Defense Mechanisms

Rationalization

• Using a reasonable excuse or acceptable explanation for behavior in order to avoid the real reason

• Ex: A person who is afraid of laboratory tests tells their doctor ,”I can’t afford to take off from my job”

Projection

• Placing blame for one’s actions on someone else or on circumstances rather than accepting responsibility for the actions.

• Ex: “The teacher failed me because she doesn’t like me”

Displacement

• Transferring feelings about one person to someone else

• Ex: A man is mad at his boss or has a bad day at work and takes out his frustration on his family

Compensation

• Substitution of one goal for another to achieve success

• Ex: l wanted to play shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but I wasn’t skilled enough. I loved sports and decided to used my knowledge of anatomy to become an athletic trainer.

Daydreaming

• A dreamlike thought process that occurs while a person is awake.• Can be good or bad• Provides an escape if someone is not

satisfied with reality

Repression

• The transfer of unacceptable or painful ideas, feelings, and thoughts into the unconscious mind• Ex: Being afraid of heights but being

unable to remember why. A frightening experience may have happened during childhood and the experience was repressed

Suppression

• Similar to repression, but the person is aware of the unacceptable feelings or thoughts and refuses to deal with them

• EX: The individual may substitute work or hobby to avoid the situation

Denial

• The disbelief of an event or idea that is too frightening or shocking for a person to cope with.

• Ex: The diagnosis of a terminal illness, a drug addiction

Withdrawal

An individual may either cease to communicate or remove themselves physically from a situation

Ex: refusing to communicate with co-workers that you do not get along with.