When someone falls back into old ways of doing things, we might term them as "regressing" into an earlier point of development. They can serve a helpful role by protecting your ego from stress and providing a healthy outlet.
In other instances, these defense mechanisms might hold you back from facing reality and can act as a form of self-deception. If you notice that overuse of certain defense mechanisms is having a negative impact on your life, consider consulting with a mental health professional.
Psychotherapy may help whether you pursue a traditional face-to-face treatment or an online therapy option. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Cramer P. Understanding defense mechanisms.
Psychodyn Psychiatry. Association of ego defense mechanisms with academic performance, anxiety and depression in medical students: A mixed methods study.
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A theory of blame. Psychological Inquiry. Anderson MC, Huddleston E. True and False Recovered Memories. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.
Vaillant GE. American Psychiatric Pub; Burgo, J. Why Do I Do That? Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellMind. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
I Accept Show Purposes. Displacement Have you ever had a really bad day at work and then gone home and taken out your frustration with family and friends?
Denial Denial is probably one of the best-known defense mechanisms, used often to describe situations in which people seem unable to face reality or admit an obvious truth e. Repression and Suppression Repression is another well-known defense mechanism. Sublimation Sublimation is a defense mechanism that allows us to act out unacceptable impulses by converting these behaviors into a more acceptable form.
Projection Projection is a defense mechanism that involves taking our own unacceptable qualities or feelings and ascribing them to other people. Intellectualization Intellectualization works to reduce anxiety by thinking about events in a cold, clinical way. Rationalization Rationalization is a defense mechanism that involves explaining an unacceptable behavior or feeling in a rational or logical manner, avoiding the true reasons for the behavior.
Regression When confronted by stressful events, people sometimes abandon coping strategies and revert to patterns of behavior used earlier in development. Reaction Formation Reaction formation reduces anxiety by taking up the opposite feeling, impulse, or behavior. Other Defense Mechanisms Since Freud first described the original defense mechanisms, other researchers have continued to describe other methods of reducing anxiety.
Some of these defense mechanisms include: Acting out : Coping with stress by engaging in actions rather than acknowledging and bearing certain feelings Aim inhibition : Accepting a modified form of their original goal e.
Remember, defense mechanisms can be both good and bad. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.
Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Related Articles. What Is Regression in Psychology? What Is Reaction Formation? The super ego recognises that the fulfillment of his desires would contradict social norms regarding acceptable behavior, and so a reaction formation would occur - the man may experience feelings of dislike towards her - the opposite of the original feelings. Repression is perhaps the most significant of defense mechanisms in that repressed feelings and impulses can lead to the use of many other mechanisms.
Moreover, the superego acts as our moral compass, inducing feelings of guilt at having experienced the irrational desires that the id creates. Tensions inevitably arise between the id, ego and super ego and the guilt induced by the latter can lead to feelings of anxiety and shame. Freud and his colleague, Josef Breuer, used techniques such as hypnosis, regression and free association to encourage clients to recall and accept repressed memories and impulses.
Regression occurs when a person reverts to the types of behavior that they exhibited at an earlier age. Stress of adult life and the associated anxiety may lead to a person seeking comfort in things which they associate with more secure, happier times. They might regress by eating meals that they were given as a child, watching old films or cartoons, acting without thought for the consequences of their actions.
The self serving bias arises from our need to protect the ego from self criticism and to defend ourselves from the complaints of others. We show a self serving bias when we exaggerate the importance of our own achievements - after passing a test, we might over-estimate the significance of that particular exam, and take credit for completing it without acknowledging the role that tutors played in our success. Similarly, when faced with potential criticism we might deflect blame, apportioning responsibility for failure to anybody but ourselves.
Whilst many of us show signs of this self serving bias, it can be an ineffective method of defence as it distort our view of reality and our ability to rationalise and interpret events effectively.
When people feel that they have been victims of unjust actions, they may defend the ego by comparing themselves to those worse off.
Similarly, we may see similarities between ourselves and others in a better position to improve our self image. These defense mechanisms are known as download or upward social comparisons. For example, a man who has broken a leg and confined to a wheelchair may make a downwards social comparison with a person who has been diagnosed with a more serious condition to make their own situation seem less troublesome.
Alternatively, a person might seek to identify with a person of a perceived higher social position, such as when they learn that a celebrity is eating at the same restaurant as they are. They tend to view ideas as either right or wrong, with no middle ground or compromise. Sublimation is considered to be a more adaptive defence mechanism in that it can transform negative anxiety into a more positive energy. Psychiatrist George Vaillant identified it as a mature defense mechanism, which we can use to adapt to arising anxieties.
Whilst these impulses may be repressed, the energy behind them remains. Instead of converting this energy into socially unacceptable behavior, a person may use sublimation to redirect this motivation into more acceptable, even productive, endeavours.
Athletes may also use sublimation to concentrate their energy on productive activities such as training. The somatization defence mechanism occurs when the internal conflicts between the drives of the id, ego and super ego take on physical characteristics. Josef Breuer, a colleague of Sigmund Freud, observed this in the case of Anna O , who sought help from Breuer for hysteria.
For example, she experienced paralysis on one side, which Breuer linked to a dream in which she felt paralysed whilst trying to fend off a snake from her bed-bound father. Unlike many other defense mechanisms, the suppression of thoughts and emotions is something which occurs consciously and we may be entirely aware that we are attempting to suppress anxieties. Suppression involves attempting not to think about a memory or feelings - a person may try to think of another subject when an uneasy thought enters their mind or they might preoccupy their minds by undertaking an unrelated task to distract themselves.
A person may also suppress feelings of love or dislike towards a person, behaving normally towards them as though they felt dispassionate towards them. A person may intentionally push past someone in a shop, but realising that the person was frail, feel guilty with regards to their behavior.
They may try to undo their action by apologising or offering to help the person. We all engage in wishful thinking to some extent in an attempt to avoid facing undesirable realities.
A football fan might deceive themselves that the ailing team that they support will miraculously turn themselves around and win all of the future matches of the season. Such wishful thinking enables the person to avoid disappointment and sadness for as long as possible. Which Archetype Are You?
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What's your personality type? Find out with this test. Displacement involves a person feeling that they cannot express a negative emotion toward a particular person, so they direct those negative emotions toward someone else. For example, a person who feels that their boss has been unfair may also fear being fired if they complain or express anger — and as a result, they may later shout at a family member.
Intellectualization involves a person using reason and logic to avoid uncomfortable or anxiety-provoking emotions. Intellectualization can be a useful way of explaining and understanding negative events. They may rationalize that person A was having a stressful day. However, intellectualization can cause people to downplay the importance of their own feelings and focus instead on treating all difficult situations as problems that need to be solved.
This can stop a person from learning how to deal with their own difficult emotions. Defense mechanisms are psychological ways of helping a person deal with uncomfortable or traumatic situations or emotions. However, some people fall into a pattern of routinely using defense mechanisms to avoid addressing uncomfortable emotions or unhealthy patterns of behavior.
Defense mechanisms are a common feature of depression and anxiety. Often, people with these conditions have become reliant on defense mechanisms as a way of dealing with trauma or anxiety.
While these mechanisms may help prevent or limit discomfort in the short term, they are not a long-term solution. Distortion and dissociation are particularly common in people with certain mental health conditions. Distortion often affects people with body image disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and BDD. Dissociation can be a feature of post-traumatic stress disorder , better known as PTSD, bipolar disorder , and schizophrenia. Developing defense mechanisms is a part of normal development, and these mechanisms can be positive ways of handling difficult situations.
Some people become stuck in patterns of thinking that rely on defense mechanisms. This can negatively affect the person and their relationships with others. With the right treatment, people can find positive ways of dealing with uncomfortable feelings and emotions. Over time, the use of unhelpful defense mechanisms should diminish. The right treatment for a person who routinely uses defense mechanisms depends on the types of mechanisms that they use and whether they have any underlying mental health conditions.
Some options include:. This can help a person explore the thoughts and feelings that may be behind a particular defense mechanism.
Therapy may involve one-to-one sessions or group sessions. Some people benefit from lifestyle changes that help them manage their stress levels. Better stress management can help reduce the need for defense mechanisms. Some helpful techniques include:. A person may require medication for an underlying mental health condition. Depending on the condition, these treatments may include:. Defense mechanisms are a natural part of human psychology.
They help the mind cope with uncomfortable or traumatic situations or emotions. However, some people routinely use defense mechanisms as a way of avoiding their feelings and emotions or excusing their behavior. If a person is continually relying on unhelpful patterns of thinking, they may wish to seek support from a qualified therapist. With the right treatment, people can reduce their use of defense mechanisms and learn to address their feelings and emotions in a more positive and constructive way.
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