You’re Getting Defensive Again Recent Applications
Thomas Szasz a psychiatrist made a contention that mental illnesses are not diseases and are very complex. He argued that mental illnesses must be viewed as problems in living that have social and environmental causes. “The majority of respondents tended to try to conceal their disorders and worried a great deal that others would find out about their psychiatric status and treat them unfavorably.” Reports of hurt, discouragement, anger, and lower self-esteems results of experiences.
Defense Mechanisms
Sigmund Freud believed the personality was made up of three components. The Id, the ego, and the super ego. The Id consisted of basic bodily urges such as hunger, thirst and sexual unplanned desires. When these needs are not met, the ID generates strong reasoning for the person to find a way to satisfy them, and do so as soon as possible. Regardless of your beliefs, morals, or logic the Id demands to be satisfied. You’re unaware of these thoughts because the ID operates on the unconscious level. However, if you only had an id and not
a ego or superego your behavior could be dangerous or fatal. Either to you or others based on your id’s impulses. The ego works on the reality principle and is conscious. All this does is satisfy your id’s urges using means that are rational and reasonably safe. Since there are three components, the last is your superego. The ego has limits based on your superego. The superego demands the ego to find solutions that are moral, ethical, and based on the rules set for yourself.
Repression
“This is the simplest form and most commonly used mechanism of defense.” Repression forces disturbing thoughts out of consciousness. Repression defends against anxiety if impulses were to become conscious. This only ensures that the urges cannot produce anxiety. In relation to Sigmund Freud’s research even though certain thoughts remain in the unconscious, they can be revealed through dreams, slips of the tongue, or by the various techniques used by psychoanalysis, such as hypnosis or free association. These repressed thoughts can create psychological problems. Regression
This defense is used by the ego to guard against anxiety by causing one to retreat to behavior of an adolescent or earlier development. Such as a child wetting the bed or wanting a bottle. To avoid anxiety of getting old and dying-which is inevitable. Would generally cause one to act out of character as someone younger would.
Projection
If your ego uses the defense mechanism of projection to eliminate the anxiety, you will begin to see your unconscious urges in other people’s behavior. Behavior or characteristics you may find unacceptable in yourself can be projected onto someone else. Basically, doing exactly as this mechanism states. Projecting your impulses onto others. This can lead to false accusations. Someone with adulterous feelings will accuse their partner of cheating.
Reaction Formation
Defense mechanism where your emotions and impulses are anxietyproducing are perceived unacceptable are conquered by the opposing tendency.
Sublimation
This defense is more mature where socially unacceptable
impulses or idealizations are transformed into positive reinforcement.