Defense Mechanisms

A defense mechanism can be defined as ego weapons that deny or distort reality to help us cope with the stress of reality. Defense mechanisms operate unconciously, and protects us from conflict and stress of reality. They are unhealthy when they cause self defeating behavior and/or emotional conflicts. There are many different defense mechanisms that are used. In easier words, a defense mechanism is a mental process initiated unconciously to avoid concious conflict or anxiety.

One type of defense mechanism is repression. Repression is defined as not being able to recall a threatening situation, person, or event. Phobias often derive from repression of trauma. I define repression as someone putting a sad, or traumatizing situation in the back of their mind and forgetting about it completely. I have used repression before in my lifetime. A couple of summers ago, I got sick in Island 16, the movie theater. I fainted twice and had to be taken away by an ambulance. I got sick as soon as I got in the movie theater, as I was waiting for popcorn. Everything turned out fine. I don't remember walking into the movie theater, or any part of the fainting episode. I clearly remember coming to and riding in the ambulance to the hospital, but for the life of me I cannot remember getting out the car, walking to the movie theater, standing online for tickets, and then going to get snacks. None of those events are registered anywhere in my mind conciously. This can be considered repression because maybe I put that event in the back of my unconcious mind. Just like the definition, not being able to recall a threatening situation, person, or event-- I am not able to recall what happened before I became sick.

Another type of defense mechanism is undoing. Undoing can be defined as gesturres that are meant to cancel out unpleasant thoughts or feelings after they've already occured. I define undoing as, someone trying to make up for something wrong that they have recently done. Undoing engages in an act of atonement for some behavior. Many people I know use the act of undoing to make things better. Including myself. One time me and my mother got into a big arguement. It was something that could've been avoided, and something I felt was not necessary to be arguing about. My mother was angry with me for arguing back, (I mean, sometimes you have to make a point.) and I didn't want her to be mad. I told her I was going to go put gas in my car, and instead went to the local convenience store where I bought her her favorite candies, and a small flower. When I went home, I gave her the candies and flower, in hopes of being able to apologize to my mother. This is a prime example of undoing. Showering a person with gifts after an argument, or something done wrong is the most common example of undoing.

Isolation is also a type of defense mechanism. Isolation is defined as stripping the emotion from a difficult memory or threatening