(5) defense mechanism

• What are defense mechanisms?

  Strategies the ego uses to defend itself against anxiety from conflicts of everyday life.
• How do defense mechanisms function in relation to reality?

  They involve denials or distortion of reality.
• What is denial in the context of defense mechanisms?

  Refusing to acknowledge an unpleasant reality or fact of life.
• How does denial manifest in substance abuse?

  Individuals deny that substances like alcohol or nicotine could harm them.
• What is repression as a defense mechanism?

  An unconscious denial of the existence of something that causes anxiety.
• What is reaction formation?

  A defense mechanism that involves expressing an id impulse opposite to the true driving impulse.
• How does displacement function as a defense mechanism?

  It involves shifting id impulses from a threatening object to a more available one.
• What is fixation in psychological terms?

  A condition where a portion of libido remains invested in a psychosexual stage due to excessive frustration or gratification.
• What does regression entail in the context of defense mechanisms?

  Reverting back to an earlier psychosexual stage during times of stress and anxiety.
• What is projection as a defense mechanism?

  Attributing a disturbing impulse to someone else.
• How is paranoia related to projection?

  Paranoia is an extreme type of projection characterized by delusions of jealousy and persecution.
• What is introjection in psychological terms?

  Incorporating positive qualities of another person into one's own ego.
• What is sublimation as a defense mechanism?

  The repression of the genital aim of Eros by substituting it with a cultural or social aim.
• What are the key defense mechanisms discussed in the material?

  1. Denial
  2. Repression
  3. Reaction Formation
  4. Displacement
  5. Fixation
  6. Regression
  7. Projection
  8. Introjection
  9. Sublimation