Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
Repression
(involuntary)
Unconscious suppression of unwanted thoughts/info
Ex: After being mugged, Brian is unabke to recall what happened.
Denial
Ignoring/refusing to acknowledge unacceptable realities
Ex: Amy is planning a vacation in a year after receiving a terminal dx.
Projection
Attributing one’s own feelings, thoughts, behaviors or motives to others
Ex: A partner who had an affair is convinced that their partner is having an affair.
Displacement
Redirecting feelings to a safer, substitute object
Ex: A kid kicks over a chair when placed in time-out.
Regression
Reverting to behaviors from an earlier stage of development in response to extreme stress
Ex: A teen wets the bed after experiencing bullying.
Sublimation
Channeling negative emotions or socially unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable behaviors
Ex: Deep cleaning your house after a break up.
Projective identification
Falsely attributing to another the feelings/thoughts of self. The other person unkowingly acts out those feelings.
Ex: PAtient view therapist in a distroted way THUS pressuring the therapist to behave in congruence with this view.
Intellectualization
Thinking about stressful things in a clinical (cold) way. Not embracing feelings.
Ex: Losing a family member and staying busy with the necessary arrangements instead of feeling sad.
Dissociation
Short-lived gap in consciousness
Ex: Angela looks zoned-out when talking about a traumatic experience with her therapist.
Reaction Formation
Expressing the OPPOSITE of your feelings with outward behavior.
Ex: Being sad about a breakup but acting happy about it. An anti-LGBTQ politician is in a gay relationship. (MEan Girls).
Introjection
Internalizing the idea or voice of another person, usually an authority figure.
Ex: Agatha’s internal voice is highly critical, just as her mother was, causing low self-esteem.
Rationalization
Justifying an unacceptable feeling or behavior with logic.
Ex: You were denied a loan for your dream house and say it was a good thing because the house was too big anyway.
Suppression
(Voluntary)
Deliberately keeping unpleasant information from your conscious mind.
Ex: Being abused as a child but choosing to push it out of your mind.
Decompensation
Deterioration of existing defenses.
Ex: Someone struggling with MH stops keeping up w/ personal hygiene.
Substitution
Original goal or desire is replaced with an achieveable one.
Ex: Jane failed her nursing exam 3x and now works as a nurse’s aid just to be in a hospital.
