Defense Mechanisms

Sigmund Freud, the Austrian psychiatrist regarded as the father of psychoanalysis, first described defense mechanisms. People use them, consciously or unconsciously, to deflect anxiety and bury feelings that threaten self-esteem. His daughter Anna Freud and later psychoanalysts built on the idea.

What Are Defense Mechanisms?

A defense mechanism is a mostly unconscious, self-protective process that shields the ego from intense feelings, affect, and impulses. These intrapsychic processes modify, nullify, or redirect painful feelings so a person can tolerate them. They run mostly at the subconscious level, so people usually do not notice they are doing it.

History

The concept took shape in the early 20th century out of Freud's psychoanalytic work. He held that the unconscious mind uses defense mechanisms to guard against painful, anxiety-inducing thoughts and feelings, which set up later research into how people protect themselves from emotional strain.

Major Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanisms are a core topic in psychotherapy. The major ones include:

Defense Mechanism	Definition	Example
Displacement	Redirection of negative urges or feelings from an original object to a safer or neutral substitute.	The man who is angry with his boss and returns home and becomes angry instead with his wife or children.
Denial	Refusal to admit to a painful reality, which is treated as if it does not exist.	The woman who miscarries denies that she has lost the baby and continues to wear maternity clothes.
Intellectualization	Use of excessive reasoning rather than reacting or changing.	A woman attending Alcoholics Anonymous meeting reports that she is a nurse and has conducted many 12-step sessions.
Introjection	Engulfment or incorporation of specific traits, behaviors or qualities into self or ego structure.	A depressed man who incorporates the negative feelings and hatred of his estranged wife, who recently filed for divorce.
Projection	Blame of other’s or things for one’s own feelings or thoughts.	The client experiencing paranoia blames others for disliking him.
Rationalization	An effort to replace or justify acceptable reasons for feelings, beliefs, thoughts, or behaviors for real ones.	A woman who overextended credit cards rationalizes that she can use er savings to pay for a new dress she recently purchased.
Reaction formation	Repression of painful or offensive attitudes or traits with unconscious opposite ones.	The college student who feels angry and hostile toward her professor is overtly friendly and agreeable in class.
Regression	Retreat to an earlier developmental stage.	The 3-year old child who begins wetting his pants after the birth of a new sibling.
Repression	Unconscious, purposeful forgetting of painful or dangerous thoughts (the most basic defense mechanism).	The married woman who expresses hostility toward a male co-worker to avoid dealing with her sexual attraction to him.
Sublimation	Normal form of dealing with undesirable feelings or thoughts by keeping them in an acceptable context.	The woman who is unable to bear children begins working in a preschool.
Suppression	Conscious and deliberate forgetfulness of painful or undesirable thoughts and ideas.	A rape victim attempts to forget the incident and fails to report it to the proper authorities.