Defense mechanisms

Defense mechanisms- These mental strategies and behaviors used to avoid painful feelings caused by difficult situations.

• They provide a distraction or escape from having to directly confront and deal with events or circumstances we find upsetting.
• The occasional use of defense mechanisms is common, but as a regular use is unhealthy. People usually have a few regular defense mechanisms they resort to when threatened.

Types of defense mechanisms-

• Repression- Pushing upsetting thoughts, feelings, or circumstances from conscious memory. Once repressed, the individual may not even remember the event especially if it was extremely traumatic.
• Denial- Consciously rejecting an obvious truth or reality. One of the most commonly used for many people.
• Rationalization- Involves creating a possible but false reason to explain a situation.
• Daydreaming and fantasy- Ways to escape from your real life into a more pleasant, imaginary world. Another common one used. It can be healthy to add pleasure to our lives but destructive if it interferes with daily functioning and becomes a habitual way of responding to any situation we find disturbing.
• Humor- Humor and laughing are two of the best things we can do for ourselves, but they can also be misused. We can be hurtful when we poke fun at others. Sometimes we use humor to make fun of ourselves as a cover-up for when we’re really upset about something.
• Projection– Shifting one’s own unacceptable thoughts, feelings or actions onto someone else in an attempt to avoid feelings of guilt, shame or regret. With projection, the fault lies with you, but is shifted by you to avoid blame.
• Displacement- Diverting emotional feelings (usually anger) from the original source to a substitute target (usually a less risky target). The fault lies outside of you, but is still shifted by you to displace blame.