MH Flashcards
Dealing with anxiety by reaching out to others
adaptive use:
A nurse who lost a family member in a fire is a volunteer firefighter.
Altruism
ˈal-trü-ˌi-zəm
Dealing with unacceptable feelings or impulses by unconsciously substituting acceptable forms of expression
A person who had feelings of anger and hostility toward their work supervisor sublimates those feelings by working out vigorously at the gym during their lunch period.
Sublimation
ˌsə-blə-ˈmā-shən
Voluntarily denying unpleasant thoughts and feelings
A student puts off thinking about a fight they had with a friend so they can focus on a test.
Suppression
sə-ˈpre-shən
A person who has lost their job states they will worry about paying bills next week.
Unconsciously putting unacceptable ideas, thoughts, and emotions out of awareness
A person preparing to give a speech unconsciously forgets about the time when they were young and kids laughed at them while on stage.
Repression
A person who has a fear of the dentist continually forgets to go to their dental appointments.
sudden use of childlike or primitive behaviors that do not correlate with the person’s current developmental level.
A young child temporarily wets the bed when they learn that their pet died.
Regression
ri-ˈgre-shən
A person who has a disagreement with a co-worker begins throwing things at their office.
Shifting feelings related to an object, person, or situation to another less threatening object, person, or situation.
An adolescent angrily punches a punching bag after losing a bag.
Displacement
(ˌ)dis-ˈplā-smənt
A person who is angry about losing their job destroys their child’s favorite toy.
Overcompensating or demonstrating the opposite behavior of what is felt.
A person who is trying to quit smoking repeatedly talks to adolescents about the dangers of nicotine.
Reaction formation
fȯr-ˈmā-shən
A person who dislikes their neighbor tells others what a great neighbor she is.
Performing an act to make up for prior behavior (most commonly seen in children)
An adolescent completes their chores without being prompted after having an argument with their parent.
Undoing
An individual buys their significant other flowers and gifts after an incident of partner abuse.
Creating reasonable and acceptable explanations for unacceptable behavior.
An adolescent says, “They must already have a boyfriend” when rejected by another adolescent.
Rationalization
A young adult explains they had to drive themselves home from a party after drinking alcohol because they had to feed the dog.
Creating a temporary compartmentalization or lack of connection between the person’s identity, memory, or how they perceive the environment.
A parent blocks out the distracting noise from their children in order to focus while driving in traffic.
Dissociation
A person forgets their identity after a sexual assault.
Pretending the truth is not reality to manage unpleasant, anxiety-causing thoughts or feelings.
A person initially says, “No, that can’t be true” when told they have cancer.
Denial
A parent who is informed that their child was killed in combat tells everyone one month later that the child is coming home for the holidays.
Emphasizing strengths to make up for weaknesses
An adolescent who is physically unable to play contact sports excels I academic competitions.
Compensation
A person who is shy learns computer skills to avoid socialization.
Conscious or unconscious assumption of the characteristics of another individual or group.
A child who has a chronic illness pretends to be a nurse for their dolls.
Identification
A child who observes their parent be abusive toward the other parent becomes a bully at school.
Separation of emotions and logical facts when analyzing or coping with a situation or event.
A law enforcement officer blocks out the emotional aspect of a crime so they can objectively focus on the investigation.
Intellectualization
A person who learns they have a terminal illness focuses on creating a will and financial matters rather than acknowledging their grief.
Responding to stress through the unconscious development of physical manifestations not caused by a physical illness.
Conversion
A person experiences deafness after their partner tells them they want a divorce.
