DEFENSE

MECHANISMS
Are psychological techniques used by
the ego to reduce anxiety and conflict
by modifying, disturbing or rejecting
reality, and not in themselves
pathological

CHARACTERISTICS

It operates primarily on the

unconscious level
It is part of ego maintenance
When defenses cease to be
effective, psychosis may result
Individuals may not be able to
control defense mechanisms even
when conscious of them
COMMON DEFENSE MECHANISM:

COMPENSATION:
overachievement in one area to offset real
or perceived deficiencies in another area.

Example:
Napoleon Complex: diminutive man
becoming an emperor
Unattractive small girl cultivates her dancing
skills and becomes a graceful dancer
CONVERSION:
mechanism through which elements
of intra-psychic conflicts are
disguised and expressed symbolically
through physical symptoms
Examples:
A woman who have witnessed her
child killed, suddenly goes blind
Jenson suddenly develops impotence
after his wife discovers he is having
an affair with his secretary
DENIAL:
Mechanism by which ego refuses to perceive or
face emotional conflict or painful anxiety
inducing aspects of reality, thus the material is
rejected as they are, eliminating the
consequence of anxiety
Examples:
An alcoholic denies problem by saying he is a
social drinker who can stop anytime
A comment often heard from patients in
psychiatric unit I have nothing wrong, all I
need is rest.
Waiting for 3 days just later to seek help for
severe abdominal pain
DISPLACEMENT:
Mechanism through which emotional feelings
is transferred, deflected, and redirected to
another person or object.
Examples:
A person who is mad at his boss yells at her
spouse
After an argument, an innocent cat crossing
your way became of victim of self-learned
kicking-karate defense
Slamming the door after a fight with your ate
DISSOCIATION:
It is dealing with emotional conflict by temporary
alteration in consciousness or identity.
Example:
A raped girl was found wandering in a highway wearing
torn disheveled clothing
Deeper clinical example: Somnambulism
Alteration in the persons personality, memory or
consciousness is categorized into:
Amnesia loss of memory that the person is disoriented and
confused
Fugue characterized by physical flight. The person having
gone to another place assumes new identity or personality
Multiple personality presence of two or more distinct
identities (case : from a conservative to flirtatious person)
Depersonalization feeling of unreality to oneself
FIXATION:
Immobilization of a person of personality
resulting from unsuccessful completion of task
in a developmental stage

Example:
Never learning to delay gratification
Lack of clear sense of identity as an adult
IDENTIFICATION:
Modeling actions and opinions from influential
others while searching for identity, thus the
person patterns himself to resemble the
personality of an admired other including
attitudes, values and behaviors
Example:
An adolescent girl has her hair cut like her
favorite star
A little girl who dresses up like her mother to
play her mothers house role, tries to talk and
act like her mother
INTELLECTUALIZATION:
A person uses her intellectual prowess of
thinking, reasoning and analyzing to blunt or
avoid emotional stress.
It is the separation of the emotion of a painful
event from facts involved; acknowledging the
facts but not the emotions
Example:
A person shows no emotional expression when
discussing serious car accident
Amanda talks about her sons death and bout
with cancer without showing signs of sadness
INTROJECTION:
A mechanism through which loved or hated attitudes,
wishes, ideals, values, of a person are symbolically
incorporated into self.
Example:
A young girl, while her mother is gone, disciplines
her younger brother just like her mother would.
Psychopathological, the conflicting feelings, values,
attitudes of another person are assimilated so that
they are no longer an external threat to the person
case: A patient claims to be Moses have been
observed dressing and acting like Moses with beard,
long hair, wore a blanket and sandals. He refuses to
participate in activities unless hes being called
Moses
PROJECTION:
The person rejects aspects of self by imputing
to others motives and emotional feelings that
are unacceptable to the self. Commonly, comes
in form of unconsciously blaming unacceptable
inclinations to someone else.
Example:
A man who has thoughts of same-gender sexual
relationships is very sensitive to gays.
A student in NCM 04 comes late in her
Psychiatric Nursing Class blames her mother for
failing to set the alarm last night
RATIONALIZATION:
unconscious justification of ideas, actions, or
feelings with good, acceptable reasons or
explanation. Generally, it is used to maintain self-
respect, prevent guilt feelings and obtain social
approval or acceptance
Example:
Fe, who cant afford to buy a new dress says to
her friend Anna, Id like to have the dress in that
window, but I dont think the color suits me.
A student who repeats psychiatric nursing blames
his professor for incompetency in teaching.
A student in NCM104, not invited to a classmates
debut say: I dont really want to go anyway, I
have my journal much important.
REACTION FORMATION:
Acting the opposite of what the person would
normally show in a given situation. It is a
mechanism through which an individual assumes
attitudes, motives, or needs that is opposite to
consciously disowned ones.
Being plastic

A woman who never wanted to have children

becomes a super mom
Mr. Ramos is extremely polite and courteous
towards his mother-in-law whom he intensely
dislikes
REGRESSION:
moving back to a previous development stage to
feel safe or have needs met.
Psychopathologically, the person retreats to
past levels of behavior that reduces anxiety and
allows one to feel comfortable and permit
dependency.
Example:
A 5 year-old asks for a bottle when a new baby
is being fed
A strict and terror professor becomes a
dependent patient and helpless
REPRESSION:
unconscious and involuntary forgetting of
painful ideas, events and conflicts. It is the
most commonly used defense mechanism. The
psychologic material is automatically and
involuntarily pushed into ones unconscious.
Example:
Inability to remember the reasons for an
argument.
Miss Ang, a victim of incest, does not know why
she has always hated her uncle.
Forgetting the birthday of an x-boyfriend.
RESISTANCE:
over or covert antagonism toward
remembering or processing anxiety-
producing situation.
Example:
A nurse is too busy with other tasks than to
spend time talking to a dying patient
A patient attends court-ordered treatment
but refuses to participate.
SUBLIMATION:
exhibiting acceptable behavior to make-up for
negative, unacceptable sexual, unconscious behavior
or drives through transformation into socially
acceptable pursuits.
Example:
Sexual drives converted into excellent nude paintings.
Corrupt politicians donates large amount of money to
the church.
Sublimation is comes as normal form of dealing with
undesirable feelings or thoughts by keeping them in
an acceptable context.
A husband cheating a spouse brings bouquet of roses
to spouse.
SUBSTITUTION:
it is a replacement mechanism that allows the
individual to disguise and divert unobtainable
terms into more acceptable behaviors.
Example:
A person who quit smoking sucks a hard candy
when the urge to smoke it felt.
A nursing student who feels unable to pass the
required theoretical competencies elects to
become a nursing aid student.
SUPPRESSION:
willful or voluntary putting an unacceptable
thought or feeling out of ones mind with the
ability to recall the thought or feeling at
will.
Example:
Id rather not talk about it right now.
I cannot think about that painful break-up, I
have to study tonight.
UNDOING:
doing something to counteract or make-up for
transgression or wrong. The negative action is negated by
positive actions
Mechanism through which an individual endeavors to
actually or symbolically erase consciously intolerable
action or experience.
Example:
A mother who just punished her child unreasonably,
decides to bake the childs favorite cookies
A young woman, who possesses strong moral convictions
against premarital sex, engages in sexual activity with
her boyfriend. Immediately afterwards, she visits a
church and lights candles.