DEFENSE MECHANISM

Defense mechanisms are unconscious psychological strategies brought into play by

various entities to cope with reality and to maintain self-image. Healthy persons normally
use different defenses throughout life. An ego defense mechanism becomes pathological
only when its persistent use leads to maladaptive behavior such that the physical and/or
mental health of the individual is adversely affected. The purpose of ego defense
mechanisms is to protect the mind/self/ego from anxiety, social sanctions or to provide a
refuge from a situation with which one cannot currently cope. They are more accurately
referred to as ego defense mechanisms, and can thus be categorized as occurring when
the id impulses are in conflict with each other, when the id impulses conflict with super-
ego values and beliefs, and when an external threat is posed to the ego.

The term "defense mechanism" is often thought to refer to a definitive singular term for
personality traits which arise due to loss or traumatic experiences, but more accurately
refers to several types of reactions which were identified during and after daughter Anna
Freud's time.

Defense mechanisms are sometimes confused with coping strategies.

Definitions of individual psyche structures

Freud proposed three structures of the psyche or personality:

 Id: a selfish, primitive, childish, pleasure-oriented part of the personality with no

ability to delay gratification.
 Superego: internalized societal and parental standards of "good" and "bad", "right"
and "wrong" behavior.
 Ego: the moderator between the id and superego which seeks compromises to
pacify both. It can be viewed as our "sense of time and place",

Primary and secondary processes

In the ego, there are two ongoing processes. First there is the unconscious primary process,
where the thoughts are not organized in a coherent way, the feelings can shift,
contradictions are not in conflict or are just not perceived that way, and condensations
arise. There is no logic and no time line. Lust is important for this process. By contrast,
there is the conscious secondary process, where strong boundaries are set and thoughts
must be organized in a coherent way. Most unconscious thoughts originate here.
The reality principle
Id impulses are not appropriate in civilized society, so society presses us to modify the
pleasure principle in favor of the reality principle; that is, the requirements of the external
world.

Formation of the superego

The superego forms as the child grows and learns parental and social standards. The
superego consists of two structures: the conscience, which stores information about what
is "bad" and what has been punished and the ego ideal, which stores information about
what is "good" and what one "should" do or be.
The ego's use of defense mechanisms
When anxiety becomes too overwhelming, it is then the place of the ego to employ defense
mechanisms to protect the individual. Feelings of guilt, embarrassment and shame often
accompany the feeling of anxiety. In the first definitive book on defense mechanisms, The
Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense (1936). Anna Freud introduced the concept of signal
anxiety; she stated that it was "not directly a conflicted instinctual tension but a signal
occurring in the ego of an anticipated instinctual tension". The signaling function of anxiety
is thus seen as a crucial one and biologically adapted to warn the organism of danger or a
threat to its equilibrium. The anxiety is felt as an increase in bodily or mental tension and
the signal that the organism receives in this way allows it the possibility of taking defensive
action towards the perceived danger. Defense mechanisms work by distorting the id
impulses into acceptable forms, or by unconscious or conscious blockage of these impulses.

Vaillant's categorization of defense

mechanisms
Level 1 - Pathological
The mechanisms on this level, when predominating, almost always are
severely pathological. These four defenses, in conjunction, permit one to effectively
rearrange external experiences to eliminate the need to cope with reality. The pathological
users of these mechanisms frequently appear irrational or insane to others. These are the
"psychotic" defenses, common in overt psychosis. However, they are found in dreams and
throughout childhood as well.

They include:

 Delusional Projection: Grossly frank delusions about external reality, usually of a

persecutory nature.
 Denial: Refusal to accept external reality because it is too threatening; arguing
against an anxiety-provoking stimulus by stating it doesn't exist; resolution of
emotional conflict and reduction of anxiety by refusing to perceive or consciously
acknowledge the more unpleasant aspects of external reality.
 Distortion: A gross reshaping of external reality to meet internal needs.
 Splitting: A primitive defense. Negative and positive impulses are split off and
unintegrated. Fundamental example: An individual views other people as either
innately good or innately evil, rather than a whole continuous being.
 Extreme projection: The blatant denial of a moral or psychological deficiency,
which is perceived as a deficiency in another individual or group.

Level 2 - Immature
These mechanisms are often present in adults and more commonly present in adolescents.
These mechanisms lessen distress and anxiety provoked by threatening people or by
uncomfortable reality. People who excessively use such defenses are seen as socially
undesirable in that they are immature, difficult to deal with and seriously out of touch with
reality. These are the so-called "immature" defenses and overuse almost always leads to
serious problems in a person's ability to cope effectively. These defenses are often seen in
severe depression and personality disorders. In adolescence, the occurrence of all of these
defenses is normal.

They include:

 Acting out: Direct expression of an unconscious wish or impulse in action, without

conscious awareness of the emotion that drives that expressive behavior.
 Fantasy: Tendency to retreat into fantasy in order to resolve inner and outer
conflicts.
 Idealization: Unconsciously choosing to perceive another individual as having
more positive qualities than he or she may actually have.[14]
 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 behaviors projected.
 Somatization: The transformation of negative feelings towards others into negative
feelings toward self, pain, illness, and anxiety.

Level 3 - Neurotic
These mechanisms are considered neurotic, but fairly common in adults. Such defenses
have short-term advantages in coping, but can often cause long-term problems in
relationships, work and in enjoying life when used as one's primary style of coping with the
world.

They include:

 Displacement: Defense 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 defense 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 into their opposites; behavior that is completely the opposite
of what one really wants or feels; taking the opposite belief because the true belief
causes anxiety. This defense 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.
 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 engaging in contrary behavior.

Level 4 - Mature
These are commonly found among emotionally healthy adults and are considered mature,
even though many have their origins in an immature stage of development. They have been
adapted through the years in order to optimize success in life and relationships. The use of
these defenses enhances pleasure and feelings of control. These defenses help us integrate
conflicting emotions and thoughts, while still remaining effective. Those who use these
mechanisms are usually considered virtuous.

They include:

 Altruism: Constructive service to others that brings pleasure and personal

satisfaction.
 Anticipation: Realistic planning for future discomfort.
 Humor: 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.
 Identification: The unconscious modeling of one's self upon another person's
character and behavior.
 Introjections: 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, behavior, or emotion.
 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 while accepting them.