DEFENSE MECHANISMS - Which Ones Are More Helpful To You?

Today, I want to share with you guys about my favorite topic when I was in college - the different types of defense mechanisms.

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It is one of the most interesting topics to me not only because I can relate with it but because it also taught me of the useful things I may use in the future to cope effectively from certain circumstances. Believe me! It will be helpful to you as well. So, let's define defense mechanism first.

According to Linda Anne Silvestri, author of Saunders Comprehensive Review for nurses, it is a coping mechanism used in an effort to protect the individual from feelings of anxiety; as anxiety increases and becomes overwhelming, the individual copes by using defense mechanisms to protect the ego and decrease anxiety.

But, are they effective or will it just create additional distress? Let's find out.

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Psychologists have categorized defense mechanisms based upon how primitive they are. The more primitive a defense mechanism, the less effective it works for a person over the long-term. However, more primitive defense mechanisms are usually very effective short-term, and hence are favored by many people and children especially (when such primitive defense mechanisms are first learned). Adults who don’t learn better ways of coping with stress or traumatic events in their lives will often resort to such primitive defense mechanisms as well.

Most defense mechanisms are fairly unconscious – that means most of us don’t realize we’re using them in the moment. Some types of psychotherapy can help a person become aware of what defense mechanisms they are using, how effective they are, and how to use less primitive and more effective mechanisms in the future.

There are a lot of types, but here are the most commonly used defense mechanisms and learn which ones are helpful to you:

PRIMITIVE

1. DENIAL - disowning consciously intolerable thoughts and impulses. It is the most primitive because it is characteristic of early childhood development
Example: a drunk husband denying he's drunk when interrogated by his wife

2. REGRESSION - returning to an earlier developmental stage to express an impulse to deal with reality
Example: an adult curling up in fetal position when feeling threatened or afraid

3. ACTING OUT - performing an extreme behavior in order to express thoughts or feelings the person feels incapable of otherwise expressing
Example: self-injury is expression through physical pain of what can't be stand to feel emotionally

4. DISSOCIATION - blocking of an anxiety-provoking event or period of time from the conscious mind
Example: Amnesia; people who have "multiple personality disorder"

5. 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
Example: an honest person who cheats on their income tax return and keeps their two value systems distinct and unintegrated;
soldiers on the battleground who shove aside any guilt associated with killing people when in combat

6. PROJECTION - transferring one's internal feelings, thoughts, and unacceptable ideas and traits to someone else
Example: “Other people make me uncomfortable.” - Often the anxiety and tension we feel around others is a reflection of the way we perceive ourselves. When we are insecure or have low self-esteem, it is common to perceive the problem as being with other people and not ourselves. This classic form of projection is common amongst those suffering from social anxiety.

7. REACTION FORMATION - occurs when a person feels an urge to do or say something and then actually does or says something that is effectively the opposite of what they really want.
Example: a person who is angry with a colleague actually ends up being particularly courteous and friendly towards them

LESS PRIMITIVE

8. REPRESSION - unconscious process in which the person blocks undesirable thoughts from conscious expression
Example: a child who is abused by a parent later has no recollection of the events, but has trouble forming relationships

9. DISPLACEMENT - feelings toward one person are directed to another who is less threatening, satisfying an impulse with a substitute object
Example: a woman, rejected by her boyfriend, goes out with another man 'on the rebound'

10. INTELLECTUALIZATION - excessive reasoning to avoid feelings; the thinking is disconnected from feelings, and situations are dealt with a cognitive level
Example: A person told they have cancer asks for details on the probability of survival and the success rates of various drugs. The doctor may join in, using 'carcinoma' instead of 'cancer' and 'terminal' instead of 'fatal'.

11. RATIONALIZATION - attempt to make unacceptable feelings and behaviors acceptable by justifying the behavior (I'm guilty of using this sometimes. Lol. 😁)
Example: I trip and fall over in the street. I tell a passer-by that I have recently been ill.

12. UNDOING - is performing an act to 'undo' a previous unacceptable act or thought. It is often a form of apology, although it may not include the actual act of saying that you are sorry. Confession is a form of undoing, including that done in a church to a priest or a secret admission to a close friend.
Example: a teenager who has been rather noisy tidies the room without having to be asked

MATURE DEFENSE MECHANISMS

13. SUBLIMATION - replacement of an unacceptable need, attitude, or emotion with one more socially acceptable
Example: a person who has an obsessive need for control and order becomes a successful business entrepreneur

14. COMPENSATION - putting forth extra effort to achieve in areas where one has a real or imagined deficiency
Example: people who are not intellectually gifted may turn their attention to social skills

15. SELF-ASSERTION/ASSERTIVENESS - is the emphasis of a person’s needs or thoughts in a manner that is respectful, direct and firm; striking a balance between communicating passively or aggressively
Example: - "I think Sarah is not comfortable with the way you look at her."

• "John, I don't like the way you said that."

OTHER MATURE COPING MECHANISMS

AFFILIATION - turning to others for help and support, but not trying to make someone else responsible for them
Example: going to therapy, support group, or spiritual counsel

ALTRUISM - avoid your own pains by concentrating on the pains of others. Maybe you can heal yourself and feel good by healing them and helping them to feel good.
Example: A self-made millionaire who grew up in poverty sets up a charitable foundation and gains great pleasure from how it helps others get out of the poverty trap. She receives social accolade and public recognition for her good deeds, which she carefully and modestly grateful.

SELF-OBSERVATION - dealing with stress by reflection of one's thoughts, feelings, motivation, and behavior -- and then responding appropriately
Example: engaging in journaling, self-exploration, bibliotherapy, etc.

SUPPRESSION - conscious, deliberate forgetting of unacceptable or painful thoughts, ideas, and feelings
Example: an older man has sexual feelings towards a teenager and quickly suppresses the thought

ANTICIPATION - dealing with stressors by anticipating the consequences and feelings associated with possible future events and considering realistic solutions
Example: getting old - thinking and planning of retirement wisely

***
Remember, defense mechanisms are most often learned behaviors, most of which we learned during childhood. That’s a good thing, because it means that, as an adult, you can choose to learn some new behaviors and new defense mechanisms that may be more beneficial to you in your life. Many psychotherapists will help you work on these things, if you’d like. But even becoming more aware of when you’re using one of the less primitive types of defense mechanisms above can be helpful in identifying behaviors you’d like to reduce.

To me, Self-observation, Affiliation, Assertiveness, and Anticipation are the most essential coping mechanisms we need on a daily basis in dealing with stressors and anxieties. If it becomes a habit for us using these defenses, we'll definitely have a more enjoyable, peaceful, happy and harmonious relationship with the people around us specially with our family and love ones. Furthermore, these will be more helpful to our personal well-being.

What forms of these coping mechanisms have you experienced in your daily life?

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Sources:

• psychcentral.com
• changingminds.org
  https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/Lucia_Merino/15-common-defense-mechanisms
• SAUNDERS Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Exam textbook by LindaAnne Silvestri

Special mention to @erangvee, @bayanihan, @surpassinggoogle and @kennyroy, @afterglow Thanks soooo much from the bottom of my heart for including me in your group and community, and for being a friend.

BE BLESSED EVERYONE!