Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
Performing an extreme behavior in order to express thoughts or feelings the person is incapable of otherwise expressing
Behavior acts as a pressure release and often helps the person feel calmer and peaceful
Self-injury may allow expression in physical pain of what one cannot stand to feel emotionally
acting out
Tendency to see in the external world or people aspects of one’s own personality, feelings, or impulses- often those that are perceived as negative
May be accurate or inaccurate and might lead to significant misunderstandings
externalization
Channeling of unacceptable or unattainable desires into imagination
Escaping mundane or distressing reality by exploring alternative but unrealistic situations
Can lead to losing touch with reality and prevent viable actions to improve the situation
fantasy
Creation of an ideal impression of a person, place, or object by emphasizing their positive qualities and neglecting those that are negative
Adjusting the way in which the world is perceived can lead to poor judgement
idealization
Belief that the source of everything that happens is oneself
Lack of recognition of the separate existence of others with a will different from one’s own
Might affect formation of realistic causal relationships
omnipotent control
Energy remaining after a display of unacceptable aggression is suppressed is released as being uncooperative, or ignoring others
passive aggression
Misattribution of a person’s undesired thoughts, feelings, or impulses onto another person who does not have those thoughts, feelings or impulses
Used when thoughts are considered unacceptable for the person to express
Results from lack of insight and acknowledgment of one’s own motivations and feelings
projection
Identifying with impulses projected onto oneself by another
Experience of unacceptable impulses transferred to one individual from another
projective identification
Representing conflicts as physical symptoms
somatization
Refusal to accept reality or fact
Acting as if a painful event, thought, or feeling did not exist
Characteristic of early childhood development
denial
Gross reshaping of external reality to meet internal needs
distortion
Ego attempts to reconcile multiple aspects or rationales but resorts to understanding the world in black and white terms
Taking the either-or approach when evaluating the world
Good versus bad approach in relationships
splitting
Redirection of thoughts, feelings, and impulses directed at one person or object but taken out on another person or object
Used when feelings cannot be expressed safely to the person they are directed at
Feelings are expressed but their misapplication often causes additional problems
displacement
Loss of time and/or person (usual thought processes and memories)
Finding another representation of self in order to continue in the moment
Disconnected view of oneself in the world, living in a different world that is not affected by thoughts, feelings, or memories that are unbearable
Associated with childhood abuse
dissociation
Transformation of negative feelings towards others into negative feelings toward self, pain, illness, and anxiety
hypochondriasis
Overemphasis on thinking when confronted with an unacceptable impulse, situation, or behavior without employing any emotions to help mediate and contextualize the thoughts
Employed to distance oneself from the impulse, events, or behavior
intellectualization
Separating ideas or feelings from other thoughts
Attempt to protect the ego from anxiety caused by a specific situation
isolation
Offering an alternative explanation for one’s perceptions or behaviors in the face of a changing reality
rationalization
Conversion of unwanted or dangerous thoughts, feelings, or impulses into their opposites
Incapability of expressing the negative emotions leads to expression of positive emotions in their stead
reaction formation
Reversion to an earlier stage of development in the face of unacceptable thoughts or impulses
regression
Attempt to take back an unconscious behavior or thought that is unacceptable or hurtful
Attempt to counteract previous damage in the hope that the two actions will balance one another
undoing
Act of goodwill towards another person can be used as a way of diffusing a potentially anxious situation
Helping a person an individual does not particularly like, neutralizing an argument with positivity
altruism
Planning for/rehearsing possible outcomes of a stressful event in one’s mind or telling oneself that it will not be as bad as imagined
anticipation
Channeling of unacceptable impulses or thoughts into a light-hearted story or joke
Reduces the intensity of a situation and places a cushion of laughter between the person and the impulses
humor
Adoption of social norms and attitudes of others from whom one seeks acceptance in order to avoid rejection
identification
Adoption of environmental stimuli and conversion of stimuli into one’s own ideas
Internalizing criticism, religious ideas, political opinions, mannerisms
introjection
Channeling of unacceptable impulses, thoughts, and emotions into more acceptable ones
Refocusing an unacceptable or harmful impulse into a productive one helps channel energy that otherwise would be lost or used in a manner that might cause more anxiety
sublimation
Occurs consciously, one might be entirely aware of attempts not to think about a memory or feeling
Attempt to preoccupy oneself with other unrelated thoughts or tasks
supression
