13 Types of Defense Mechanisms with Examples

Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanisms are ways in which an individual’s mind deal with stressful situations unconsciously. They separate themselves from unpleasant situations, thoughts and actions. The defense mechanisms were suggested by the psychologist Sigmund Freud in his theory of psychoanalysis. However, most of the work was developed by his daughter Anna Freud.

Examples of Defense Mechanism

Denial; is one of the major defense mechanisms applied by most people. It occurs when an individual refuses to acknowledge the reality of matters. They tend to do this such that they don’t have to deal with the circumstances presented. Example, when someone has received bad news like the death of a loved one, their first reactions would be “No” “No”.

Avoidance; is when an individual tries to make an escape from dealing with the challenges they are facing. It is normally associated with uncomfortable feelings and events. Example, when one has been involved in an accident, they might try to avoid that location to keep away from the traumatic experience.

Acting out; This is when one develops a behavior that distracts them from their stressors. It is mostly found in adolescents who might engage in truancy as a way of dealing with their emotions.

Repression; happens when a person keeps information from their consciousness. It could be unpleasant thoughts, memories and feelings. The individual pushes these facts away in the hope that they will disappear or be forgotten. However, that is never the case. The experiences shoved away from the conscious would later on influence their behavior unconsciously. Example, when you lose someone close to you but you think you have to be strong for the sake of your younger siblings, you end up not mourning. The feelings are emotions that come with grief are pushed away.

Projection; takes place when we take our unacceptable belief, feelings and qualities and attribute them to another person. For example, when you hate someone, you might try to believe that they hate you instead.

Displacement; Occurs when you misdirect your feelings and emotions. For example, When your boss at work angers you, you cannot take them down. Therefore, you go home and instead, pick a fight with your younger sibling.

Regression; Takes place when an individual revert to an earlier developmental stage when experiencing a difficult challenge. Psychologist Freud states that individuals who do not navigate their developmental stages successfully develop “fixations”. Fixations refer to pleasure seeking drives in a developmental stage. Therefore an individual who regresses, may show fixated behaviors such as bed wetting, nail biting.

Reaction Formation; Happens when an individuals reacts in the opposite manner of how they truly feel. These individuals could be trying to hide their emotions for example anger.

Sublimation; The people using this mechanism tend to redirect their emotions towards other activities or objects. For example, someone who is angry might decide to channel their anger towards hitting a bag or boxing. Some deal with their emotions through exercises, art or music.

Compartmentalization; this mechanism works in a way that an individual separates the different parts of their lives from interacting. For example one might not talk about their work at home or vice versa.

Rationalization; It is away in which an individual tend to distort facts or the reality they are facing such that it does not look threatening. For example, those individuals who never lack an excuse for anything might be using rationalization unconsciously.

Intellectualization; happens when an individual is faced with a challenging situation, they tend to try to separate their emotions from the facts by using logic. Example, when an individual loses a job, instead of worrying and stressing they might decide to start trying for other job opportunities.

Dissociation; is where an individual chooses to disconnect from a situation like it is not happening at all. People tend to dissociate from traumatic and stressful events.

References

1. Bailey, R., & Pico, J. (2020). Defense Mechanisms. StatPearls [Internet].
2. Perry, J. C., & Metzger, J. (2014). Introduction to “defense mechanisms in psychotherapy”. Journal of clinical psychology, 70(5), 405. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22084