Ego defense mechanisms

EGO DEFENSE MECHANISMS

DR.A.GODSON

DEFINITION

Defense mechanisms are defined as unconscious psychological strategies brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to maintain self-image.

purpose of the Ego Defense Mechanisms is to protect the mind/self/ego from anxiety.

HISTORYSigmund Freud Founder of psychoanalysis. Theory of Psychosexual Development The Id, Ego, and Superego Dream interpretation. Free association

Anna freud Child psychonalysis Clear explanations of defense mechanism concept of signal anxiety

Otto F. Kernberg -theory of borderline personality organization ,based on ego psychological object relations theory.

Robert Plutchik- defenses as derivatives of basic emotions.

George Eman Vaillant-a continuum related to their psychoanalytical developmental level

STRUCTURAL MODEL OF MIND

THE ID

Reservoir Of Unorganized Instinctual

Drives

Based On The Pleasure Principle

Unconscious Primary Process

No Logic And No Time Line

SUPER EGO

Internalized Societal And Parental Standards

Predominantly Unconscious

The Conscience

The Ego Ideal

Children Internalize Parental Values And

Standards At About The Age Of 5-6 Yrs

EGO

The Moderator Between The Id And Superego

Sense Of Time And Place

Based on reality principle

Predominantly Conscious ,Some part Is

Unconscious

Defense Mechanisms Reside In The

Unconscious Domain Of Ego.

CLASSIFICATION(vaillant’s)

Pathological/Narcistic Defenses

Denial

Distortion

Projection

Regression

IMMATURE DEFENCES Acting out

Hypochondriasis

Introjections

Passive aggressive behavior

Regression

Schizoid fantasy

Somatization

NEUROTIC DEFENCES

Intellectualization

Reaction Formation

Dissociation

Displacement

Repression

Externalization

Inhibition

Isolation

Rationalization

Sexualization

Compensation

Splitting

MATURE DEFENCES

Humour

Sublimation

Suppression

Altruism

Anticipation

Asceticism

DENIAL Involuntary exclusion of unpleasant or

painful reality from conscious awareness Postulated by sigmund freud Simple denial - deny the reality of the

unpleasant fact altogether Minimization- admit the fact but deny its

seriousness Projection - admit both the fact and

seriousness but deny responsibility

Example in normals

Grief

Children of 3-6 yrs

Clinical illustration

Terminal illness

Addiction

TYPES OF DENIAL

Denial of fact

Denial of responsibility

Denial of impact

Denial of awareness

Denial of cycle

Denial of denial

DISTORTION

Grossly reshaping external reality to suit

inner needs

Clinical illustration:

Hallucinations

Delusions especially grandiose

PROJECTION Perceiving and reacting to unacceptable inner

impulses and their derivatives as though they were outside the self

Freudian Projection projective identification -connection of the

self with that projected impulse continues. Examlple-Blaming Clinical-Delusions and halluciations Paranoid personality Projective Techniques-Rorschach ink-blots&TAT

Acting out

Expression of an unconscious impulses

through actions ,thereby gratifying the

impulses rather than prohibiting it

Usually anti-social ,addiction form


Temper tantrums

Rebellious behaviors

INTROJECTION

Unconscious internalization of the qualities of an object or person

When used as a defense, it can obliterate the distinction between the subject and the object

Classic example is identification with the aggressor

Stockholm syndrome

Clinical illustration Depression

Passive aggression Hypochondriasis

Expressing aggression towards others indirectly through passivity ,masochism and turning against the self

Manifestation -failure,procrastination,illness that affect others

Exaggerating and overemphasizing an illness for the purpose of evasion and regression

responsibility can be avoided ,guilt may be circumvented,and instinctual impulse are warded off

REGRESSION

Attempting to return to an earlier libidinal phase of functioning to avoid the tension and conflict evoked at the present level of development

Temporary reversion of the ego to an earlier stage

Essential for relaxation, sleep, and orgasm

Example in normals:

Dreams

Adult with tember tantrum


Neurosis-mild regression

Psychosis-more pervasive regression

Severe and prolonged physical illness

SCHIZOID FANTASY Withdrawal in to self to resolve conflict and

gratify frustrated wishes. Conscious and unconscious Something which is not real, or cannot be real

Example in normals: Seen in adolescence as wish fulfilling

daydreams Strip-tease shows, or by day-dreaming over

pornographic material

Clinical illustrarion: Schizoid and schizotypal personality disorder Narcissistic personality disorder

Somatization

Converting psychic derivatives in to

bodily symptoms and tending to react

with somatic rather than psychic

manifestation

Unconscious rechannelling of repressed

emotions into somatic symptoms

REACTION FORMATION Transforming an unacceptable impulse into

its opposite Where reaction-formation takes place, it is

usually assumed that the original, rejected impulse does not vanish, but persists, unconscious, in its original infantile form

Clinical illustration: Obsessional character Phobia

REPRESSION Expelling or withholding an idea or feeling from

consciousness

Primary repression

Refers to the curbing/crushing of ideas and feelings

before they have attained consciousness

Secondary repression

Excludes from awareness what was once experienced

at a conscious level

Suppression differs-at conscious level

Example in normals:

Forgetting

Slip of tongue


Psychogenic amnesia

Post traumatic stress disorder

RATIONALIZATION Offering rational explanations in an attempt

to justify attitudes, beliefs, or behavior that may otherwise be unacceptable

Ernest jones-contributed the term "rationalization" to psychoanalysis

Simply speaking providing logical explanations for irrational behavior motivated by unacceptable wishes.

Fully conscious to mostly subconscious

Rationalization is very common amongst the

medical profession in covering up medical errors.

Common excuses made are: "Why disclose the error? The patient was going

to die anyway" "Telling the family about the error will only make

them feel worse" "It was the patient's fault, if he wasn't so (obese,

sick etc), this error wouldn't have caused so much harm"

"Well, we did our best. These things happen"

DISPLACEMENT Shifting an emotion or drive cathexis from one idea

or object to another that resembles the original in some aspect or quality

Can act in a chain-reaction

Example in normals: Some people punch cushions when they are angry

at friends A college student may snap at his or her roommate

when upset about an exam grade.

Clinical illustration: Phobias in children Obsessive and compulsive disorder

DISSOCIATION

Involuntary splitting or suppression of mental function from rest of the personality in a manner that allows expression of forbidden unconscious impulses without having any sense of responsibility for actions

Example in normals: Near death experience Dissociation can be a response to trauma

or drugs


Dissociative amnesia

Dissociative fuge

Multiple personality disorder

Somnambulism

Possession attack

post-traumatic stress disorder

INTELLECTUALIZATION

Excessively using intellectual processes to

avoid affective expressions or experiences.

One of freud's original defense mechanisms

Intellectualization may accompany, but

differs from rationalization, which is

justification of irrational behavior through

cliches, stories, and pat explanation.

UNDOING

Unconsciously motivated acts which symbolically counter act unacceptable thoughts ,impulses or acts

Example in normals: After thinking about being violent with

someone, one would then be overly nice or accommodating to them.

Automatically saying “i am sorry”on bumping into somebody

Clinical illustration: Compulsive act in OCD

SEXUALIZATION

Endowing an object or function with sexual significance that it didn’t previously have or possessed to a smaller degree to ward off anxieties associated wiyh prohibited impulses or their derivatives

EXTERNALIZATION Tending to perceive in the external world and in

external objects elements of ones own personality,including instinctual impulses ,conflicts ,moods,attitudes and style of thinkin.It is more general term than projection.

More general term than projection

Example in normals: A patient who is overly argumentative might

instead perceive others as argumentative and himself as blameless.

Clinical illustration: Neurosis

INHIBITION

Involuntary decrease or loss of motivation to

engage in some goal directed activity to prevent

anxiety arising out of conflicts with unacceptable

impulses

Example in normals:

Writing blocks or work bloks

Social shyness

Clinical illustration-OCD &Phobias

ISOLATION

Splitting or separating an idea from the affect that accompanies it, thus allowing only the idea but not the associated affect to enter the awareness

Example in normals: Grief Ability to explain traumatic events without the

associated disturbing emotions,with passage of time

Clinical illustration: Obsessional thoughts

COMPENSATION

Unconscious tendency to deal with a fear or conflict by unusual degree of effort in the opposite direction

Example: Involvement in dare devil activities like sky diving to

counter fear of heights Excessive preoccupation with body building to counter

feeling of inferiority

Clinical illustrations: Nymphomania –to counter a sense of sexual

inadequacy Keeping excessive details in a diary in patients with

dementia

SPLITTING

Viewing of self or others as either good or bad without considering the whole range of qualities

Example: Seeing all people without mustache as

feminine Believing personalities as the hero is all good

and the villain all bad

Clinical illustration: Borderline personality disorder

ALTRUISM

Using constructive and instinctually

gratifying service to others to undergo a

vicarious experience.

It is a selfless concern

Core aspect of various religious traditions

for the welfare of others

Opposite of selfishness

ANTICIPATION

Realistic thinking and planning about future unpleasurable events.

It is goal directed and implies careful planning or worrying ,premature but realistic affective anticipation of potentially dreadful outcome

HUMOUR Overt expression of unacceptable impulses

by using humor in a manner ,which doesnot produce unpleasentness inself or others

SUBLIMATION Achieving impulse gratification and retention

of goals,but altering a socially objectionable aim or object to a socially acceptable one

It is nothing but channelizing rather than blocking or diverting a unacceptable infantile or impulse into personally satisfying and socially valuable behavior pattern

Most productive Channelization of sexual aggressive impulse

into creative activities like diverting forbidden sexual impulse into artistic paintings

SUPPRESSION Consciously or semiconsciously postponing

attention to a conscious impulse or conflict. Suppression is the process of deliberately trying to stop thinking about certain thoughts

Example in normals: Voluntary decision of not to think about an

argument with parents while going for an interview.

Clinical-OCD

ASCETICISM

Eliminating the pleasurable effects of experiences and assigning moral values to specific pleasures.Gratification is derived from renunciation

Defense mechanisms in substance abuse

Denial

Isolation

Rationalization

Blaming

Projection

Minimizing

Some defence mechanisms that are common in OCD

Undoing

Reaction Formation

Isolation

THANK YOU

Education

Ego defense mechanisms