Mental Health Defense/Cognitive Flashcards
Catastrophizing
Cognitive Distortion
assuming the worst will happen
“I’m afraid to go to the doctor. I know this breast lump is cancer and I’m going to die.”
DIchotomous thinking
Cognitive Distortion
using all-or-nothing, black-or-white reasoning that interferes with a realistic self-perception
“Either my life has to be absolutely perfect, or I’ll kill myself.”
Labeling
Cognitive Distortion
labeling an event as a character flaw, so that instead of “I made a mistake,” a person says to himself,
“I’m a jerk,” or “I’m a loser.”
Magnification
Cognitive Distortion
attributing a high level of importance to an insignificant event – blowing things out of proportion
“I know he saw the coffee stain on my tie when I had my interview. Now I won’t get the job.”
Mind-reading
Cognitive Distortion
assuming knowledge of another person’s thoughts or motivations without validating perceptions
“I know him. He won’t care what I say. He’ll just do whatever he pleases anyway.”
Overgeneralization
Cognitive Distortion
taking information or an impression from one event and attaching it to a wide variety of situations
“Women always turn mean after you marry them.”
Personalization
Cognitive Distortion
interpreting events as pertaining only to oneself, also referred to as ideas of reference:
“I walked into the classroom and everyone stopped talking. I know they were talking about me.”
Selective abstraction
Cognitive Distortion
focusing on certain information while ignoring contradictory information
“That was just a fling. I know my husband loves me and will never leave me.”
Superstitious Thinking
Cognitive Distortion
believing that some unrelated action will magically influence the course of events
“If I wear my lucky socks, the ones I wore when we won the championship, my team will win today.”
Hallucinations
Perceptual Disturbance
auditory, visual, tactile (bugs crawling on skin), olfactory, gustatory, cenesthetic (feels internal bodily functions such as urine collecting), kinesthetic (sensation of bodily movement when client is still, such as floating above ground)
Illusion
Perceptual Disturbance
misperceptions of real external stimuli, i.e., a widower hears someone speak and believes it is his dead wife’s voice
Derealization
Perceptual Disturbance
feelings of unreality related to the environment, i.e., objects appear to shimmer, breathe; objects are diminished in size
Depersonalization
Perceptual Disturbance
feelings of unreality related to oneself, i.e., extremities have changed size; perceives self from a distance; robot-like
Defense Mechanisms
unconscious ways to avoid anxiety-producing situations, real or imagined
Acting Out
Defense Mechanism (Common) The use of actions versus reflection or true experiencing of feelings to handle stress or conflict (angry teen punches hole in wall).
Altruism
Defense Mechanism
Devoting oneself to serving others as a way to manage conflict and stress; differs from reaction formation because it is personally gratifying, not self-sacrificing (woman with history of childhood abuse seeks rewarding healing experience by volunteering for abuse hot-line).
Compensation
Defense Mechanism
Covering up for deficiencies in one area by excelling in another area (poor student academically excels in sports).
Denial
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Unconscious refusal to perceive or face unpleasant reality, an unacceptable idea or behavior (alcoholic says he doesn’t have a problem
Displacement
Defense Mechanism (Common)
The discharge of pent-up feelings (frequently hostility) onto something or someone else in the environment less threatening than the original source (Angry man takes it out on his wife after a stressful day at work; wife then yells at kids).
Dissociation
Defense Mechanism
Unconscious separation of painful feelings from an unacceptable idea, situation or object (amnesia for yesterday’s auto accident).
Fantasy
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Gratification of frustrated desires, achievements and relationships by substituting them with daydreams and imagery (alcoholic expects wife to stop divorce proceedings because he went through detox, even though he has no intention of going into rehab, attending AA).
Identification
Defense Mechanism
A conscious or unconscious attempt to model oneself after a respected (or counter-culture) person (preschooler uses gang hand gestures).
Intellectualization
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Using only abstract thinking or generalizations to control or minimize painful feelings (depressed man keeps conversation superficial).
Introjection
Defense Mechanism
Unconsciously incorporating wishes, values, and attitudes of others as if they are one’s own (without realizing it, client talks and acts like his therapist, analyzing other patients).
Isolation of affect
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Separation of feelings from thoughts and ideas that are originally associated with them (flat affect while describing recent death of son).
Help-rejecting complaining
Defense Mechanism
Repeated requests for help, suggestions or advice that is then rejected; the request disguises covert feelings of hostility towards others; complaints may be about problems of life, physical or psychological symptoms (“Yes, but that won’t work….”).
Humor
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Emphasis on ironic or amusing components of a crisis, conflict or stressor (woman makes fun of her own obesity).
Minimizing
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Not acknowledging the significance of one’s behavior in order to avoid personal responsibility (“I only hit her once.”).
Omnipotence
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Feeling or acting superior to others or as if one has special abilities or power (psychotic man says he’s Jesus).
Passive-aggression
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Expression of aggression toward others in indirect and nonassertive ways; covert hostility and resentment masked by overt compliance (patient agrees with need for medication, but throws out prescription).
Projection
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Blaming others or the environment for unacceptable desires, thoughts, shortcomings and mistakes (student blames teacher for failing).
Rationalization
Defense Mechanism (Common)
Justifying or excusing own behavior to avoid guilt, responsibility, conflict, loss of self respect (alcoholic says one drink is okay)
Reaction Formation
Defense Mechanism
Acting the opposite of what one thinks or feels in self-sacrificing way (woman who didn’t want children becomes super-mom).