Psychological Defense Mechanisms
When people start therapy, most intend to be forthcoming with important information. After all, how can you get help if you are not honest about your situation? But even when people intend to be open and honest, humans have defense mechanisms that shield them from stressful situations or unpleasant feelings like pain or shame.
First identified by Sigmund Freud, and later further developed by his daughter Anna Freud, defense mechanisms (also known as ego defense mechanisms) are unconscious behaviors that are thought to reduce feelings of anxiety and shield the mind from painful feelings. According to Freudian theory, ego defense mechanisms are designed to defend us when we feel threatened by our internal or external environment.
As a therapist applying psychoanalytic theory to clients, it is essential to recognize defense mechanisms like deflection or denial and understand how best to work through them to get to the root of an issue. As a client, it can also be helpful to understand what defense mechanisms look like and why you might be using them.
Certain defense mechanisms may be helpful if they are mature and properly applied. However, less mature coping mechanisms can have negative consequences such as symptoms of depression, or difficulty forming and maintaining healthy relationships with friends and family. Here are some of the most common defense mechanisms seen in therapy.
Common defense mechanisms
Denial: The most common defense mechanism
Displacement
Displacement means a person redirects a negative emotion away from its target and toward one less threatening. For example, if someone is angry at their boss, they might be afraid to express it at work for fear of losing their job, so they may take it out on their partner or family when they come home. Therefore, therapists must check in with clients about their real emotions if they feel they are demonstrating unacceptable impulses.
Repression
Repression is one of the most well-known defense mechanisms in clinical psychology, and it can be challenging to work through. Repression occurs when someone has a traumatic experience that is too painful to remember. However, because it is hard work for the mind to keep important repressed memories hidden, glimpses of the traumatic event will push through, for example, in dreams, until the event is remembered and processed.
Rationalization
Intellectualization
Projection
Projection means attributing to another person an impulse or personality trait you are not comfortable acknowledging or owning. We often think of projection as a way of disowning negative qualities, such as greediness or callousness. However, it is also possible to project positive traits that we are not comfortable with as well, such as sensitivity. An example of projection in therapy is if a client tells their therapist that they are worried their spouse is cheating on them. The therapist might question whether the client has the urge to cheat. Projection is similar to deflection since both mechanisms involve redirecting negative focus onto someone other than ourselves. However, deflection psychology is mostly a conscious process, while awareness is not present in projection.
Sublimation
Sublimation occurs when someone takes inappropriate emotions or disturbing wishes or thoughts and directs them toward a more socially acceptable activity. One example might be someone with a sexual addiction deciding to work out instead to avoid what they believe are unacceptable thoughts. Sublimation psychology can be helpful in that it results in constructive behavior. However, it can also be harmful because it doesn’t resolve the underlying issue of having unacceptable desires or unacceptable emotions.
Compensation
Those who have low self-esteem or feel like they are not succeeding in certain areas of life may use compensation to make up for what they view as negative attributes. For example, someone who cannot hold a steady job might go out of their way to help people in the community.
This defense mechanism can be harmful if the compensation goes too far and an individual bases their entire self-image on one area of their lives or certain personality characteristics.
Reaction formation
Demonstrating the ironic aspects of psychological defense, reaction formation is a defense that has an individual react in an opposite manner in reaction to their natural feelings. For example, someone may have a conscious awareness that they are angry and frustrated but may feel that they should not express negative emotions and instead become overly positive or display passive aggression toward their family members.
Aim inhibition
When an individual accepts a modified version of their original dreams, they are participating in aim inhibition. For example, someone who wants to become a professional singer may ultimately decide to perform locally for events or join a small chorus group.
Regression
Regression occurs when a person feels threatened by a situation and handles it by escaping to an earlier stage of development, often demonstrating physical symptoms of the regression. This may be easier to spot in children. For example, if a child experiences some form of trauma, you may see their emotional aspect regress to the oral stage as they begin sucking their thumb again.
However, even adults may regress to earlier stages. After traumatic events, they can avoid activities they enjoy, start chewing on pens or other objects, overeating, or sleeping with a favorite stuffed animal.
The above is not an exhaustive list of psychological defense mechanisms; further research will help you identify other defense mechanisms. The conversion defense mechanism (also called functional neurological symptom disorder) is one type of psychological defense mechanism not mentioned above. In this defense mechanism, unwanted emotions are diverted and manifested into physical illness.
Understanding defense mechanisms
In understanding defense mechanisms, it’s important to remember that while there are unhealthy defense mechanisms, there are also other defense mechanisms that act as healthy coping strategies in moderation. Examples of healthy defense mechanisms include humor and anticipation. Humor can be used to combat the negative emotions associated with an event. Anticipation can encourage preparedness, like a job candidate practicing their answer to tough interview questions to help reduce anxiety during the actual interview.
Online therapy & defense mechanisms
Can you identify any of these different defense mechanisms in your own life? Are you struggling with your own emotional challenges that you are trying to block out with defense mechanisms? If so, therapy can help you recognize and address those defense mechanisms. Professional licensed therapists can help you to identify and break through less mature defense mechanisms with evidence-based psychological strategies. They can also help you identify any deeper mental health challenges you may be experiencing, such as personality disorders or bipolar disorder. You have many options when it comes to finding a therapist to help you overcome unhealthy defense mechanisms. Online treatment is a convenient, and effective option to address your mental health.
Online therapy has many benefits. If you are feeling anxious or depressed, attending in-person sessions can be difficult. With online counseling, you don’t have to worry about commuting to an office or being on a waiting list. When you sign up, you are matched with an available therapist that’s ready to help you right away. Plus, you can participate in sessions through online chat, email, text, phone, or video chat, right from the comfort of home.
Research shows that online therapy is effective, too. One review of 14 studies found that online cognitive behavioral therapy led to a 50% improvement in symptoms of depression and multiple anxiety disorders and significantly reduced the impact of chronic fatigue and stress. If you want to learn more about whether online therapy is right for you, reach out to a BetterHelp therapist to get started.
Takeaway
See below for more on defense mechanisms.
How does Sigmund Freud relate to defense mechanisms?
Founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud devised the theory of defense mechanisms, or unconscious processes, as he called them. His work on defense mechanisms was then expanded upon by his daughter, Anna Freud. Some of the main Freudian defense mechanisms according to contemporary theory include:
- Denial
- Repression
- Projection
- Affiliation
- Displacement
- Sublimation
- Reaction formation
- Regression
- Rationalization
- Intellectualization
- Identification
- Undoing
Defense mechanisms continue to be relevant today in both the mental health and medical fields. For example, doctors may diagnose conversion disorder in an individual who presents with a medical issue with no identifiable cause if it’s suspected that the issue may be an unconscious defense mechanism. You can read about psychology's current theories on defense mechanisms in modern journals like Psychodynamic Psychiatry and texts that include references to Baumeister, a key contributor to literature on defense mechanisms.
Is reaction formation an unhealthy defense mechanism?
According to modern social psychology, all defense mechanisms human beings use have the potential to be unhealthy if they are overly relied upon or used to protect oneself in a maladaptive way. For example, consider emotional reaction formation. This mechanism is when a person behaves in a way that is contrary to how they actually feel, such as feeling upset about losing one's job but acting cheerful or unbothered. While this mechanism could help a person remain stable for a while as they process bad news, pushing aside their real feelings consistently over time may interfere with their abilities for emotional regulation and could lead to mental health consequences.
What are the healthiest defense mechanisms?
Though all defense mechanisms used in daily life have the potential to be unhealthy when employed in a maladaptive way, some defense mechanisms are more often considered healthy or adaptive. For example, sublimation, humor, and altruism are often healthy defense mechanisms, unless they're over-relied upon or frequently used in place of one’s abilities to manage anxiety or conflicting emotions directly.
What are narcissistic defense mechanisms?
A 2023 personality psychology study examined individuals with narcissistic traits per a personality assessment and identified several defense mechanisms that appeared to be common among this population. According to their empirical findings, these defense mechanisms were: “idealization, devaluation, rationalization, projection, splitting of self-image, splitting of object-image, projective identification, passive aggression, help-rejecting complaining, and acting out.” Each of these defense mechanisms may be used to avoid threatening thoughts or certain feelings that seem uncomfortable.
Are depression & anxiety defense mechanisms?
A 2024 study on the topic of defense mechanisms as they relate to mental health conditions divided defense mechanisms into “mature” and “immature,” and the “immature” or maladaptive category into “depressive” and “non-depressive” categories. Its findings suggest that “depressive defenses are especially strongly associated with mental health symptoms and psychopathology.” This could indicate that using defense mechanisms that are considered maladaptive and fall into the depressive category may make a person more likely to develop depression and/or may exacerbate depression symptoms.
Can crying be a defense mechanism?
Crying can sometimes be considered a defense mechanism, either on the conscious or unconscious level. It could be a form of sublimation or regression, for example. Or, it could be a general maladaptive mechanism to avoid receiving difficult feedback or engaging on difficult topics.
What's the difference between sublimation and rationalization defense mechanisms?
What are the defense mechanisms repression & regression?
Repression and regression are two different defense mechanisms. Repression is unconsciously blocking out an unwanted memory, like one of abuse or another threatening situation. In contrast, regression is when people act out behaviors from childhood—like those developed during what Freud called the anal stage—to cope with difficult emotions as an adult, such as hugging a stuffed animal when upset or having trouble with bed-wetting.
What are examples of displacement and projection defense mechanisms?
How can you tell if someone is in denial?
According to Harvard Health Publishing, there are a few behaviors that could indicate someone may be in denial and is trying to avoid facing reality and related unwanted thoughts. Examples include consistently minimizing issues or problematic behaviors, taking conversations the opposite way from the topic at hand, and refusing to take accountability for one's own actions or their consequences. Therapy can help individuals work through denial and other defense mechanisms.
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