Psychological defense mechanisms defense mechanisms) are strategies and techniques used by the human psyche to reduce or conceal anxious and unpleasant experiences associated with internal or external conflicts. Defense mechanisms can include various kinds of transformation and processing of information to make it more acceptable and less threatening to a person's mental equilibrium.
Main psychological defense mechanisms:
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Repression: This mechanism involves the conscious or unconscious separation of unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or memories from conscious awareness. A person may try not to think about something unpleasant.
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Projection: When using this mechanism, a person attributes their own negative traits or desires to other people in order to avoid recognizing them in themselves. For example, a person prone to aggression may accuse others of being aggressive.
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Rationalization: This mechanism involves providing logically grounded explanations for one's actions or experiences in order to conceal the true, often more complex and emotional, reasons.
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Regression: A person resorts to this mechanism when faced with stress or anxiety, returning to more primitive ways of thinking or behaving similar to those characteristic of children.
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Intellectualization: In this case, a person separates their emotions from conscious reflection, focusing on the intellectual aspects of the situation. This makes it possible to avoid experiencing strong emotions.
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Sublimation: This mechanism involves transforming negative or unacceptable desires into socially acceptable forms of activity. For example, a person experiencing aggression may become an athlete.
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Isolation: When using this mechanism, a person separates emotions from the events or thoughts associated with them in order to reduce the anxiety connected with them.
These defense mechanisms may be used unconsciously by a person as a way of coping with various types of stress and conflict.
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