INTRODUCTIONDEFENCE MECHANISM

BODILY DEFENCE MECHANISM

EGO DEFENCE MECHANISM

Mental defence mechanism or ego defence mechanismINTRODUCTION:-Sigmund Freud in 1904 used this term “defence

mechanism” to refer to the unconscious process that defends or protects a person against anxiety, shame, loss of self esteem, conflict or unacceptable feelings.

According to Freud, when Id is in serious conflict with ego and superego, the individual suffer from tension or anxiety.

Defence mechanism enables a person to resolve conflict and reduce the stress and anxiety.

Usually all defence mechanisms are operated at unconscious level.

Most of defence mechanisms are self-deceptive in nature.

DEFINITION:- Defence mechanism is a pattern of adjustment through which an

individual relieves anxiety caused by an uncomfortable situation that threaten self-esteem.

When these defence mechanisms are used moderately are harmless but excessive and persistent defence use is harmful.

CLASSIFICATION OF DEFENCE MECHANISM:-These defence mechanisms are classified according to its

results- Positive defence mechanism negative defence mechanismPOSITIVE DEFENCE MECHANISMS:-1. Compensation2. Substitution3. Sublimation4. Rationalization5. Repression6. Undoing

7. Identification8. Transference9. Intellectualization 10. Introjection

NEGATIVE DEFENCE MECHANISMS:-11. Suppression12. Displacement13. Projection14. Regression15. Fixation16. Fantasy17. Reaction formation18. Conversion19. Dissociation20. Denial

POSITIVE DEFENCE MECHANISMS

1. COMPENSATION:- Compensation is a

pattern by which tension or anxiety relieved by an individual make up for personal weakness.

EXAMPLE:-A student who fails in

his studies may compensate by becoming the college champion in atheletics.

a plain girl, who cannot compete with her more beautiful sisters, may compensate by studying hard and come 1st in her class.

2. SUBSTITUTION:-It is a mechanism by

which tension or anxiety reduced by replacing the unachievable goal with achievable goal.

EXAMPLE:A student who has not

been able to get admission to the MBBS course may try to substitute it with a course of physiotherapy or nursing.

A person aspire to become a national level cricket player and not selected. He may substitue this goal by being a coach at college level.

3. SUBLIMATION:-It is a mechanism that

causes channelization of socially unacceptable desires into acceptable form.

In this mechanism primitive impulses are transferred or directed to a socially useful goal.

EXAMPLE:-A teenage boy with strong

competitive and aggressive feelings becomes a football player.

A young man who has lost his lover may turn to write poetry about love.

A person who has aggressive feeling and cannot express in society can become a soldier or boxer.

4. RATIONALIZATION:-

It is a defence mechanism in which an individual justifies his failures and socially unacceptable feelings and behaviors by making excuses or formulate logical reasons / socially approved reasons.

EXAMPLE:A husband does not enjoy

the company of wife outside the the home and usually leave his wife at home. He gives logic that his wife is social shy.

A girl fails to get admission for the nursing course may point out a number of difficulties of nursing profession.

A person without a vehicle says that he does not want to risk his life by driving.

5. REPRESSION:-Repression is a process of

unconscious forgetfulness of our unpleasant experiences.

Repression is the involuntary bloking of unpleasant feelings and experiences from one’s awareness.

6. UNDOING:-Undoing is the act

symbolically cancelling or reversing out a previous act which is unaccetable.

EXAMPLE:-A man is jealous of his good

friend’s success but is unaware of his feeling of jealousy.

EXAMPLE:A daughter shout at her

father as there is no petrol in the car and is getting late for office, brings a favourite film for her father to watch.

This is an example of undoing her behavior of shouting and then bringing a film.

7. IDENTIFICATION:-Through this process, an

individual attempts to increase self worth by acquiring certain attributes and characteristics of an another individual one admires.

It plays a large part in the development of personality.

In this individual feels personal satisfaction in the success and achievement of other group or person.

EXAMPLE:-The young son of a famous

civil rights worker adopts his father’s attitudes and behavior with the intent of pursuing similar aspirations.

An illiterate father often takes his son’s higher education as his own achievement.

8. TRANSFERENCE:-In transference, the image

of one person is unconsciously identified with that of another.

EXAMPLE:-A patient who is fond of

his daughter finds the nurse of the same age and height as his daughter. So he transfer his positive emotions to the nurse as his daughter.

It is also possible that if he dislikes his daughter he transfers his negative emotions to the nurse by being rude, abusive, or aggressive without any cause.

9. INTELLECTUALIZATION:-

Intellectualization is an attempt to avoid expressing actual emotions associated with a stressful situation by using the intellectual processes of logic, reasoning and analysis.

10. INTROJECTION:-In introjection the values and

characteristics of significant persons are incorporated in one’s personality.

EXAMPLE:-a young professor receives

a letter from his fiancee breaking off their engagement. He shows no emotion when discussing this with his best friend.

Instead he analyzes his fiancee’s behavior and tries to reason why the relationship failed

EXAMPLE:-A women who likes to live

in a simple way introjects in her the sophisticated way, of living likes her husband.

NEGATIVE DEFENCE MECHANISMS:-some defence mechanisms have negative impact over relations or development of person.

1. SUPPRESSION:-Suppression is the

voluntary blocking of unpleasant feelings and experiences from one’s awareness to avoid discomfort and anxiety.

EXAMPLE:-Student consciously

decides not to think about her insult in examinations hall so that he can study effectively.

A patient may refuse to consider his difficulties by saying that he does not want to talk about it.

2. DISPLACEMENT:-In this defence

mechanism an unconsciously emotional feeling is transferred to person or object who are less dangerous than those who initially aroused the emotion.

An individual who is using displacement is unaware of this at that time, but later he can realize it.

EXAMPLE:-A person who is angry with

his boss but cannot show it for fear of losing the job may fight with his wife on return from the office.

3. PROJECTION:-Placing blame for own

difficulties upon others.Here, others are seen as

responsible for own mistakes.

One’s own unacceptable feelings and thoughts are expressed as they are due to others.

EXAMPLE:-A surgeon who did

mistake in operation may insist that it happened because theatre nurse and ward boy did their task badly.

A businessperson who values punctuality is late for a meeting and states , “sorry I’m late. My assistant forgot to remind me of the time.

4. REGRESSION:-Regression means an

immature way of responding to a stress or go backwards.

In this the adult revert back to an earlier developmental level in order to deal with reality.

An individual does less mature form of behavior when faced with difficulties, where he finds less conflict hence less anxiety.

Adults too may regress to the oral stage of development and suck their thumb when life gets stressful.

EXAMPLE:-Nurse makes an error in

giving medication and starts crying.

A person who is depressed may withdraw to his or her room, curl up in a fetal position on the bed.

5. FIXATION:-Fixation refers to the point

in the individual’s development at which certain aspects of the emotional development do not advance.

6. FANTACY:-Fantacy is used to gratify

frustrated desires by imaginary achievements and wishful thinking.

The tendency of day dreaming is most common during adolescence.

EXAMPLE:-Thumb sucking continuously

till adult age.An unmarried, middle aged

man still depends on his mother to provide his basic needs.

EXAMPLE:-A young boy who could not

help his ailing father due to shortage of money, day dreams that he has got lot of money from lottery ticket and his father, mother and family members has best of the facilities for everything.

7. REACTION FORMATION:-

In this defence mechanism the unacceptable real feelings are repressed and acceptable opposite feelings are expressed.

It is defined as unconscious transformation of unacceptable impulse into exactly opposite attitudes, impulse, feelings or behaviors.

EXAMPLE:- Women who actually

dislike her mother in law hide her feelings by being always nice to her.

8. CONVERSION:-In this pattern of defence

mechanism strong emotional conflicts which are not expressed are converted into physical symptoms.

It has two benefit for person-

It resolves the conflict It brings him a great deal

of attention and sympathy.

EXAMPLE:-A student nurse, who is

very anxious about her examination, may develop a headach.

9. DISSOCIATION:-Dissociation is involuntary

suppression of a mental function from rest of personality in a manner that allows expression of forbidden unconscious impulse without having any sense of responsibility for actions.

EXAMPLE:-Partial amnesia.

10. DENIAL:-Any individual refuses to

face the reality. It protect the individual

from shock of reality.Person unconsciously use

this mechanism and this reaction is for sometime.

Denial is quite harmless if practiced in moderation but can lead to serious difficulties in health and life style if practiced in excess.

EXAMPLE:-When some very near and

dear one die in the family. Some people say no, he is still alive.