Defense mechanisms are behaviors used to separate themselves from unpleasant
actions or thoughts. The psychological strategies may help people put distance
between themselves and threats or unwanted feelings such as shame or guilt.
Defense mechanisms are natural part of psychological development.
Determining which type
you, your loved ones, and even your co-workers use can help you in future
conversations and encounters.
Some people who feel threatened may unconsciously
“escape” to an earlier stage of development. Regression may be most obvious in
young children. If the experience trauma or loss, they may suddenly act as if
they are younger again. They may even begin wetting the bed or sucking their
thumb.
Adults can regress too, those who are struggling to cope
with events or behaviors may return to sleep with a cherished stuffed animal,
overeat, or chain smoking or chewing on pens. They may also avoid everyday
activities because they feel overwhelming.
Acting out is performing an extreme behavior in order to express feelings the person feels incapable of otherwise expressing. Instead of just saying “I’m angry at you”, a person may through a book at the person or punch w hole through the wall. When the person acts out, it can act as a pressure release and helps to feel calmer and peaceful once again. For example, a child’s temper tantrum is a form of acting out when he does not get his way with a parent. Self-injury may also be a form of acting out.
Undoing is the attempt to take back an unconscious behavior or thought that is un acceptable or hurtful. For instance, after realizing that I just insulted my significant other unintentionally, I might spend the next hour praising their beauty, charm and intellect. By “Undoing” the previous action, the person is attempting to counteract the damage done by the original comment, hoping the two will balance the another out.
Displacement is the redirecting of thoughts, feeling and impulses directed at one person or object, but taken out upon another person or object. People often use displacement when they cannot express their feelings in a safe manner to the person they are directed at. The classic example is the man who gets angry at his boss, but can’t express his anger to his boss so he comes back home and kicks the dog or starts an argument with his wife.
Denial is one of the most common defense mechanisms. It occurs when you refuse to accept reality or facts. You block external events or circumstances from your mind so that you don’t have to deal with the emotional impact. In other words, you avoid the painful feelings or events. Like asking a child abused physically by his father, and he deny to preserve the image of his father.
Rationalization is putting something into different light or offering a different explanation for one’s perceptions or behaviors in the face of a changing reality. For example, a woman who starts dating a man she really likes and suddenly get dumped for no reason, she re-imagines the situation in her mind with the thought “I suspected he was a loser all along".
Projection is the misattribution of a person’s undesired thoughts, feelings or impulses into another person who does not have those. It is used especially when the thoughts are considered unacceptable for the person to express. For example, a spouse may be angry at their significant other for not listening, when in fact it is the spouse who does not listen.
Dissociation is when a person loses track of time and/or
person, and instead finds another representation of their self in order to
continue in the moment. A person who dissociate often loses track of time or
themselves and their usual thought processes. People who have a history of any
kind of childhood abuse often suffer from dissociation. In extreme cases,
dissociation can lead a person to believe that he has multiple selves. In this
case, a person who dissociates can disconnect from the real world for a time,
and live in a different world that is not cluttered with thoughts or feelings
that are unbearable.
Compartmentalization is a lesser form of dissociation,
wherein parts of oneself are separated from awareness of other parts and
behaving as if one had separate sets of values. For instance, an honest person
who cheats on their income tax return but is otherwise trustworthy in his
financial dealings. In this way, he keeps the two value systems distinct and
sees no hypocrisy in doing so.
Defense mechanisms are behaviors used to separate themselves from unpleasant actions or thoughts. The psychological strategies may help ...
