Defense mechanisms

Volume 4 Issue 2 February, 2014

We all know that each country in this world has its own defense forces to protect its people from invaders. Recently our
country celebrated its 65th republic day showcasing our military might with a grand parade.

The human body too has its own defense mechanisms—at the physical level WBC prevent infections. What does the
mind do to protect the individual from psychological distress/anxiety/trauma? How do individuals cope with such
situations?

Defense mechanisms are unconscious mental processes that help the ego balance its interest. The idea of defense
mechanism was the work of Freud. This was later elaborated by other theorists. The list of defenses also varies from 9
proposed by Freud to more than 24 by Bibring et al.

Common defense mechanisms:

Repression: Mechanism by which unwanted drives, wishes, memories are kept away from consciousness and are never
accessible. Eg. Memories of abuse. This is often seen in dissociative disorders.

Regression: Returning to the previous level of maturational development in order to deal with anxieties of the present
level.

Isolation: Separating the affect and the memory. Both are not accessible at the same time. This defense is often seen in
obsessive compulsive disorder.

Undoing: indulging in a behavior to atone for a forbidden fantasy. Seen in obsessive compulsive disorder.

Projection: Attributing an unacceptable thought or feeling to an external source/person. Seen in paranoia.

Denial: Invalidating unpleasant information and living as if it does not exist. Eg. Not accepting the diagnosis of cancer
and avoiding treatment.

Reaction formation: The individual attempts to transfer unacceptable drives/affect to its opposite.

Defenses have a hierarchy determined by the degree of maturity associated with them. According to Kernberg there are two clusters

1) Splitting hierarchy which has primitive defenses.
2) Repression hierarchy which is more mature.

Defense mechanisms are used in day to day life by all of us to deal with unpleasant mental content. These mechanisms
help an individual cope with his stress. Interpretation of the defense mechanisms used by patients helps doctors to treat them more effectively.

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