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M05.05.05 Anxiety defenses
Anxiety defenses are psychological strategies used by individuals to manage anxiety, protect themselves from uncomfortable feelings, and maintain psychological stability. Below is a detailed and organized overview of various defense mechanisms, their definitions, examples, and associated disorders.
1. Displacement
Definition
Displacement involves shifting the target of an emotion or drive to a substitute target.
Examples
- A recently disciplined employee yells at his wife instead of his boss.
- A woman seduces an unattractive man after watching a love scene with a handsome actor.
- In family therapy, one child is often singled out and blamed for the family’s problems (scapegoating).
Associated Disorders
- This defense mechanism is seen in phobias.
2. Repression
Definition
Repression involves withholding an idea or feeling from consciousness, also known as unconscious forgetting.
Examples
- A child abused by her mother has no memory of the mistreatment.
- A man who survived 6 months as a hostage cannot recall anything from that period.
Characteristics
- One of the most basic defense mechanisms.
3. Isolation of Affect
Definition
Isolation of affect separates an idea or event from the emotions that accompany it.
Examples
- A child who has been beaten discusses the beatings without displaying any emotion.
- A combat pilot is calm while ejecting from a plummeting aircraft.
- A patient describes severing his finger with no emotional reaction.
Characteristics
- An important adaptive defense mechanism for self-preservation.
4. Intellectualization
Definition
Intellectualization involves using facts and logic to avoid confronting emotions.
Examples
- A patient with a bone protruding from his leg focuses on the physics behind the event.
- A medical student talks excessively about medical details to avoid the emotional impact of a bad diagnosis.
- A boy about to ask a girl out discusses the importance of mating rituals.
Characteristics
- Used by physicians who focus more on technical aspects than on the patient.
5. Acting Out
Definition
Acting out involves an emotional or behavioral outburst to mask underlying feelings or ideas.
Examples
- A child throws a temper tantrum when abandoned.
- An adolescent boy starts using drugs after his parents’ divorce.
- “Whistling in the dark” to hide underlying fear.
Associated Disorders
- Seen in borderline and antisocial personality disorders.
6. Rationalization
Definition
Rationalization involves using rational explanations to justify attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors that are otherwise unacceptable.
Examples
- A murderer justifies his action by claiming the victim deserved it.
- A teenage girl who vowed chastity rationalizes that oral sex is not sex.
- An alcoholic blames his drinking on work stress.
Associated Disorders
- Seen in substance use disorders.
7. Reaction Formation
Definition
Reaction formation involves transforming an unacceptable impulse into its opposite.
Examples
- A student expresses relief after not being accepted into medical school despite always wanting to be a physician.
- A teenage boy intrigued by “dirty pictures” organizes an anti-pornography campaign.
- Two coworkers fight constantly because they are attracted to each other.
Associated Disorders
- Commonly seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders.
8. Undoing
Definition
Undoing involves performing an act to counteract a previous unacceptable act or thought.
Examples
- A man buys his wife flowers after being sexually aroused by another woman.
- Throwing salt over the shoulder to avoid bad luck.
- Repeatedly checking if the stove is off to prevent house fires.
Associated Disorders
- Seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
9. Passive-Aggression
Definition
Passive-aggression involves expressing hostility covertly.
Examples
- A patient angry with her physician shows up late for appointments.
- A student agrees to share notes but doesn’t after being upset by classmates.
- A communications director avoids taking questions from those who challenge his views.
Associated Disorders
- Seen in borderline personality disorders and young children.
10. Dissociation
Definition
Dissociation involves separating the self from one’s experience.
Examples
- A woman who was raped feels as if she was “floating on the ceiling” during the event.
- An automobile accident survivor feels as if everything happened in slow motion.
- A child who was sexually abused recalls only the “bad man” in her dreams.
Associated Disorders
- Primary defense mechanism in dissociative disorders.
Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.).
- Freud, S. (1946). The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense. The Hogarth Press.
- Vaillant, G. E. (1994). Ego mechanisms of defense and personality psychopathology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103(1), 44-50.