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Defence mechanisms are unconscious resources used by the ego to reduce conflict between the id and superego and thereby anxiety. For that reason they are more accurately referred to as ego defence mechanisms. They can thus be categorized as occurring due to the following scenarios: The term "defence mechanism" is often thought to refer to a definitive singular term for personality traits which arise due to loss or traumatic experiences, but more accurately refers to several types of reactions which were identified during and after daughter Anna Freud's time.
Structural Model: The Id, Ego, and Superego The concept of id impulses comes from Sigmund Freud’s structural model. Id impulses are based on the pleasure principle: instant gratification of one’s own desires and needs. Sigmund Freud believed that the id represents biological instinctual impulses in ourselves, which are aggression (Thanatos or the Death instinct) and sexuality (Eros or the Life instinct). For example, when the id impulses (e.g. desire to have sex with a stranger) conflict with the superego (e.g. belief in societal conventions of not having sex with unknown persons), the feelings of anxiety come to the surface. To reduce these negative feelings, defence mechanisms are employed. Freud also believed that conflicts between these two structures resulted in conflicts associated with psychosexual stages. Definitions of Individual Psyche Structures We can summarize the three structures of the psyche or personality as follows: Primary and Secondary processes In the ego, there are two processes going on. First, there is the unconscious primary process, where the thoughts are not organized in a coherent way, the feelings can shift, contradictions are not in conflict or are just not perceived that way, and condensations arise. There is no logic and no time line. Lust is important for this process. By contrast, there is the conscious secondary process, where strong boundaries are set and thoughts must be organized in a coherent way. Most conscious thoughts originate here. The Reality Principle Id impulses are not appropriate for civilized society, so society presses us to modify the pleasure principle in favour of the reality principle; that is, the requirements of the external world. Formation of the Superego The superego forms as the child grows and internalizes parental and societal standards. The superego consists of two structures: the conscience, which stores information about what is "bad" and what has been punished and the ego ideal, which stores information about what is "good" and what one "should" do or be. (Interestingly, the Freudian conscience became cognitive-behavioural therapist Albert Ellis' focus.) The Ego's Use of Defence Mechanisms When anxiety becomes too overwhelming it is then the place of the ego to employ defence mechanisms to protect the individual. Feelings of guilt, embarrassment and shame often accompany the feeling of anxiety. In the first definitive book on defence mechanisms, Ego and mechanisms of defence (1936), Anna Freud introduced the concept of signal anxiety; she stated that it was ‘not directly a conflicted instinctual tension but a signal occurring in the ego of an anticipated instinctual tension’. The signalling function of anxiety is thus seen as a crucial one and biologically adapted to warn the organism of danger or a threat to its equilibrium. The anxiety is felt as an increase in bodily or mental tension and the signal that the organism receives in this way allows it the possibility of taking defensive action towards the perceived danger. Defence mechanisms work by distorting the id impulses into acceptable forms, or by unconscious blockage of these impulses. Are They Pathological? Defence mechanisms are helpful and, if used in a proper manner, are healthy. In fact, some disorders, such as personality disorders and psychosis, may be caused in part by inadequate use of appropriate defence mechanisms. However, if misused, the defence mechanisms may also be unhealthy. The maladaptive use of defence mechanisms can occur in a variety of cases, such as when they become automatic and prevent individuals from realizing their true feelings and thoughts or when they put the person in actual danger. For example, someone who is in denial about the possibility that a new sexual partner could carry an STD may not take appropriate precautions to protect their own sexual health. Defence mechanisms can also be maladaptive when they are continually used in a way that disrupts reality-testing. Repeated denial and paranoid projection use can cause people to lose touch with the real world and their surroundings and consequently isolate themselves from it and dwell in a ‘created’ world of their own design. For example, people with addictive behaviour are known to misuse such defence mechanisms as denial. Defence mechanisms can also be harmful if: List of Defense Mechanisms Sigmund Freud was the first person to develop the concept of defence mechanisms, however it was his daughter Anna Freud who clarified and conceptualized it. She has described various different defence mechanisms: Online papers | ||||||||
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