When we are troubled or frightened, our behaviors often become more childish or primitive.

A child may begin to suck their thumb again or wet the bed when they need to spend some time in the hospital.  Teenagers may giggle uncontrollably when introduced into a social situation involving the opposite sex.

Sublimation

Sublimation is similar to displacement, but takes place when we manage to displace our unacceptable emotions into behaviors which are constructive and socially acceptable, rather than destructive activities. Sublimation is one of Anna Freud’s original defense mechanisms.

Sublimation for Freud was the cornerstone of civilized life, as arts and science are all sublimated sexuality.  (NB. this is a value-laden concept, based on the aspirations of European society at the end of the 1800 century).

What is an example of sublimation?

Many great artists and musicians have had unhappy lives and have used the medium of art of music to express themselves.  Sport is another example of putting our emotions (e.g., aggression) into something constructive.

For example, fixation at the oral stage of development may later lead to seeking oral pleasure as an adult through sucking one’s thumb, pen or cigarette.  Also, fixation during the anal stage may cause a person to sublimate their desire to handle faeces with an enjoyment of pottery.

Rationalization

Rationalization is a defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud involving a cognitive distortion of “the facts” to make an event or an impulse less threatening. We do it often enough on a fairly conscious level when we provide ourselves with excuses.

But for many people, with sensitive egos, making excuses comes so easy that they never are truly aware of it.  In other words, many of us are quite prepared to believe our lies.

What is an example of rationalization?

When a person finds a situation difficult to accept, they will make up a logical reason why it has happened. For example, a person may explain a natural disaster as “God’s will”.

Reaction Formation

Reaction formation, which Anna Freud called “believing the opposite,” is a psychological defense mechanism in which a person goes beyond denial and behaves in the opposite way to which he or she thinks or feels.

Conscious behaviors are adopted to overcompensate for the anxiety a person feels regarding their socially unacceptable unconscious thoughts or emotions.

Usually, a reaction formation is marked by exaggerated behavior, such as showiness and compulsiveness.

By using the reaction formation, the id is satisfied while keeping the ego in ignorance of the true motives.

Therapists often observe reaction formation in patients who claim to strongly believe in something and become angry at everyone who disagrees.

What is an example of reaction formation?

Freud claimed that men who are prejudiced against homosexuals are making a defense against their own homosexual feelings by adopting a harsh anti-homosexual attitude which helps convince them of their heterosexuality.

Another example of reaction formation includes the dutiful daughter who loves her mother is reacting to her Oedipus hatred of her mother.

Introjection

Introjection, sometimes called identification, involves taking into your own personality characteristics of someone else, because doing so solves some emotional difficulty.

Introjection is very important to Freudian theory as the mechanism by which we develop our superegos.

What is an example of introjection?

A child who is left alone frequently, may in some way try to become “mom” in order to lessen his or her fears. You can sometimes catch them telling their dolls or animals not to be afraid. And we find the older child or teenager imitating his or her favorite star, musician, or sports hero in an effort to establish an identity.

Identification with the Aggressor

Identification with the aggressor is a defense mechanism proposed by Sandor Ferenczi and later developed by Anna Freud.

It involves the victim adopting the behavior of a person who is more powerful and hostile towards them.

By internalizing the behavior of the aggressor the “victim” hopes to avoid abuse, as the aggressor may begin to feel an emotional connection with the victim which leads to feelings of empathy.

What is an example of identification with the aggressor?

Identification with the aggressor is a version of introjection that focuses on the adoption, not of general or positive traits, but of negative or feared traits. If you are afraid of someone, you can partially conquer that fear by becoming more like them.

An extreme example of this is the Stockholm Syndrome, where hostages establish an emotional bond with their captor(s) and take on their behaviors.

Patty Hearst was abused by her captors, yet she joined their Symbionese Liberation Army and even took part in one of their bank robberies.  At her trial, she was acquitted because she was a victim suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

References

Ferenczi, S. (1933). Confusion of tongues between adults and the child (pp. 156-67).

Freud, A. (1937). The Ego and the mechanisms of defense, London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis.

Freud, S. (1894). The neuro-psychoses of defence. SE, 3: 41-61.

Freud, S. (1896). Further remarks on the neuro-psychoses of defense. SE, 3: 157-185.

Freud, S. (1933). New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis. Pp. xi + 240.

Paulhus, D. L., Fridhandler, B. , & Hayes, S. (1997). Psychological defense: Contemporary theory and research. In R. Hogan, J. A. Johnson, & S. R. Briggs (Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 543-579). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-012134645-4/50023-8

Further Reading

  • Name the Defense Mechanism Activity
  • BPS Article on Repression
  • Exploring Ferenczi’s Concept of Identification with the Aggressor: Its Role in Trauma, Everyday Life, and the Therapeutic Relationship
  • Cramer, P. (2015). Understanding defense mechanisms. Psychodynamic Psychiatry, 43(4), 523-552.
  • Freudian Defense Mechanisms and Empirical Findings in Modern Social Psychology: Reaction Formation, Projection, Displacement, Undoing, Isolation, Sublimation, and Denial
  • Defense Mechanisms Summary Table

Psychological defense mechanisms: types of mental defense mechanisms

What is psychological defense and what psychological defense mechanisms do we use most often? Forbes Life spoke with psychoanalyst Anna Eliseeva about the types and functions of defense mechanisms and whether psychological defense can have a negative impact

According to Freud: psychological defense mechanisms and psychoanalysis

The concept of psychological defense mechanisms originates in psychoanalysis. It was first formulated by Sigmund Freud: his work was later continued by his daughter Anna, who became the author of the book The Ego and Defense Mechanisms. “The concept of the defense mechanism of the psyche is primarily associated with the structural theory of Freud, according to which the psyche has a tripartite structure. It is represented by the “Ego structure”, “Super-ego structure” and “It structure,” explains psychoanalyst Anna Eliseeva, emphasizing that each of them is responsible for its own functions.

Thus, the "Super-ego" is responsible for the moral qualities of a person, for what he evaluates as acceptable or unacceptable, unacceptable. “It” is the unconscious in a person, something that he can hardly or is not able to control at all: impulses, attraction, sexuality, aggression. It is the "Ego" that connects these two structures. “The Ego structure performs a regulatory function between these two structures and acts as a “negotiator”. The defense mechanisms of the psyche relate primarily to the "Ego". It may be regulated by some unconscious, perhaps aggressive or threatening impulses within us, some drives, perhaps forbidden by society or family, desires, or some external threats, especially threats to self-esteem and the very moral existence of the individual. Simply put, the "Ego" is a relatively stable group of functions that organizes, integrates and, as it were, connects the mental and mental processes of the individual.

Nancy McWilliams, an American psychoanalyst, contributed to the study of psychological defense. She singled out at least four influences that form a certain protective mechanism or even a set of them in a person. “The first is temperament, or mental constitution, the second is the nature of the stress that the child experienced in early childhood, the third is the defense mechanisms that parents or caring adults modeled. And the fourth is the consequences that a person has experienced from the use of certain protective mechanisms. That is, it is, as it were, what a person has learned using certain mechanisms, ”says Eliseeva. Defense mechanisms in psychology are unconscious functions that the person himself is not aware of. If he manages to do this, then these defense mechanisms cease to be stable: in other words, he can modify them through therapeutic work that leads the person to the integration of his personality.

Related material

How do defense mechanisms actually work in psychology?

  • Rationalization: an intellectual explanation of emotions

“Suppose a person has developed a defense mechanism, in which he analyzed many times, found an intellectual explanation for emotions. For example, a wife left her husband: he is very upset, but unconsciously does not allow this disorder, so as not to feel terrible, and begins to rationalize her departure, saying that the institution of marriage has long been depreciated and this is not so important. In therapy, a person begins to become aware of his emotions, the protective mechanism of rationalization, as it were, loses its positions, and, having lived the sadness and longing that his wife left, in this way a person can resolve this internal conflict (“I am a weakling if I am upset, but I am upset ”) and feel better, ”Eliseeva gives an example.

  • Reaction to criticism, shame and fear

A similar scenario can occur when receiving criticism of our actions. “Someone can criticize us, and although at the level of awareness we can tell ourselves that we are completely normal about constructive criticism, it still becomes very unpleasant for us at the moment of its voicing, the mechanism of denial is triggered,” explains the psychoanalyst. Denial in general is a primitive-level defense mechanism that is most common in children. For example, if a child breaks a cup and denies it, then in this way he tries to protect himself not so much from the general words of his parents or conditional punishment, but from the fact that the very words of his parents or their criticism may endanger his idea of ​​himself, that is, his integrity. If a child is criticized, he may feel that he is bad, and this is the very threat from which we seek to protect our psyche. Such threats can be different: the threat that we are not smart enough, educated or good, the threat to feel guilty towards someone - we also defend ourselves very strongly against this. There is the threat of shame, the threat of dependence on other people - that is, the understanding that we really need other people in our lives and so on, and finally, the threat of feeling powerless.

The defense mechanisms of the psyche help us remove the feeling that we are bad, guilty of something. The area where the defense mechanism will work particularly strongly is our self-image. These may be real threats to our self-esteem or an imaginary threat: for example, you are afraid that you are not attractive enough and therefore will not communicate with people so as not to find out that they do not like you. The avoidance mechanism is activated: you decide not to go anywhere at all and not to communicate. Thus, defense mechanisms help, if not the person himself, then his inner ego to resolve the psychological conflict and maintain the integrity of his personality. If it is not possible to resolve it, and the conflict itself continues to persist, then the protective reaction characteristic of it can become more and more pronounced and constant.

Related material

Deny, forget, suppress: types of psychological defense

There are many options for psychological defense - researchers divide them into groups and levels based on different classification principles. Among them there are pathological, neurotic and not only. According to the classification of Nancy McWilliams, defense mechanisms in psychology are divided into two main groups - primitive and more mature.

Primitive types of psychological protection:

  • Withdrawal, such as trying to sleep to escape stress or reality;
  • Denial, in which people prefer to believe that everything is in order and everything will always be fine;
  • A projection that allows you to convince yourself that something bad and unpleasant is experienced by someone else, and not you, and that it has a certain negative, negative characteristic;
  • Splitting, in which everything is divided into black and white, that is, only bad and only good, positive.

Mature types of psychological defense:

  • Suppression: attempts to forget, erase from memory what upset you, that is, in fact, the displacement of unpleasant memories and experiences in the past;
  • Regression: return to the behavior characteristic of us at an earlier stage of development: for example, for children - to wet your pants when stressed, and for adults - to get sick, that is, these are mainly somatic manifestations;
  • Isolation: isolation of emotions from events, numbness;
  • Rationalization and intellectualization: resorting to a rational or intellectual explanation of stressful emotional events, as well as one's feelings;
  • Moralization: the unconscious search for acceptable grounds for some kind of action. For example, a negative event could even be a war, which is perceived as an opportunity to "build character" or a great "learning experience".
  • Acting out: if a conditional dispute or conflict cannot be resolved verbally, then physical actions, such as a fight, become a psychological form of defense.

Defense mechanisms exist rather "in a certain spectrum", which stretches from pathological to more healthy manifestations. “One defense mechanism in its pathological, too frequent use, interferes with us, affects our behavior, our relationships with people. The same defense mechanism, but in its milder manifestation, serves its function, that is, it protects us from unbearable internal psychological conflicts or feelings, ”explains Eliseeva. Denial is a primitive defense mechanism: if you deny something constantly and everywhere, then you can say that your psyche is working pathologically. But if you are experiencing severe stress, then denying some difficult events can save your psyche and work precisely in a protective function. All people have defense mechanisms of one kind or another, which manifest themselves to one degree or another. And the degree of manifestation of protective mechanisms will determine the very degree of mental health. Thus, psychological defense itself is normal and understandable, but if it becomes constant, turns into a characteristic feature of human behavior and is often not caused by any objective factors, then it can become dangerous primarily for the person himself.

Related material

When do psychological defense methods become dangerous?

If psychological defense, especially primitive one, becomes regular, unchanging and unique, and its cause is not a real threat, but an internal conflict, then in this case a person runs the risk of being unable to adequately perceive reality and cope with it. For example, there is a conflict between the need to be good (the Superego structure) and to be oneself, to express anger (the It structure). If the conflict is not resolved, then the defense is likely to become fixed and may become part of the personality structure and lead to such a concept as a personality disorder, such as narcissism. With a personality disorder, defense mechanisms are not at all realized, they are not flexible and primitive.

You can solve the problem through understanding the problem in behavior and relationships, understanding the conflict and methods for resolving it. This is not only therapy, but also spiritual practices, work on oneself, overcoming a personal crisis and getting out of it, meditation.

Nevertheless, in general, the defense mechanisms of our psyche do help us cope with stress or survive severe trauma. “This refers to dissociation or derealization, for example, when the victim of violence, as it were, disconnects from his emotional experiences. The victim seems to "leave" his body and does not feel anything. This is how powerful protection works, which preserves the psyche, ”says Eliseeva.

Is it possible to change the form of psychological protection?

Forms of defense mechanisms change as a person grows up. So, for children, the method of denial becomes the most characteristic, and for adolescents, for whom the main conflict is to identify themselves, it is idealization, that is, the search for someone different from their parents, from whom you can take an example and build your own identity. Defense mechanisms protect us from certain conflicts inherent in this stage of development. Under a favorable scenario for the development of a person's personality, the defense mechanism is transformed from a more primitive to a more complex one: for example, from denial to sublimation, in which some activity, such as drawing, becomes a defense against conflict.

It is possible to change the methods of psychological defense with the help of psychotherapy, the task of which, according to the expert, is to realize what defense mechanisms a person already has and how they affect his behavior and relationships with people around him. Together with a specialist, a person tries to understand what kind of conflict worries him and what exactly his psyche is protected from. The next stage is an attempt to get another experience that can modify this conflict and offer a more productive way to deal with it.

Such work is necessary for those who have experienced a divorce or the loss of a loved one. The experience of loss is too strong for our psyche, it also undermines our identity. And here a protective mechanism can be formed, for example, the denial of the death of the departed: although at some everyday level this is recognized, psychologically it is rejected. In such a situation, it is important to determine which particular defense mechanism is triggered, as well as to live those emotions that frighten a person and torment him, from which his psyche is so saved. After that, the protective mechanism ceases to be necessary (in the case of loss, we are talking about denial), and the person himself gradually adapts to the new reality that he rejected.

10 Mental Defense Mechanisms We Use Every Day - T&P

The human psyche is equipped with mechanisms that help us instinctively protect our Self. Using them helps to make our experience less traumatic, but at the same time reduces our chances of successfully interacting 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 appropriate 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.

Displacement: transference of anger

Displacement allows you to transfer unwanted feelings (especially anger and irritation) from one object to another for the purpose of self-defense. 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.

Fantasies absorb suffering and help calm the personality. Nevertheless, the psyche is not always able to fully recognize where reality ends and the imaginary world begins. In the era of information technology development, a person can enter into a relationship with a media image, dreaming of a favorite actress or interacting with a computer game character they like. The destruction of such relationships due to unsuccessful contact with the real content of the image or unpleasant situations will be experienced as a real loss and will bring emotional pain. Fantasies can also distract a person from the real world. At the same time, they often become fertile ground for creativity and form the basis of successful works, bringing positive results in reality.

Learn more