DEFENSE MECHANISMS
Sigmund Freud (1894, 1896), as well as Anna Freud (1936), and later joined by others such as Melanie Klein ( 1882 – 1960), and R.D. Laing (1927- 1989), have suggested the idea of unconscious Defense Mechanisms whose function is sustenance of Ego Integrity.
Following their work, a host of other psychoanalysts, have affirmed their presence as well as expanding them to include some additional constructs. Professionals familiar with them frequently utilize them in enhancing diagnostic and assessment impressions They often allow for more precise treatment planning within psychodynamic orientations.
They have been divided in 4 categories reflecting the individual's ego-functional level; (a) Primitive, (b) Immature, (c) Neurotic, and (d) Mature
PRIMITIVE / NARCISSISTIC
- DENIAL, DISTORTION
-
Anna Freud (1936) proposed that "denial" involves blocking external events from awareness If some situation is just too much to handle,
the person just refuses to experience it.
It is essential that this defense mechanism is not misinterpreted as an individual's attempt to unequivocally deny the existence of a situation, or a state of events, or a trait; Denial lies within a person's inability, refusal, or willful unwillingness to acknowledge the severity, or magnitude, and/or the impact of it to themselves and/or others.One can readily admit they are alcoholics while impervious to the significance of such a statement.
- PROJECTION
-
A mechanism through which undesired behaviors, thoughts, feelings or impulses are attributed onto another person;
Its significance lies in the fact that such individuals are lacking in self-observing functions, sense of reality, and/or reality testing.
It is also indicative of serious impairments with automatic and/or retrospective insight. Individuals with Borderline, or narcissistic proclivities may be the most likely people to use such a defensive maneuver. - SPLITTING
- While someone may unconsciously attribute their own thoughts, feelings, or actions to another person as an Ego defense against recognition, guilt, shame, or denial of a trait; Its concomitant is splitting A defense mechanism wherein everything and everyone is viewed in a strictly binary and dichotomous fashion as either good, or bad, black or white, an/ord right or wrong; essentially eliminating the need for a range, or grading.
- PRIMITIVE IDEALIZATION
-
Primitive idealization may be best seen in young children's' high regard for their parents, athletes, and performers. They are viewed and
thought of as Gods with unlimited wisdom, endowments, and omniscience.
In therapy, and also in the real world, primitive idealization, may manifest in similar archaic forms of idealization It can be hypothesized that its function might be twofold (a) as a form of ego reassurance against an ego-dystonic state, or (b) as a preemptive maneuver that protects the therapist's image against the impact of the patient's proclivity towards splitting. - PROJECTIVE IDENTIFICATION (PI)
- In 1946 Melanie Klein introduced the is a term "projective identification" (pi) wherein she proposed that a person may unconsciously
attribute their own thoughts, feelings, or actions to another person.
However, unlike simple projection, it allows for the individual to engage in,(a)reality-distortion, or denial, in order to (a) maintain a socially acceptable self-image by viewing themselves as the other,
(b) to act upon the subject of the projection as if it were -in fact- reality, and
(c) to manifest affective and behavioral markers congruent with what is being protectively identified.
The most simplistic of examples, though hyperbolic, may be where someone while watching a video of a Caribbean beach, proceeds to put on a bathing suit, dive into the TV set, and act as though they were swimming.
Laing et al (1966), went even further by suggesting that thoughts and feelings deemed unacceptable by the ego are transformed through PI so that they can be acted upon as reality based, e.g. I am attracted to so and so who is married; following PI : 'she is attracted to me'.
PSYCHOTIC
- SCHIZOID FANTASY
- An unconscious process through which internal conflicts are resolved through a transient episodic withdrawal into a world of vivid delusional thoughts, or
fantasies.
When Ego-Dystonic, this process takes the form of intrusive and unwanted thoughts, that are more likely to be part of an obsessive compulsive syndrome than a dissociative-like psychotic experience. - DELUSIONAL PROJECTION.
- Similar to projection except that within this process there are definitive signs of an indisputable systematized delusional system of
persecutory nature
accompanied by conscious actions to avoid, defend, and/or take some decisive action.
Delusional projection is most often within a systematized delusional process that is triggered by a an incidental reality event such as seeing a man in a suite exiting a black SUV and assuming He is an FBI agent ...
IMMATURE
- ACTING OUT, BLOCKING
-
Someone who may be unable to express, or articulate feelings in a socially acceptable way, may do so by attaching a piece of behavior to them and act-out
the feeling using "dramatization".
"Temper tantrums'' are examples of acting out, as well as self-harm, where one is unable to express emotional pain, anxiety, or confusion. Frequent acting out may be the result of "impulse discontrol", or a sign of"alexithymia". - INTROJECTION
-
The opposite of "
projection", whose aim is to lift repression, or increase levels of familiarity by introjecting a thought, image,
or feeling that substantially represents another person, person's views, thoughts, or feelings.
" Introjection'' , when used vis-a-vis blocking, denial, and repression, may also lead to a transformation of the introjected object from its latent content into a manifest one; e.g. Unconscious fear transformed to conscious Anger. - IDENTIFICATION
- According to Freud childhood feelings of resentment towards their father may lead to fears of retaliation. The fears are resolved through repression and projective identification wherein the child begins to identify, mirror, and emulate the father. This defense mechanism was later reintroduced by Anna Freud as identification with an aggressor.
- IDENTIFICATION WITH THE AGGRESSOR
- Fear, or dread of someone may lead to a forced identification with them as exemplified by the Stockholm Syndrome,, or abused children who may later on become abusers themselves.
- HYPOCHONDRIASIS
-
Envisioning, or believing a serious illness has befallen one, or is about to end in death. Such beliefs lead to intrusive thoughts, anxiety, and even
episodic
depression.
;A pimple might be viewed as cancer, a muscle pain as a heart-attack, ...
True Hypochondriacs are known for taking residence near hospitals, visiting a variety of specialists within a short span of time, and more often than not, manifesting conditions resembling dysthymic disorders. - PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE
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Indirect and passive expression of hostility by unconsciously underperforming, or engaging in unneeded actions, or forgetting to engage in needed actions.
Included maybe pouting, sulking, silence, expressionless staring, .. When Passive-Aggressive defense exceeds its utility and forms the basis of a personality constellation, serious exploration may be needed. Such individuals are also excessively non-committal, secretive, tenuous, and may even exhibit behaviors deemed perverse.
Intermittent explosive events may not be uncommon. - REGRESSION
- In defense of ego-integrity and a needed homeostatic state of being, conflicts are dealt with via an unconscious act of returning to an earlier life-stage where conflicts were successfully dealt with through some form of action, or inaction; (e.g. assuming a fetal position, thumb sucking, ...)
- SOMATIZATION
-
Stress, conflict, sadness, and various affective states may be unconsciously transformed into non-medically verifiable somatic (bodily) symptoms such as
headaches, migraines, gi upsets, tremors, etc.
The locus of these symptoms maybe psychodynamically significant opening the door for a more in depth exploration of repressed incidents, or trauma.
NEUROTIC
- AMBIGUOUSNESS
-
Introduced by Michael Kasdaglis in 1987, this is a defense, as well as an idiosyncratic linguistic maneuver, aimed at safeguarding against
exposure of subjectively experienced thoughts and feelings of inadequacy and a paralyzing fear of solidifying an identity.
It is a ground fertile for serious cases of anxiety, panic, passive aggressive states and personality dispositions deemed as perfectionistic.
There is an habitual, and persistent use of terms such as 'maybe', 'perhaps', 'probably', 'sometimes', 'not really', 'I don't know' , ...
Even more impressive is the presence of a highly remarkable state of hypervigilance bordering on delusional paranoia.
Such individuals are tenuous, tentative, evasive, and highly defensive. - DISPLACEMENT
- To understand displacement one needs to be able to think in symbols and metaphors. Displacement is a process through which an unfulfilled thought, feeling, or action may find a suitable expression upon a reasonable facsimile; e.g. displacing anger onto the dog, who in turn displaces by chasing the cat, who in turn goes after the mouse... or when a fetish substitutes for the expression of traditional sexual activity ... or when someone spills a glass and blames another for not having placed the glass in its proper place...
- DISSOCIATION
-
Dissociation may be a defense, a condition, a transient situational state, or an indication of a neurological problem, such as
dementia, petit mal, delirium, somnambulism, etc. Occasionally it may be a state of fugue. In essence, during that state there
maybe an experience or event of loss of orientation, train of thought, attentional or concentration difficulties, or retention-recall issues.
Dissociation may not be confused with the defense of Blocking. When dissociation is underscored with high intensity, Care needs to be taken to differentiate between the defense of dissociation and schizoid fantasy. Also, dissociation may need to be viewed against its context (i.e. Someone who has just been told a close friend was reported as missing...
- ISOLATION OF AFFECT
- Often times we may find ourselves describing a highly charged emotional experience in an elaborate intellectual fashion as a way of preserving emotional stability and decompensation. It is similar to Intellectualization, but differs from it in that isolation of affect maybe tied to single events, as opposed to intellectualization that is characterologically tied to a person's behavioral repertoire.
- INTELLECTUALIZATION
- This defense is usually observed as part and parcel of one's idiosyncratic way of communicating. These individuals are more prone to affective states such as anxiety, depression, inferiority, shame, ... They are vulnerable and invariably on guard .. At any given time when there is a subjective sense their barriers to emotional experiences may be breached, the unconscious distancing process is initiated by diverting and refocusing on the concrete, or semantic, or intellectual components of what is at hand. It is not unusual to observe hyperboli and/or dysphonia vis-a-vis intellectualization.
- RATIONALIZATION
- This is one of Freud's constructs. Simply put, rather than owning to a thought, feeling, or behavior, one may unconsciously begin to provide a reasonable explanation for an unreasonable thought, feeling, or behavior. Going beyond Freud, we can also observe a 'funny equation' used by some people infected by a touch of narcissism; " because" negates a thought, feeling, or behavior. (i.e. Yes, I hit you, but that's because you called me a name!)... So long as I have a because the event did not happen!
- REACTION FORMATION
- Freud also introduced Reaction Formation as a defense; He stated : "By using reaction formation, the id is satisfied while keeping the ego in ignorance of the true motives". The self-righteous individual whose sexual anxiety and/or inhibitions lead to virtual impotence that in turn takes the form of righteous indignation towards those afflicted by sexual desires !
- REPRESSION
- Another of Freud's proffers was the concept of repression where significant states, or past occurrences are totally and successfully obliterated from conscious memory.
- INHIBITION
-
This is a defense clearly serving to resolve conflicts between the ego and superego by inhibiting (suppressing) impulses, desires and/or the
expression of desires. It may take the forms of sexual, or food, or euthymic, or dispositional inhibitions, where normative expressions are
disallowed, or do not enter into consciousness .
Inhibitions differ from anxiety states. (Read Freud - Anxiety and Inhibitions)
- EXTERNALIZATION
- Externalization is an unconscious process where internalized introjects find manifest expression in one's world-view of themselves and others. (e.g. where an early introject of the characterological image of mother, expanded to include all women and shape my view of women in general.
MATURE
- ALTRUISM
- A defense mechanism where in feelings circumscribed by negative expression, or outcomes are suppressed and find differential expressions through acts of good will, tolerance, selflessness, and kindness .
- SUBLIMATION
- A propensity with a potential for grave harm and/or eggregiously negative consequences is unconsciously transformed into a socially redeeming trait, action, or hobby, or ...
- SUPPRESSION
- dispense with, or delay, dealing with anxiety producing events, thoughts, feeling, or behaviors.
- ANTICIPATION
- This is also a fully conscious decision to eliminate, or minimize anxiety through enacting and re-enacting prospective states, or events through cognitive analysis, behavioral actions, and/or dynamically analytic methods.
- HUMOR
- Another fully conscious decision to find humor in situations, and if possible to help others through a humorous view of a stressful situation, or event.
- ASCETICISM
- This may be the cure that may have been worse than the condition It entails the unconscious denunciation of a selective number of sources of pleasure in exchange for adherence to a moral code prospectively viewed as more rewarding.