ego defense mechanisms
TRANSCRIPT
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
Clinical illustration:
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
Clinical illustration:
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
Clinical illustration:
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
Clinical illustration:
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
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