Freud’s Defense Mechanisms

how do you react?

Repression

Wishes, memories and unacceptable thoughts are pushed to the unconscious. (unknown to the person)

You witness a murder, black out, and cannot remember a thing later.

Supression

Pushing into the unconscious

TRYING to forget something that causes you anxiety.

Regression

Returning to an earlier time (usually childhood) because of overwhelming stress

A toddler begins to suck his thumb at the birth of a new baby.

Upon his 50th birthday, a man quits his job, buys a Lamborghini and “enjoys the good life”

Rationalization

Talking yourself into something

You weren’t invited to a party so you convince yourself it wouldn’t have been fun anyway.

You didn’t get into your first choice college so you convince yourself the college was lame anyway.

Projection

Placing blame on others instead of yourself

You do poorly on a test and blame your teacher instead of yourself.

Reaction Formation

Behaving in a manner opposite of your true (unacceptable) feelings.

You hate your mother so you over-compensate by being nice to her out of guilt.

Displacement

Placing your feelings or reaction on something unrelated. “pass the buck”

You get in trouble at work, so you go home and kick your dog.

Your teacher yells at you, so you go out and punch a locker in the hallway.

Sublimation

Socially acceptable displacement.

Channeling energy into something healthy.

You join the football team to let your aggression out in a healthy manner.

Denial

Refusing to accept reality.

If you are seriously overweight, you might deny even being the least bit too heavy.

Upon hearing of a terminal prognosis, you refuse to accept the death of a loved one.

Intellectualization

Becoming emotionally detached as a way of dealing with issues and situations that would otherwise be difficult to handle.

Doctors, nurses, etc must intellectualize so they can enjoy a life outside of their professional responsibilities.