The defense mechanisms Are unconscious psychological mechanisms of the self that reduce the anxiety that arises from stimuli potentially damaging to the human body, personality and the organism in general.
Sigmund Freud , From psychoanalysis, was one of the main proponents of this construct. Developed more extensively by Anna Freud And consequently the Psychology of the Self, these have their basis in the Freudian theory.
Examples of defense mechanisms specific to the body or human body are: regression, negation, dissociation, projection, reactive formation, displacement, rationalization, isolation, identification, sublimation, nullification, compensation...
Psychoanalysis is a praxis formulated by Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939) for the treatment of psychopathological disorders from the dialogue between the patient and the psychoanalyst. With more than a century of antiquity, it has left indelible marks in the history and culture of the humanity.
Praxis is not without controversy and its development has had diverse bifurcations and influences in other psychological theories like the Cognitive-behavioral therapy Or the Psychology of the Self.
Among the most recognized and prolific psychoanalysts are Sigmund Freud (its founder), Melanie Klein, Anna Freud , Donald Winnicott and Jaques Lacan, among others.
What is a defense mechanism in Psychology?
At the beginning of his theory, Freud conceived the Cleavage of consciousness (Theoretical elaboration prior to the conception of the unconscious) as a defense mechanism and claims that the psychic apparatus lives under a Principle of Defense In which it uses different mechanisms to defend itself from displeasure.
The defense consisted of the act of separation from an irreconcilable Representation of the Amount of Affect to which it was attached. The irreconcilable representation passed into a"split conscience", while the Affect Amount was linked to a Replacement Representation that held a logical link with the irreconcilable.
Temporary defense would succeed in its task: the subject has forgotten that irreconcilable and leads his life with normality. However eventually and inevitably it will fail and this union between Substitute Rep. And Amount of Affect would become a symptom.
This is the basis of the concept. Anna Freud would revise it years later, adding that they are various partially unconscious modes that the ego moves forward to suppress its inner excitations, memories and fantasies.
What are the types of defense mechanisms and what do they consist of?
Before giving a list of mechanisms, it is necessary to clarify that it is not exhaustive and that there is not only a mechanism; Generally several are used simultaneously and for different memories and fantasies.
It is also important to mention that the mechanisms are"secondary"defenses, because before Repression Which makes us forget those memories and unpleasant experiences of those who, in the face of the danger of re-emergence of consciousness, the self defends itself by using these psychic tools.
In other words, these mechanisms are manifestations of the Return of the repressed . They are, in turn, defenses and symptoms since the subject, although suffering less than if he did not, suffers the use of these mechanisms.
The repression
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The founding mechanism of the psychic apparatus operates in two distinct instances: primary repression and secondary repression.
Primary repression
It occurs exclusively in the Unconscious and allows the inscription in the psyche of the representation of the Sexual instinct , Which allows the subject to be able to desire and seek the fulfillment of his desire.
It could be said that it is the creation of a vacuum or a lack Thanks to which the subject can to wish Complete it, at the same time that it will give the force to the psychic apparatus to keep unconscious those experiences that remind you that this lack exists.
Secondary repression
Also called repression Proper .
When a representation becomes intolerable to the Self, the psychic apparatus represses it, turning it Unconscious , So the subject"forgets"(or, rather, does not know that he remembers).
The ego continues as if this event had never occurred until the failure of the defense, after which it tries again to suppress the representation or, it uses of other mechanisms to submit and to maintain it Forgotten .
Forclusion
According to Jacques Lacan, this mechanism is like a repression but much more radical and is at the same level (ie, prior to the returns of the repressed).
The Foreclosure Occurs when the subject encounters a representation or signifier that generates so much anguish that he is incapable of repressing it, because in order to do so, he must first accept its existence.
In other words, the subject rejects this representation in such a way that Refuses its very existence , Producing the foreclosure of that signifier, which never enters the cluster of unconscious representations, unlike those repressed contents.
Reactive training
The subject, faced with the return of a repressed representation, manifests its total opposite as a way of defending itself against this conflict or threat.
For example, a child hates his younger brother but feels guilty about such feelings and represses them. Since repression fails, the younger brother manifests an intense love and overprotection towards his brother although his actions toward him will continue to be marked by hatred.
Another well-known example is in the movie"The sixth sense". In her an adolescent dies because of a supposed long and unknown disease. However, it is revealed later that it was the stepmother who made her sick, the same one that showed a great love and care for the girl as a reactive formation.
Regression
Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/explanation-of-regression-in-psychology.html
It occurs when, faced with the anguish of an emotional conflict or a representation, the subject came back To previous or infantile behaviors, as a consequence of the drive returning to previous satisfactions, which have remained Fixed For its children's story.
For example, an adult who is in a conflict situation at work becomes ill. Consequently, he can not go to work, at the same time that he needs to be cared for and looked after in a similar way to a child who can not fend for himself.
Projection
Source: http://www.thoughtsonlifeandlove.com/emotional-projection-what-is-it/
It occurs when a repressed representation is projected outwardly in a disfigured form. The subject, instead of recognizing such perception or thought, attributes it to an external agent.
Freud makes an approach Grammatical Of the projection, taking as an example the statement"I love it"and its possible contradictions:
Verb Contradiction . The statement becomes"I hate it"and its projection will be He hates me and pursues me .
Direct Object Contradiction . The statement becomes"I love you"and your projection will be She Loves Me .
Subject Contradiction . The statement becomes"she loves you"her projection will be She loves .
Freud dealt extensively with this mechanism to attempt to explain Paul Schreber's case of paranoia. He makes use of this mechanism to explain the paranoia of the famous judge, adducing unconscious homosexual feelings towards his doctor that would be projected in his persecutory ideation towards Schreber.
Rationalization
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It consists of the justification of those actions that we carry out and whose repressed motive we do not want to recognize. The subject gives varied reasons (often half-truths) to explain his behavior, hiding for others and for himself his unconscious and repressed motivation.
For example, a person with an unconscious suicidal desire could commit dangerous actions and justify them not to recognize the desire to hurt themselves, such as crossing the street when the traffic light is green and rationalizing it saying that it is in a hurry or delayed.
Hysterical Conversion
Elisabeth Von R
Very similar to the current one hypochondria , The subject represses the representation in exchange for manifesting a physical symptom as an inability to speak or move certain parts of the body. This disability generally has a logical connection with that which is suppressed.
A famous case of Freud, in the beginning of his theory, is that of Elizabeth von R., who suffered from a paralysis in the legs. Through the analysis, Freud discovers in her desires to marry with his brother-in-law and blame in the wake of that desire to have had that thought in the funeral of his sister.
Once the memory is"revived"and Elizabeth admits what she feels, her paralysis heals.
Delirium
For both Lacan and Freud, delusion, far from being the manifestation of a symptom, is a defense and an attempt to cure. For Freud, delirium is the Reconstruction of the world So that one can accept that which has been expelled from consciousness.
Delirium is the way in which the subject justifies those events or hallucinatory representations. Closely related to foreclosure, delirium is the form of"accepting"those embodied signifiers that the subject perceives as external agents and not as stimuli elicited by himself.
Condensation
It is one of the processes of the unconscious and occurs mainly in dreams. Repressed fragments unite with conscious thoughts, so that the new figure / representation does not resemble the repressed content and only contains a fragment of these.
Condensation is evident in the symptoms, as condensation is Overdetermined By various unconscious contents, which are expressed in part by condensing with conscious contents.
For example, the symptom of a person with the compulsion to check that the lock of their house is closed could have several explanations the fear that their intimacy is invaded but also to expose their repressed unconscious desires. The door would represent the Entrance and exit To the unconscious by condensation.
Displacement
It could also be called Substitution training , Since it constitutes the psychic displacement of an important unconscious element to a non-important one. In such a way, the unconscious and repressed contents by the subject appear to him as alien. It can not be recognized in his thoughts or actions by the work of the displacement.
The common example is found in dreams. When people awaken and evoke a dream come true they feel their contents as alien to their life and they do not know where these images would come since the important elements have been displaced towards the irrelevant ones.
Denial
This mechanism occurs as a way of expressing a consciously repressed representation or thought. It is already a cancellation of repression - the unconscious has become conscious - but not yet an acceptance of the repressed. The intellectual function is separated from the affective process.
For example, following an emotional dream and its subsequent interpretation, the subject states:"That woman do not she is my mother". This negation constitutes the manifestation of a repressed content-the woman in the dream represents the mother-and the subject can enunciate it, on the condition of denying it.
Denial allows you to keep repressed the affection of the representation without having to forget it.
Sublimation
Little is known of this mechanism, for Freud mentioned it briefly in various writings. Unlike the other mechanisms, in this there is no conflict between the Self and the repressed, but rather a pleasant way through which the unconscious can manifest itself.
The paradigmatic example is found in art, where oedipal, incestuous or sexual instinctual motions are expressed through artistic objects. Although they are not unconscious contents, the subject does not suffer its manifestation or the defense that triggers against them, in turn that produces an object in which others can also express their unconscious when identified.
conclusion
As stated earlier, defense mechanisms are never given in a"pure"or isolated state; The psychic apparatus always uses several to defend itself against the unconscious drive impulses that overwhelm you.
This is why the symptom is always Overdetermined , That is to say that it owes its existence to various unconscious reasons and representations.
That is why a simple cough could be the manifestation of a displacement (The subject finds it strange to cough without any apparent reason) but also a regression (Acts as a child behaving like sick to demand care). In turn, the emergence of both mechanisms accounts for a third, the condensation .
References
- Freud, S.: The interpretation of the Dreams, Amorrortu Editores (A.E.), volume IV, Buenos Aires, 1976.
- Freud, S.: The negation , A.E., XIX, idem.
- Freud, S.: Pulsions and drives of drive , A.E., XIV, idem.
- Freud, S.: The repression , Ditto.
- Freud, S.: The unconscious, idem.
- Freud, S.: Psychoanalytic remarks on a case of paranoia ( Dementia paranoides) Described autobiographically , XII , idem.
- Freud, S.: A childhood memory of Leonardo da Vinci , XI, ditto.
- Lacan, J.: The Seminar. Book 3: The psychoses , Paidós, Buenos Aires, 1994.
- Freud, S.: The neuropsychosis of defense , III, idem.
- Freud, S.: The neuropsychosis of defense , Amorrortu Editores (A.E.), volume III, Buenos Aires, 1976.
- Freud, S.: Studies on hysteria, II, Buenos Aires, 1976.