Defence Mechanisms Flashcards
What are defence mechanisms?
Mental and emotional responses that protect the psyche (soul, mind and spirit) are called ego defence mechanisms according to Freud. Defence mechanisms are employed by the conscious mind to protect an individual from a range of overwhelming thoughts, problems, conflicts and emotions. During the day, the psyche guards itself from emotional upset, disturbing emotions and sexual desires by employing subtle unconscious methods. When asleep, these methods are relaxed as the psyche lets its guard down. We use defence mechanisms to protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety or guilt which arise because we feel threatened or our unconscious mind becomes too demanding.
What is suppression as a defence mechanism?
Suppression is the act of stopping ourselves from thinking or feeling something. Suppressing unwanted thoughts can lead to increased occurrence of these thoughts in our dreams. If you suppress emotions and waking thoughts then they may reappear when asleep because our psyche lets its guard down. According to Freud, if a sexual desire goes unsatisfied during the dreamer’s day then the mind reacts by turning it into a visual fantasy to allow the dreamer to satisfy this desire.
What is repression as a defence mechanism?
Repression occurs when painful or disturbing thoughts , memories or desires are consistently pushed away by a person. These desires are kept out of the conscious mind when awake but return in dreams as some hidden symbol. The symbolism itself is a mechanism and behind it is the person’s true desire. As the conscious mind lets its guard down during sleep, there is greater access to repressed desires so dreams can give us an idea of what is in the unconscious mind. Dreams are a way of fulfilling repressed emotions. These painful thoughts are out of the conscious mind but inevitably return in the unconscious mind and can lead to psychological problems.
What is displacement as a defence mechanism?
Displacement is the transfer of negative emotions from one person or thing to an unrelated person or thing. Displacement occurs in dreams when something unimportant is brought to prominence in order to shift attention away from what is really important in the dream. This helps to protect the conscious mind from anxiety. Displacement protects the dreamer from the actual content of a dream by turning it into a safer emotion, idea or symbol. An example of displacement could be falling into water which represents birth. Displacement plays a similar psychological role to that of hidden symbols in repression. This makes it harder for therapists to uncover latent content. Symbols are a form of ego defence.
