categories of defense mechanisms

it’s important to understand right from the beginning that not all defense mechanisms are “bad” or unhealthy. some defense mechanisms allow for self-protection while maintaining a full awareness of the thoughts and feelings involved in dealing with the challenge facing you.

healthy defenses to cope with problems on a adult manner

01. affiliation. you seek out others for emotional support or physical help.
02. altruism. dealing with emotional stressors by dedication to meeting the need of others. you do good and kind things for others, rather than worry about your own immediate satisfaction or fears.
03. anticipation. you think ahead to events that might occur in the future and consider realistic responses or solutions.
04. concentration. selective awareness in time (opposite to denial).
05. empathy. selective sensitivity. being aware of your own feelings (opposite to projection).
06. humor. you notice the amusing or ironic aspects of something. some persons, however, use humor to hide aggressive impulses. it might seem that they are always good-natured and happy, but if you listen closely you can hear them ending every sentence with a “ha-ha-ha” sort of giggle. this in effect tells the listener, “i’m really frightened of conflict, so please don’t take seriously anything i say, lest you be offended by it and want to challenge me”.
07. identification. as a normal childhood developmental process of taking in of experience symbolically in order to identify with other persons (especially parents), this is often called introjection.
08. introjection. as a normal childhood developmental process of taking in of experience symbolically in order to identify with other persons (especially parents),
09. logical analysis. by means-end symbolization (opposite to rationalization).
10. objectivity. as a mechanism for discrimination, looking for the whole truth and analyzing total reality (opposite to dissociation).
11. playfulness. a time reversal process for safe learning and exploring possibilities as in role-playing.
12. self-assertion. You act toward others in a way that is emotionally genuine and honest and that is not coercive or manipulative.
13. self-observation. you reflect upon and consider your emotions and thoughts, so as to act responsibly.
14. sublimation. you direct socially harmful impulses into socially acceptable forms of behaviour or you redirect the feeling into a socially productive activity.
15. substitution. a form of displacement to redirect feelings into socially acceptable forms.
16. suppression. you avoid thinking about disturbing experiences or feelings. restraining impulses (opposite to repression). done in moderation, and in the proper circumstances, this can be healthy and protective. but in excess it becomes avoidance, one of the characteristic qualities of post-traumatic stress disorder.

inhibitory defenses this sort of defensive functioning serves to keep threatening thoughts, feelings, memories, wishes, or fears out of conscious awareness.

01. aggression. identified in assault and destruction. direct aggression targets the source of the threat. indirect aggression shades into the mechanism of displacement.
02. aggressive humor. I am really frightened of conflict, so don’t take seriously anything I say, lest you be offended by it and want to challenge me.
03. compulsive movements. blepharo-spasm, blinking, gestures, mannerisms, rituals and tics. isolation and/or dissociation of (involuntary) movements.
04. displacement. when a person redirects his feelings on to someone else. you transfer your feelings about one object to another, less threatening object. for example, a man angry at his boss comes home and yells at his children.
05. dissociative amnesia. partial memory loss hidden by repressive mechanism. motives anxiety or guilt.
06. dissociation. you separate yourself from reality by a breakdown of normal conscious functions of memory or identity. for example, in a car crash you don’t feel like you’re experiencing it yourself, or you don’t feel like you’re experiencing it in your body, or you develop amnesia about the final moments of the crash.
07. identification with the aggressor. identification as a defensive function.
08. indirect aggression. shades into the displacement mechanism of the impulse diversion.
09. intellectualization. you focus on abstract logic or philosophy and minimize feelings about an event. for example, after an earthquake damages your home, you talk to others primarily about the structural engineering factors of the damage.
10. isolation. when a person is unable to experience the thought and feeling together of an experience. his feelings remain hidden.
11. isolation of affect. you remain aware of the descriptive details of an event but lose connection with the feelings about the event itself.
12. reaction formation. your behaviors, thoughts, or feelings are the complete opposite of your actual (unconscious) desires. for example, you dislike your job and yet you tell everyone how wonderful it is.
13. repression. you lose all conscious memory of an event, in contrast to dissociative amnesia in which selective elements of an event are “forgotten.” also, in repression you may retain certain emotional components of the event even though you have no memory of the event. for example, a woman who as a child was sexually abused by her father may feel anxious and uneasy whenever finding herself alone in a room with an older man, even though she cannot remember the childhood abuse itself. (note, however, that this emotional component in itself does not prove that abuse once happened, because the woman’s anxiety could have other, unconscious causes.)
14. somatization. when a person became preoccupied with his health.
15. total amnesia. the memory is hidden by repressive mechanisms. motives anxiety or guilt.
16. transference. a displacement of esteem away from appropriate objects to the analist, and occasionally to the patient’s self.
17. undoing. you use symbolic means to negate or make amends for unacceptable thoughts or feelings. for example, you repetitively wash your hands as an unconscious gesture of “washing away” the guilt of feeling angry at someone you depend upon.

defenses involving disavowal this sort of defensive functioning serves to keep unpleasant or unacceptable thoughts or feelings out of conscious awareness.

01. denial. you refuse to acknowledge what is readily apparent to others. when you’re in denial, the truth is your enemy and your accuser.
02. projection. you falsely attribute to others your own unacceptable feelings. for example, a woman complains that a friend is insulting her because he hates women, when actually she harbours a secret hatred for men because she was sexually abused as a child.
03. rationalization. you conceal your true motives by making incorrect, self-serving explanations. for example, a parent beats a child, saying that it is not abuse because “that’s how my father disciplined me”.
04. self-deception. two forms denial and disguise (all other defens mechanisms).

distorting defenses (minor) this sort of defensive functioning serves to distort images of self or body or others in order to regulate self-esteem.

01. compensation. faced with feelings of inadequacy or incompetence the subject seeks to excel in some other arena.
02. devaluation. you tell yourself that something desirable but immediately unattainable is somehow defective. for example, the fox in aesop’s fable tells himself that the grapes out of his reach are probably sour. hence the expression “sour grapes.”
03. idealization. you attribute exaggerated positive qualities to an other.
04. omnipotence. you feel or act as if you possessed special powers or abilities superior to others. for example, a child left alone in the house every day after school by working parents fantasizes that he is a comic book superhero.

distorting defenses (major) this sort of defensive functioning involves gross distortion in images of self or others.

01. autistic fantasy. you withdraw into excessive daydreaming rather than take effective action.
02. fantasy. escape into a dreamworld is an immature response, but may be a safe strategy for coping in the form of a role-play.
03. over-identification. the subject fails to differentiate positive and negative aspects of the role-model’s character. even in the most positive role-model in that it substitutes for real personal growth.
04. projective identification. as in projection, you falsely attribute to others your own unacceptable feelings, but here you remain aware of the feelings yet believe they are justifiable reactions to another person. for example, you feel angry that you have been assigned to work on a project, but instead of recognizing your resentment, you start to feel angry with a co-worker, believing that she lacks commitment to the project.
04. self-fulfilling prophecy. continuous projective identification. for example, an insecure and jealous person who is intensely afraid of abandonment can so often impute feelings of infidelity into others that they eventually get sick of such suspicion and criticism and end up actually abandoning him or her.
05. splitting. you see everything as either all good or all bad, sometimes alternating between the two in regard to one person.

defenses involving action or withdrawal this sort of defensive functioning involves action or withdrawal.

01. acting out. you use physical actions instead of dealing with challenges directly by reflecting on and speaking about your feelings. for example, a man has an extramarital affair because he cannot verbalize his feelings of frustration or helplessness within the marriage.
02. apathetic withdrawal. you simply withdraw from interaction with the world rather than deal with its assaults and challenges.
03. avoidance. or suppression in excess. one of the characteristics of post-traumatic stress disorder.
04. help-rejecting complaining. you make a show of asking for help, yet because of hidden feelings of hostility you reject all help or advice that is offered. for example, a woman suffering from bereavement begins to lose weight. a neighbor brings some yogurt, and the woman complains that she only eats goat’s milk yogurt. a physician prescribes medication, and the woman stops taking it because she doesn’t like the way it makes her feel. a psychologist offers psychotherapy and she complains that the office is too far away. and so on.
05. passive aggression. you present a façade of compliance, yet, because of hidden resentment, something always happens - you get sick, the bus is late, your car breaks down, etc. - so that you ultimately obstruct, rather than complete, the task. for example, “wait a minute,” you say. “It’s not my fault that the bus was late.” well, that may be true in some circumstances, but we’re talking here about things - one thing or another - that happen over and over again to frustrate the plans of someone else. it could be very possible that you “knew” unconsciously just how much of a delay it would take to miss that bus, and you “knew” that you could be late. thus, rather than catching the bus before the bus that will get you there on time, so as to guarantee not being late, you ignore the warning signs, “knowing” what will happen. it may sound weird, but as is often said, “life is stranger than fiction.”
06. primitivation. falling back on a more primitive state of development.
07. regression. returning to a previous state of development.
08. retrogression. falling back on a state already experienced in the past.
09. withdrawal. the most extreme of defense mechanisms beyond regression. depression sufferers are particular prone to withdrawal, almost a hallmark of the disorder. “burning bridges” right up to suicide.