compensation (defense mechanism) - - Covering up a real or perceived weakness by emphasizing a trait one considers more desirable
EX: A physically
... [Show More] disabled boy is unable to participate in football, so he compensates by becoming a great scholar.
rationalization (defense mechanism) - - Attempting to make excuses or formulate logical reasons to justifying unacceptable feelings or behaviors.
EX: John tells the rehab nurse, "I drink because its the only way I can deal with my bad marriage and awful job."
denial (defense mechanism) - - Refusing to acknowledge the existence of a real situation or the feelings associated with it.
EX: A women drinks alcohol every day and cannot stop, failing to acknowledge that she has a problem.
reaction formation (defense mechanism) - - Preventing unacceptable thoughts or behaviors from being expressed by exaggerating opposite thoughts or types of behaviors.
EX: Jane hates nursing. She attended nursing school to please her parents. During career day, she speaks to prospective students about the excellence of nursing as a career.
EX: Homophobic people end up being closeted gay themselves.
displacement (defense mechanism) - - The transfer of feelings from one target to another that is considered less threatening or that is neutral.
EX: A client is angry at his doctor, does not express it, but becomes verbally abusive with the nurse.
EX: A father has a bad day at work and comes home and kicks the family dog.
regression (defense mechanism) - - Responding to stress by retreating to an earlier level of development and the comfort measures associated with that level of functioning.
EX: When 2 year old Jay is hospitalized for tonsillitis he will drink only from a bottle, although his mother states he has been drinking from a cup for over 6 months.
identification (defense mechanism) - - An attempt to increase self-worth by acquiring certain attributes and characteristics of an individual one admires
EX: A teenager who required lengthy rehabilitation after an accident decides to become a physical therapist as a result of his experiences.
EX: The "Ingrid Goes West" movie...
repression (defense mechanism) - - Involuntary blocking of unpleasant feelings and experiences from ones awareness.
EX: An accident victim can remember nothing about the accident
intellectualization (defense mechanism) - - An attempt to avoid expressing actual emotions associated with a stressful situation by using the intellectual process of logic, reasoning and analysis.
EX: A woman's husband is being transferred with his job to a city far away from her parents. She hides anxiety by explaining to her parents the advantages associated with the move.
sublimation (defense mechanism)
*rechanneled into something healthy* - - Rechanneling of drives or impulses that are personally or socially unacceptable into activities that are constructive.
EX: Mom of son killed by drunk driver, president of MADD.
introjection (defense mechanism) - - Integrating the beliefs and values of another individual into ones own ego structure.
EX: Children integrate their parents value system into the process of conscience formation.
suppression (defense mechanism) - - The voluntary blocking of unpleasant feelings and experiences from ones awareness.
EX: "I don't want to think about that now. I'll think about that tomorrow."
isolation (defense mechanism) - - Separate a thought or memory from the feeling tone or emotion associated with it.
EX: Without showing any emotion, a young women describes being attacked and raped.
undoing (defense mechanism) - - Symbolically negating or canceling out an experience that one finds intolerable. [Show Less]