Define that Defense
Refusing to accept reality or facts because they’re too uncomfortable or painful.
Denial
A person forgets a traumatic childhood event, though it still affects their behavior.
Repression
Billie Eilish - Often acknowledges her pain but discusses it in a detached, poetic way of holding things back.
Suppression, intellectualization.
Mean Girls – Regina George gives fake compliments (“You’re so pretty!”) to people she secretly dislikes.
Reaction Formation
Avatar the Last Airbender: Zuko gets angry at others when he is really ashamed and hurt.
Displacement
Redirecting an impulse (often aggression) onto a safer target rather than the real source.
Displacement
A man who is angry at his coworker accuses him of being angry at him.
Projection
Juice WRLD - Openly expresses pain but often blames it on other things and uses risky behaviors to not accept his reality.
Denial, rationalization
Criminal Minds – Dr. Spencer Reid explains trauma with facts and data rather than expressing emotions.
Intellectualization
Taylor Swift - She jokes about her flaws to handle judgement turning her insecurity into art.
Humor/ Sublimation
Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable/appropriate activities.
Sublimation
A student cheats and says, ‘Well, everyone else does too.’
Rationalization
Lil Peep - He acts carefree when he is sad pretending he is not in pain through numbness, rebellion and avoidance.
Denial, regression.
The Last of Us - Joel shuts down his emotions about loss to keep moving forward in the post-apocalyptic world.
Repression / Denial
Wednesday - Enid acts super bubbly and cheerful to hide her insecurity about being accepted.
Reaction Formation
Covering uncomfortable feelings by acting opposite to them.
Reaction Formation
A person who just got broken up with writes all the reasons and evidence why they didn't work to avoid feeling upset.
Intellectualization
Mitski - She hides her pain and loneliness deep down and writes songs to let it out safely.
Suppression, Sublimation
Spider-Verse - Miles Morales acts confident and funny to cover up fear.
Reaction Formation
Rationalization/ Intellectualization
Creating a plausible but false explanation to justify unacceptable behavior or feelings.
Rationalization
Instead of punching someone when upset, a boxer trains for an extra hour.
Sublimation
XXXTentacion - He often took his hurt and turned it into anger — like when pain gets so big it turns into rage.
Displacement, Regression
K-Pop Demon Hunters - Rumi does not want to accept that she is also a demon and tries everything to reject it.
Suppression/ Denial
Shrek – Shrek constantly jokes or acts grumpy to avoid rejection and vulnerability.
Humor / Reaction Formation