Defense mechanisms:

Projection Projection is a form of defense in which unwanted feelings are

displaced onto another person, where they then appear as a threat
from the external world.

Denial Denial is the conscious refusal to perceive that painful facts

exist.

Sublimation  Sublimation is the diversion or deflection of instinctual drives,

usually sexual ones, into noninstinctual channels.

Repression Repression, is not being able to recall a threatening situation,

person, or event. Thoughts that are often repressed are those that
would result in feelings of guilt from the superego.

Displacement Displacement is the redirection of an impulse (usually

aggression) onto a powerless substitute target. The target can be
a person or an object that can serve as a symbolic substitute.

Undoing Undoing is a defense mechanism in which a person tries to

cancel out or remove an unhealthy, destructive or otherwise
threatening thought or action by engaging in contrary behavior.
For example, after thinking about being violent with someone,
one would then be overly nice or accommodating to them.

Introjection Introjection is a process in which an individual unconsciously

incorporates aspects of external reality into the self, particularly
the attitudes, values, and qualities of another person or a part of
another person’s personality. Introjection may occur, for
example, in the mourning process for a loved one

Splitting Compartmentalizing experiments of self and other such that

integration is not possible. When the individual is confronted
with the contradictions in behavior, thoughts, or affect he/she
regards the differences with bland denial or indifference.
Dissociation Disrupting one's sense of continuity in the areas of identity,
memory, consciousness, or perception as a way of retaining an
illusion of psychological control in the face of helplessness and
loss of control. Although similar to splitting, dissociation may in
extensive cases involve alteration of memory of events of the
disconnection because of the disconnection of the self from the
event.

Acting Out Enacting an unconscious wish or fantasy impulsively as a way of

avoiding painful affect

Rationalization Justifying an unacceptable feeling or behavior with logic

Reaction formation Replacing an unwanted impulse with its opposite

Isolation The act of creating a mental or cognitive barrier around

threatening thoughts and feelings, isolating them from other
cognitive processes.

Compensation The client’s attempt to make up for what they consider to be

their flaws or shortcomings or for dissatisfaction in one domain
of their lives.

Intellectualization Intellectualization involves a person using reason and logic to

avoid uncomfortable or anxiety-provoking emotions.
Intellectualization can be a useful way of explaining and
understanding negative events. For example, if person A is rude
to person B, person B may think about the possible reasons for
person A's behavior.

Humor Humor is used as a “mature” defense mechanism - a primarily

adaptive technique to help us to cope with tense or stressful
situations. Looking for a funny aspect in an environment in
which we lack control can help us to endure it, and can even be
an altruistic act in helping others to better cope as well.

Suppression Suppression is a voluntary form of repression. It is the conscious

 process of pushing unwanted, anxiety-provoking thoughts,
memories, emotions, fantasies and desires out of awareness. If
you are grieving over the death of a loved one or the breakup of
a relationship, you may consciously decide to suppress thinking
about the situation to get on with your life.

Compartmentalization
Separating components of one’s life into different categories to
prevent conflicting emotions. Compartmentalization is a defense
mechanism in which people mentally separate conflicting
thoughts, emotions, or experiences to avoid the discomfort of
contradiction.

Fantasy Avoiding reality by retreating to a safe place within your mind.

When something in your life is causing anxiety, you might
retreat to your inner world where the cause of the stress cannot
harm you.

Regression Retreating to a behavior pattern characteristic of an earlier age of

development. For example, a 10 year old girl refusing to sleep
alone in her room after her parent’s divorce.

Wishful thinking Making decisions according to what might be pleasing to

imagine instead of by appealing to evidence, rationality, or
reality.

Upward and downward A defensive tendency that is used as a means of self-evaluation.

social comparisons Individuals will look to another individual or comparison group
who are considered to be worse off in order to dissociate
themselves from perceived similarities and to make themselves
feel better about themselves or their personal situation.

Withdrawal It entails removing oneself from events, stimuli, and interactions

under the threat of being reminded of painful thoughts and
feelings.

identifying with someone else, taking on their personality

characteristics, in order to solve some emotional difficulty and
Identification avoid anxiety. This is a fairly common method of attempting to
forget about one’s troubles, happens often in insecure people. A
person joining a sports team, fraternity, social clique or even
subcultures are all examples of this. It was originally Freud’s
solution to Oedipus and Electra complex: identify with the same
sex parent and try to become like him or her.

Anticipation Anticipates, plans for future inner discomfort that is goal

directed. Careful planning or worrying and premature but
realistic affective anticipation of dire and potentially dreadful
outcomes

Asceticism Eliminates pleasurable effects of experiences. Uses morals to

assign values to specific pleasures. Derives gratification from
renunciation of all consciously-perceived base pleasures

Altruism Satisfying internal needs through helping others. For example,

someone recovering from substance use might volunteer to help
(Mature Defense others in recovery as a way to deal with drug cravings. An act of
Mechanism) goodwill towards another person, known as altruistic behavior,
can be used as a way of diffusing a potentially anxious
situation. Altruism may be used as a defense mechanism for
example, by being particularly helpful to a person who we feel
might dislike us or neutralizing an argument with kind words
and positivity.