Certain thoughts or impulses can generate a Psychological trastorn in a person . To keep these ideas under control, human beings appeal to defense mechanisms , constituted by mental operations that lack reasoning and that minimize the effects of a situation that causes stress . In this way, the defense mechanism helps the person's psyche to maintain its normal functioning.
The psyche of the human being is composed of various behavior modes They are formed from genetics, unconscious instinct and developmental characteristics. Healthy subjects manage to keep a Balance Between these three forces. When one of them prevails over the others (for example, the instinct about genetics or the factors that arise from development), defense mechanisms act to restore balance.
Specifically, the defense mechanisms that are also called coping strategies are psychological processes that do not develop consciously but automatic, to protect an individual against a certain situation of stress or anxiety, it may be due to external threats (such as embarrassing situations) or internal threats (as are unacceptable memories or feelings). Through them, the individual manages to overcome the anguish or frustration.
The psychonoalists They recognize various defense mechanisms, some of them are:
The repression , through which the person keeps away from consciousness those impulses or thoughts that for him would be unacceptable. In this way they are achieved eliminate those feelings of anxiety or that cause pain; In any case, if a person represses too many impulses, the impressive expenditure of energy that he must use to keep them away, will charge him sooner or later with some kind of emotional imbalance. According to Freud this is the fundamental defense mechanism of every human being; he used both terms as synonyms (repression and defense).
The negation it is the mechanism through which a person refuses to accept a certain situation or feeling; for example, those mothers who refuse to accept the death of their children in combat and continue to live as if nothing. In many things, denial resembles repression in that both keep aspects that the person cannot face away from consciousness.
Through the projection , An individual he attributes his feelings or impulses that you don't consider appropriate to another person To hide from yourself what you don't want to see about yourself. For example, a person who feels hostility to others ensures that it is they who have this feeling against him to justify his departure.
The rationalization It is a mechanism by which a person reduces their anxiety through rational arguments and excuses , which help you accept a reality that in your eyes is not acceptable. An example may be that of a student who fails a subject and accuses the teacher of having mania.
Another mechanism is the intellectualization which is a way of taking distance from what a threat implies, creating a cold and absolutely analytical attitude and detachment. For example, a person who has felt a strong rejection by his family and then leaves home and loses contact with them, assuming a posture of overcoming to prevent them from continuing to harm him.
The regression it is the mechanism through which an individual for not being able to face a specific threat is adheres to a regression attitude (returns to the primary stages of psychosexual development) because of having experienced a situation that was not prepared to cope in a healthy way, or to a fixation that was not fully satisfied.
Another mechanism is called displacement through which the person change the objective of his impulse when the target that has been chosen is threatening to the subject; By changing the course of your emotions, anxiety decreases. It usually happens when a person pays it with another with whom they have a close relationship because they cannot face directly against the one against whom they feel resentment or some violent feeling.
The sublimation it is the mechanism by which a person transform an impulse which may appear to be dangerous in something that satisfies you and makes you feel socially mature and acceptable. For example, someone who is attracted to an individual who is forbidden sublimates that sexual energy through writing or other action that is satisfactory.
Like these, there are many other defense mechanisms, and according to each specialist the list can be more or less long.
Finally, it is necessary to clarify that in those cases in which defense mechanisms do not reach to restore balance, the individual begins to experience reactions such as depression , stress and anxiety . In such cases, the person must resort to the help of a professional in order to relearn their own feelings and channel them in ways that do not harm them. Through therapy, the person learns to understand their defense mechanisms and analyze which ones are really protecting them and which are proving harmful to their emotional health.
