Defense mechanism, in psychoanalysis, any of a variety of unconscious personality reactions which the ego uses to protect the conscious mind from threatening feelings and perceptions. Sigmund Freud first used defense as a psychoanalytic term (1894), but he did not break the notion into categories, viewing it as a singular phenomenon of repression. His daughter, Anna Freud, expanded on his theories in the 1930s, distinguishing some of the major defense mechanisms recognized today. Primary defense mechanisms include repression and denial, which serve to prevent unacceptable ideas or impulses from entering the conscience. Secondary defense mechanisms-generally appearing as an outgrowth of the primary defense mechanisms-include projection, reaction formation, displacement, sublimation, and isolation.
The defense mechanisms
Freud's daughter, Anna, who still does psychoanalysis, summarized several ego defenses in The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense (1936). As noted above, the ego protects itself from three threats: (l) the id, because the urges from the id can become so strong that they overwhelm the ego, bringing with them irrational chaos. Thus, we might panic if our sexual or brutally hostile urges popped into our conscience. (2) The outside world or real danger. For example, the ego would realize that a child's parents staunchly forbid any aggression; thus, showing the slightest hint of murderous urges to them would produce severe anxiety. Likewise, a fear of driving recklessly or of being rejected by a lover may have a certain basis in reality. (3) The superego is a threat to the ego too. The basic duty of the ego is to find some satisfaction for the id. If the superego detects any immoral aspects in our behavior, there is hell to pay in the form of self censure and guilt. The ego tries to avoid this discomfort. But, keep in mind that, according to Freud's original theory, the ego defenses are successful only so long as the conscious part of the ego is unaware that another part of the ego is defending itself! Uncovering some of your ego defenses may be interesting fun, but your defenses against really threatening urges or ideas are not likely to disclose what they are doing to your conscious awareness.
Anna Freud used the defenses as hints of the repressed, scary impulses (instincts) that were underlying the patient's troubles. For example, the goo...
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... Psychiatric Disorders
Substance Abuse: Regression, Projection, Rationalization, Denial, Fragmentation (form of denial, refer to time), Minimization (refer to quantity)
Schizophrenia: Fixation, Regression, Symbolization (keep demons away), Identification
Delusional Disorders: Paranoid - Projection, Erotomania - Projection Grandeur - Reaction formation, Omnipotence, Somatic - Regression
Mood Disorders (Depression): Introjection (loss, anger), Reaction formation (mania)
Generalized Anxiety & Panic Disorder: Regression (or repression?)
Phobias: Displacement, Symbolization, Avoidance
Oedipal Complex: Displacement (father, horse)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Isolation of Affect (ignore others' feelings?), Undoing (washing) Reaction Formation, Regression
Somatoform Disorders: Repression, Somatization, Conversion
Body dysmorphic disorders: repression, dissociation, distortion, symbolization
Dissociative Disorders (amnesia, multiple personalities): Repression, Dissociation
Personality Disorders: Paranoid - Projection, Histrionic - Dissociation Borderline - Splitting, Acting out, Projective Identification
Always pathological: Conversion, Somatization
Delusion and hallucination in their different forms are the major symptom of psychotic disorders. There is a growing evidence however that these symptoms are not exclusively pathological in nature. The evidences show that both delusion and hallucination occur in a variety of forms in the general population. This paper presents and analyzes the relationship between the above major psychotic symptoms with normal anomalous experiences that resembles these symptoms in the normal population.
An article on the Internet Mental Health website entitled “Borderline (Emotional Unstable) Personality Disorder” by Phillip Long (2011) is a beneficial source as it offers substantial information and core features of BPD. For example, it discusses common symptoms for BPD victims such as fear of abandonment, unstable personal relationship...
The thought of Freud has a total focus on an individual’s mind and how this internal struggle effects how humans interact within society. Freud argues that every human has three functional parts of their personality that exist within the mind itself: the id, super-ego and the ego. Thurschwell describes these three layers as how they relate to each other. The id is the deepest level of the unconscious, which is dominated by the pleasure principle and has no concept of time except for the present, demanding instant gratification of sexual and aggressive (Eros and Thanatos) urges. The superego originates through identification with the individuals parents, functioning as an internal censor witch represses the dangerous urges of the id. The ego starts as part of the id but is more sensible as it has knowledge of the outside world. Unlike the id, the ego is dominated by the instinct to protect oneself. Although these three layers cannot be physically mapped out in the mind they do show how Freud constantly focused on the internal mind...
The aim of the psychoanalytic therapy is to resolve interpersonal conflicts, toward the end of reconstructing one’s basic personality. (Corey 2013). Gathering life-history data, dream analysis, free association, interpretation and analysis of resistance and transference. Such procedures are aimed at increasing awareness, gaining intellectual and emotional insight. This begins a working-through process that leads to the reorganization of the client personality. According to Freud, out most intense experience of anxiety occurs at birth, when we are speratated from our mothers. Using this model will allow to examine the aniety as the basis of all the clients feelings of anxiety. Seperation from his mother at the age of 6 may have had an impact. Finally, this model tend that if noramal, rational approaches of the ego to reduce anxiety are not effective, the ego revert to ego-defense mechanisms. Jackson’s was defensive when discussion of possible sexual abuse was introduced in the sessions. This was pointed out as the Defense Mechansims, Repression. Therapist find this useful to bring the past experiences to the present, so that the client can begin to be aware.
In the past, BPD was believed to be a set of symptoms between problems associated with mood and schizophrenia. These symptoms were believed to be comprised of distortions of reality and mood problems. A closer look at this disorder has resulted in the realization that even though the symptoms of this disorder reveal emotional complexity, this disorder is more closer to other personality disorders, on the basis of the manner in which it develops and occurs in families, than to schizophrenia (Hoffman, Fruzzetti, Buteau &ump; Neiditch, 2005). The use of the term borderline has however, resulted in a heated controversy between the health care fraternity and patients. Patients argue that this term appears to be somehow discriminatory and that it should be removed and the disorder renamed. Patients point out that an alternative name, such as emotionally unstable personality disorder, should be adopted instead of borderline personality disorder. Clinicians, on the other hand, argue that there is nothing wrong with the use of the term borderline. Opponents of this term argue that the terms used to describe persons suffering from this disorder, such as demanding, treatment resistant, and difficult among others, are discriminatory. These terms may create a negative feeling of health professionals towards patients, an aspect that may lead to adoption of negative responses that may trigger self-destructive behavior (Giesen-Bloo et al, 2006). The fact however, is that the term borderline has been misunderstood and misused so much that any attempt to redefine it is pointless leaving scrapping the term as the only option.
In “The Neuro-Psychoses of Defense”, Freud introduces his study of defense mechanisms. Freud defines a defense mechanism in psychoanalysis as a “defensive mechanism developed by the ego under pressure of the superego and external reality that allows us to fight anxiety”. Some examples of Freudian defenses that are still accepted today include repression, denial, projection, displacement, and regression. Anna Freud and other psychologist’s elaborated on the concept. Defense mechanisms are an essential component in modern clinical psychology, as “no mental status or clinical formulation should be considered complete without an effort to identify a patient’s dominant defense mechanism” (3). Defense mechanisms are today grouped into Narcissistic, Anxiety, Immature, and Mature. The use of Narcissistic, Anxiety and Immature defense mechanisms are considered less healthy than Mature defenses and are often used by emotionally unstable individuals in order to cope with stress. Mature defenses ‘result in optimal
Personality disorders are separated into several clusters as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Cluster A includes disorders of the personality that are odd or egocentric. These include paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder (National Institute for Mental Health, 2009). Cluster B includes the dramatic, emotional, or erratic personality disorders. This cluster includes antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder (NIMH, 2009). The final cluster, Cluster C, includes avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (NIMH, 2009). These personality disorders are categorized as anxious and fearful disorders.
The history of BPD can be traced back to 1938 when Adolph Stern first described the symptoms of the disorder as neither being psychotic nor psychoneurotic; hence, the term ‘borderline’ was introduced (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15). Then in 1960, Otto Kernberg coined the term ‘borderline personality organization’ to describe persistent patterns of behavior and functioning consisting of instability, and distressed psychological self-organization (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15).
Freud developed his theory from interactions with his neurotic patients and his own psychological experiences. He classifies an obsessional neurotic is classified as one who if “aware of impulses in [himself] which appear very strange,” is “led to actions, the performance of which, give him no enjoyment, but which it is quite impossible for [him] to omit” (Freud Abstracts 2). In Frankenstein’s ...
This paper looks at a person that exhibits the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). In the paper, examples are given of symptoms that the person exhibits. These symptoms are then evaluated using the DSM-V criteria for BPD. The six-different psychological theoretical models are discussed, and it is shown how these models have been used to explain the symptoms of BPD. Assessment of
My topic of choice for this research paper is Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. This appellation is rather new; therefore, most are more familiar with the disorder's older, less technical name: Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD. When first presented with the task of selecting a topic on which to center this paper, I immediately dismissed Dissociative Identity Disorder (which for the sake of brevity will be referred to as DID for the remainder of this paper) as a viable topic due to the sheer scope of the disorder. However after an exhaustive examination of other prospective topics, I found myself back at my original choice. There are several reasons why I chose DID. The foremost of which is the widespread fascination of this disorder by many different types of people; most of whom otherwise have no interest in psychology or its associated fields. One would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been captivated at one time or another by the extraordinary, all too well known symptoms of this disorder. This fascination… dare I say ‘allure’ to this disorder is exemplified by the myriad of motion pictures that have been produced based on cases, real or fictitious, of DID. Another reason for my choice is what I feel is the insufficiency of effective treatments for DID. Despite what is known about this disorder, (which is relatively a lot) there are only two chief treatments for DID; the first and most prevalent is psychotherapy; also known as ”talk therapy”, the second is medication. The third and final reason for my choice is my own enchantment with DID. I must admit that ever since I read about Sue Tinker, a woman who was diagnosed with over 200 different personalities. In writing this paper I hope to discover more about this disorder and perhaps be able to identify a few areas that I feel might require more research on the part of psychologists specializing in DID.
Freud believed that human nature is basically deterministic, and largely dependent on the unconscious mind. Irrational forces and unconscious motivations drive the human mind to a unique conduct and performance. Freud believed the choices we make are determined by biological and instinctual drives. The purposes of instincts are for survival and aggression. In the field of psychiatry, Freud founded his type of psychoanalytic therapy on curing mental illnesses. The basis for Freud’s work on treating mental patients was on an illness called hysteria. One popular case that Freud began the majority of his work on was the Anna O. case. She suffered many symptoms from repressed ideas that were outwardly from no physical cause. Repression is a way of excluding unconscious desires, wishes, or unpleasant memories into the conscious mind by holding them in the unconscious mind. “According to Freud, repressed ideas often retained their power and were later expressed without the patient's awareness of them. Through ps...
Anxiety acts as a signal to the ego that things are not going right. The ego sits at the center of some appealing powerful forces: reality and society as symbolized by the superego and biology as represented by the Id. When these make contradictory strains upon the ego, that means if one feel threatened or feel as if it were about to failure under the weight of it all, it serves as a signal to the ego that its existence, and with it the survival of the whole organism, is in danger. The ego which is ruled by the id, and deterred by reality, struggles to overcome its economic duty of bringing about harmony among the forces and influences working in and upon it. Accordingly they are driven to
Freud substituted the systems of the topographic model with the three agencies of the structural model when it became evident that defenses were unconsc...
Sigmund Freud was one of the trailblazers of modern-day psychology. After several years of clinical practice, Sigmund Freud became concern about finding a new way to cure his patients. He developed a new way of treatment, the psychoanalytic therapy based on the existence of the unconscious. According to his theory, our behavior is driven by sexual and destructive feelings. Freud mentions in his psychoanalytical theory of personality there are five stages of psychosexual stages structure of personality. However, the three main elements of a personality are id, ego and superego, which come together to generate intricate human behavior. The three essential parts of human psyche are listed below.