According to Freud, defense mechanisms refer to cognitive and psychological strategies unconsciously employed by an individual to assist them in dealing with anxiety brought about by unacceptable feelings and thoughts (Freud 3). They arise in people when one is triggered or threatened by feelings of guilt or anxiety. In Freudian psychology, defense mechanisms protect the ego from dissonance brought about by conflicting information from both the superego and the id.
There are several examples of defense mechanisms. Among the most common is repression, which refers to the unconscious strategy by the mind to keep threatening feelings or thoughts from ever getting conscious (Vaillant 5). Denial is another common way of defending the ego against stressors. In this mechanism, a person employing it will block out external events from becoming apparent to their conscious selves. The last form of defense mechanisms is projection. This refers to the attribution of individuals’ shortcomings or anxieties onto other people.
Defense mechanisms can be advantageous for disadvantageous. Denial for one can be helpful in assisting individuals to mask their failures and thereby maintain their self-esteem (Vaillant 23). However, when abused, denial can be disadvantageous in the sense that it can make one accept failure as a part of their personality and therefore inhibit their growth. Repression can be helpful in helping one to forget painful experiences. However, if one represses too many dangerous thoughts, they may eventually vent out and manifest in violent ways. The projection has the advantage that one will be freed from guilt by attributing it to outside agents. It can, however, lead to stunted psychological growth if one always blames other people or agents for his mistakes.
Works Cited
Freud, Anna. The analysis of defense: The ego and the mechanisms of defense revisited. Madison: International Universities Press Inc, 1985.
Vaillant, George E. Ego mechanisms of defense: a guide for clinicians and researchers. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Pub, 1992.
