defence mechanism.pdf

Defence mechanism in psychiatry nursing content

1. • Denial
It is a primitive defense mechanism in which an individual does not
acknowledge some painful or anxiety-provoking aspect of reality or
the self. Ex. A person may deny that smoking is contributing to his or
her health problems despite supporting evidences by physicians.
• Regression
Return to earlier levels of development; Moving backwards; It is a
defense mechanism that attempts
to return to earlier functioning to
avoid tension at current level Ex. A completely weaned child may
regress to demanding a bottle or nipple when a baby brother or sister
is born.
• Identification
It is a process of borrowing or merging one's identity with that of
someone else. Ex. The abused child identifies himself with an abuser.

2. • Acting Out
Carrying into action repressed impulses, which are brought to a
conscious level in the course of analysis. Often the manifest
behavior of a symbolic or an earlier behavior pattern. Ex.
Transference is a symbolic acting out of his earlier Oedipal
attachment for the parent, tantrums.
• Dissociation
Drastically modifies personal identity or character to avoid
emotional distress. Ex. DID, drug highs, some state in amnesia.
• Projection
The person's own unacceptable impulse is instead thought to
belong to someone else. Ex. A man who is tempted to steal but
whose strong ethical sense (superego) will not allow him to even
think stealing may project his unacceptable impulse onto another
person.

3. • Repression
The forceful ejection from consciousness of impulses,
memories,
or exl?eriences that are painful or sliameful
and generate a li1gh level of anxiety; Also occurs when
arise through the necessity of ridding the consciousness
of extremely painful experiences. Ex. Removing
the
painful expenence of sexual assault.
• Displacement
Distorts the object of the drive. It is less primitive than
projection because the impulse is correctly seen as
belonging to the individual; only the object is distorted.
Ex. A child
who is angry may not consc1ouslr aware of
his anger toward his father because of fear of retaliation
and gµilt. The aggressive imJ?ulse, then, may be
disguised by directing it to his brother.

4. • Intellectualization
Avoiding affective expression, experience, relationship.
Attends
to external reality to avoid feeling~t and details
to avoid whole. It is a defense mechanism mat respond
to a _problem in purely intellectual terms. Ex.
Intellectually convincing ourselves
that we didn't want
what
we can't have, a person who overeats may give a
reason: "I need more vitamins
due to stress."
• Isolation
Thoughts related to some unpleasant occurrence are
dissociated from other thinking and thus do not come to
mind. In addition, emotions that would ordinarily be
connected with the thoughts are gone. Ex. A person who
has lost a loved one through death may isolate the
experience, no thinking of the loved one to avoid the
gnef.

5. • Rationalization
Giving plausible, but false, reasons for an action
to disguise the true motives. Ex. A parent might
rationalize spanking a child by saying it will teach
the child to be more obedient, though the true
motives may be the parent resents the child.
• Reaction Formation
An unacceptable impulse is repressed and its
opposite is developed
in exaggerated form. Ex. A
woman who deeply resented her mother but
shows love.

6. • Sublimation
The most desirable and healthy way of dealing with
unacceptable impulses. It occurs when
an individual
finds a socially acceptable aim
and object for the
expression of an unacceptable impulse. Ex. It occurs
when a soldier transform his aggression by protecting
the country.
• Suppression
A conscious inhibition of impulses or ideas those are
incompatible with the individual's evaluation of himself
according to his ego ideal.
Ex. Choosing not to think of
the bad events to avoid distress