Defense Mechanisms

Types 1

100

Unaccepting of reality due to painfulness of reality

Denial

200

Putting feelings/reaction/thoughts on someone/something unrelated to the source

Displacement

300

Focusing on helping others instead of working through own pain

Altruism

400

Trying to reverse a thought or feeling by doing an action to signify the opposite feeling/thought

Undoing

500

Deliberately redirecting "unacceptable" reactions into socially acceptable channels

Sublimation

Types 2

100

Hide and control thoughts/feelings

Suppression

200

Adopting beliefs/attitudes/feelings opposite of your true beliefs

Reaction formation

300

Burying a painful feeling/thought from awareness that may resurface in symbolic form

Repression

400

Justifying behaviors and motivations by substituting acceptable reasons

Rationalization 

500

Attempting to avoid painful thoughts/feelings by emotionally detaching or objectifying situation

Isolation of Affect

Examples 1

100

Kara blames her partner for cheating when she was really the one who cheated.

Projection

200

I'm actually a hardworking person. Almost everything becomes harder when I'm the one working on it.

Humor

300

Someone cuts you off and you curse and yell and slam the steering wheel

Regression

400

Because Karen is mad at her boss she yells at her daughter at the grocery store for playing with the magazines

Displacement

500

After yelling at your partner you come home with their favorite movie to watch

Undoing

Examples 2

100

After being diagnosed with cancer the patient keeps going for second, third, and fourth opinions

Denial

200

"No, it's okay. I'm fine."

Reaction Formation

300

The celebrity is such an amazing person. She's perfect.

Splitting

400

"I don't remember anything from the car crash."

Repression

500

A person with "anger issues" joins the military

Sublimation

Questions

100

Why do we use defense mechanisms?

To protect ourselves

200

Are defense mechanisms bad?

Both. Healthy to protect us but bad as they can hold us back from reality and prevent us from enacting beneficial change.

300

Are undoing and apologizing the same?

No, apologizing is about accepting responsibility while undoing is about making ourselves feel better by placating

400

What's the difference between repression and sublimation?

Repression is unconscious burying of feelings/thoughts due to pain while sublimation is deliberate attempts to hide or control feelings/thoughts

500

What is the difference between projection and displacement?

Projection is thinking our thoughts/feelings are due to someone/something and have a lack of insight while displacement is being unable to communicate emotions/thoughts to actual source so we take those emotions/thoughts out on others