levels of adaptation, coping mechanisms, defense mechanisms

• Defense Mechanisms are also called as ego defense mechanisms or protective defense.
• Defense Mechanisms are defined as patterns of behaving or thinking used by an individual to protect themselves from threatening aspects of their own environment or from their own feeling of anxiety.
• Purpose of Defense Mechanism: C

  • maintains a sense of being in control of the situation
• Purpose of Defense Mechanism: D

  • lessen discomfort
• Purpose of Defense Mechanism: A

  • decrease anxiety
• Types of Defense Mechanisms: (NA) normal and adaptive, (Na) narcissistic, (I) immature, (Ne) neurotic
• Normal and Adaptive Mechanisms

  • persons who use these mechanisms are viewed as having virtues.
• Normal and Adaptive Mechanisms

  • enhances the user’s feeling of mastery and pleasure.
• Normal and Adaptive Mechanisms

  • anticipation
  • compensation
  • compromise
  • sublimation
  • humor
• Normal and Adaptive Mechanisms

  (A) Anticipation - planning ahead for a realistic expectation
• Normal and Adaptive Mechanisms

  (C) Compromise - reciprocal “give-and-take” is necessary in many relationships
• Normal and Adaptive Mechanisms

  (S) Sublimation - reciprocal “give-and-take” is necessary in many relationships
• Normal and Adaptive Mechanisms

  (H) Humor - seeing the lighter side of the situation
• Narcissistic Defense Mechanisms are the most primitive mechanism
• Narcissistic Defense Mechanisms are usually used by children.
• person who uses narcissistic defense mechanisms eliminate the need to cope with reality.
• Narcissistic Defense Mechanisms

  • denial
  • projection
  • fantasy
• Narcissistic Defense Mechanism

  (D) Denial - refusal to accept reality
• Narcissistic Defense Mechanism

  (P) Projection - blaming others for unacceptable deeds or thoughts
• Narcissistic Defense Mechanism

  (F) Fantasy - gratification of wishes through imagination
• Immature Defense Mechanisms are seen in adolescence and some non-psychotic individuals.
• Immature Defense Mechanisms lessens distress and anxiety in provoking situations.
• people who excessively use Immature Defense Mechanisms are seen as socially undesirable in that they are immature, difficult to deal with, and seriously out of touch with reality.
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  • conversion
  • malingering
  • fixation
  • regression
  • identification
  • introjection
  • intellectualization
  • suppression
  • isolation
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (C) Conversion - transferring emotional conflict into physical symptoms
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (M) Malingering - fabrication of ailments
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (F) Fixation - psychosocial development ceased to advance
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (R) Regression - returning to an earlier developmental stage
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (I) Identification- unconscious attempt to change oneself to resemble the admired person
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (I) Introjection - a type of identification in which the individual incorporates the trait or values of another to self
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (I) Intellectualization - excessive reasoning to obscure real feeling
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (S) Suppression - conscious or voluntary forgetting of unacceptable or painful ideas, thoughts, or feelings
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (I) Isolation: physical - physical withdrawal from people to prevent further hurt or damage to one’s security
• Immature Defense Mechanisms

  (I) Isolation: emotional - separating an unacceptable feelings, ideas, or impulses from one’s thoughts
• Neurotic Defense Mechanisms seen in obsessive-compulsive, hysterical individual, and adults under stress.
• Neurotic Defense Mechanisms have short term advantage in coping. when used as one’s primary style of coping, it may cause long term problems in relationships and in enjoying life.
• Neurotic Defense Mechanisms

  • displacement
  • dissociation
  • substitution
  • rationalization
  • reaction formation
  • repression
  • undoing
• Neurotic Defense Mechanisms

  (D) Displacement - releasing anger in a less threatening way
• Neurotic Defense Mechanisms

  (D) Dissociation - blocking off anxiety provoking event from the conscious mind
• Neurotic Defense Mechanisms

  (S) Substitution- taking something in place of the original goal