The 11 Most Common Defense Mechanisms: Examples And Ways To Avoid Them

Sometimes we cannot face or deal with certain situations in our lives. In these cases the so-called defense mechanisms instantly, making us psychologically able to endure these moments.

What are defense mechanisms?

We could establish that a good definition of a Defense mechanism It points out the automatic and unconscious way we have of protecting ourselves in a situation that generates intense anxiety. In these moments where a type of psychological crisis occurs, people end up distancing themselves from their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

These ‘I’ defense mechanisms They have been categorized according to psychologists based on how primitive they become. In this way, the more primitive each type of defense mechanism is, the less effective it is for a person. This happens because sooner or later the individual ends up having to face these psychological problems that his unconscious is trying to repel.

In this way, adults who learn to deal with each of these moments that generate distress, as well as the stress or anxiety that a situation produces, use many defense mechanisms that end up leading to more psychological problems. So much so that in all cases the defense mechanisms end up being unconscious. Therefore this means that we do not realize that we are using these mechanisms. In many situations we will require psychotherapy to visualize that we are using them.

Origin of the concept of defense mechanisms in psychology

The first to point out that these existed defense mechanisms It was Freud. Recognized as the father of psychology in popular culture, Sigmund Freud developed the concept of ego defense mechanisms to understand human behavior. In this way, this psychologist proposed that people used defense mechanisms unconsciously to avoid feelings and emotions that were uncomfortable.

In order to understand defense mechanisms we must approach Freud’s psychological theories. According to his psychodynamic approach to psychology, the psychic processes that occur in a person are defined by the presence of a internal conflict This struggle that occurs within us is between the structures of the id, the ego and the superego. These three entities that make up our personality are defined as follows:

• It: Structure that appears first and that moves from primary pleasure. This will fight to make the primary drives or instincts govern our behavior.
• I: Psychic entity that is governed by the outside world. It is the psychic agency that ensures that the Id and the Superego do not take control of the body.
• Superego: It is the consequent structure of our socialization with others and the internalization of community norms. This psychic agency fights for us to comply with moral rules.

Through the struggle for control, these three entities cause us to have one personality or another. So much so that defense mechanisms arise precisely as a consequence of the struggle between these psychic entities (ego, superego and it ).

Why do we use defense mechanisms?

According to Freud’s theory (Id, ego, superego as psychic entities), we use the different defense mechanisms to protect us from anxiety or guilt resulting from the demands of each of these internal structures.

In this way, we use each of the types of defense mechanisms to avoid unpleasant feelings and make the good moments feel much better.

Our ego resorts to this reactive training to avoid pain, but when these become disproportionate they end up harming an individual’s mental health. So much so that using them repeatedly ends up with psychological disorders such as neurosis, anxiety, phobias, among others.

Types of defense mechanisms

There are different types personality defense mechanisms, but the reality is that most of us always resort to the same ones. The most used according to psychology are the ones that we will show you below.

1. Repression: The repression It is a defense mechanism that is a strategy of our mind that allows us to hide from consciousness those ideas, experiences or desires that would cause us distress. When someone has a bad experience, it is possible that that memory or some parts of it are repressed to avoid the discomfort they generate. Repression is the defense mechanism we use most in general.
2. Displacement: He displacement mechanism in psychology It consists of focusing on a specific issue that allows us not to pay attention to what we experience as really serious and generates more intense anxiety. We can see it when someone is worried about an important exam and in the days before it shifts their anxiety towards controlling something else, for example by checking several times that they do not forget anything when leaving the house.
3. Denial: We talk about denial of reality when, despite being aware of something, we strive to behave as if we did not know it or through language we deny it. This strategy can appear when we are given bad news and we respond with the idea of “It can not be true“.
4. Regression: Regression is a defending that appears when we act in a way that corresponds to an age younger than ours or a moment of development that we have already experienced. We can see it when someone behaves in a childish manner in front of authority figures to avoid the fear of questioning them.
5. Rationalization: Rationalization appears when we need to justify an unconscious motivation and we use a logical argument to avoid exposing ourselves to that motivation that causes us discomfort. We can see it when someone says that they prefer to sit and talk instead of going out dancing, if there is underlying fear of feeling ridiculous. This mechanism It is similar to that of intellectualization.
6. Intellectualization: It is the strategy What we see when someone talks about an abstract idea to replace something concrete that has an important emotional charge. We can see this defense when someone speaks to us in general terms, for example saying “We have argued and things are not going well”without mentioning specific anecdotes or emotions that were felt.
7. Projection: He projection defense mechanism It happens when you project feelings onto a person or situation. In this way, you wrongly attribute an attitude or emotion to justify your discomfort.
8. Sublimation: This is one of the personality defense mechanisms which is considered a mentally positive strategy. In this way, sublimation in psychology consists of redirecting strong emotions or feelings towards an object or activity that is appropriate or safe.
9. Reactive training: People who use the reactive training They know how to recognize their feelings and emotions, in this way they choose to behave in a way opposite to their instincts so as not to be harmed.
10. Compartmentalization: One of the examples of defense mechanisms What can be very revealing about a person’s mental health is precisely compartmentalization. In these cases the individual chooses to compartmentalize or separate the different facets of her life. So much so that he does not mix his personal life with work or does not intertwine different areas of his life.
11. Compensation: This reactive training The unconscious tries to counteract weaknesses to emphasize strength in other areas that we do dominate. In this way, the ego avoids seeing that it lacks certain abilities.

These are the main personality defense mechanisms that we can find in our attitude. If you think that some of these types of defense mechanisms dominate your unconscious too much, it is essential to try to remedy it. In this regard, it may be a good decision to have a psychotherapy specialist.

Examples of defense mechanisms

To better understand the different types of defense mechanisms here we present some useful examples of each of the mentioned:

1. Repression: Not remembering the day on which psychological abuse or other forms of psychological or physical abuse was received.
2. Displacement: In a case of high pressure or stress, try to avoid at all costs through other actions the topic that produces it, such as a trip, a conversation or simply a specific event.
3. Denial: Denying a fact at all costs even though we know it has really happened.
4. Regression: The person behaves in a childish manner or that is inconsistent with their actions for fear that others will judge them.
5. Rationalization: Someone who avoids at all costs performing an action they fear through ‘logical’ explanations.
6. Intellectualization: People create a label to avoid facing an event. For example, when you don’t want to talk about a relationship problem, expressions like ‘things aren’t going well’ may be suggested even though you don’t say what’s wrong.
7. Projection: To justify our discomfort, we attribute a negative emotion to someone who reminds us of our behavior.
8. Sublimation: Punching or kicking a punching bag to deal with anger would be an example of this defense mechanism.
9. Reactive training: Covering up a feeling of hatred towards a person with exaggerated manifestations of affection and love.
10. Compartmentalization: Leave the stress caused by work where we feel it. That is, not carrying these feelings into other aspects of our life.
11. Compensation: Try to excel in a sport that you know you are good at to compensate for the poor grades you may get in other areas.

These are some of the examples of the most common defense mechanisms If you think that there is a psychological problem behind these behaviors, it is important that you go to a professional psychologist.

How to overcome defense mechanisms?

The best way to enjoy good mental well-being is to confront them at the same moment we detect them. Therefore, leave this aside reactive training of our unconscious is only possible if we face them. Even so, there are some psychological tricks that we can use to ensure that these do not dominate our lives.

• Become more self-aware: The defense mechanisms They are a weapon of our unconscious to try to evade our true feelings. These usually appear when we feel vulnerable to an event. For this precise reason it is vital to know those moments in which we perceive ourselves in a discomfort that generates these emotions. That is, if we use our self-knowledge we can better confront the personality’s defense mechanisms.
• Take responsibility: Although the defense mechanisms They arise from our unconscious, this does not mean that we should set aside our responsibility towards them. So much so that in order to face them we have to take responsibility for their appearance and for not facing them.
• Break the patterns: We all settle into our comfort zone since humans are creatures accustomed to our habits. So much so that we end up falling into our patterns and not facing our fears. For this precise reason, in order to defeat our defense mechanisms We must put aside our denial of reality and try to get out of our comfort zone.
• Keep a diary: A good way to detect defense mechanisms What we use most consistently is precisely by trying to analyze our habits and customs. Therefore, a great exercise to achieve this purpose will be to write down what we do and the feelings that these actions generate in us.

These are the best ways to avoid reactive training of these defense mechanisms. Managing to almost completely eliminate them will not only make you freer but will allow you to enjoy your emotional well-being even more.