defense mechanisms

Denial

Refusing to accept something, such as declaring something untrue when it is true.

ex of denial

Rebecca denied her gambling addiction's impact on her marriage.

reason for denial

Convincing oneself of not having an addiction to avoid facing reality.

Regression

Reverting to an earlier stage of development due to a traumatic event.

ex of regression

An upset person reacts childishly, like hitting.

reason for regression

Reverting to childhood coping mechanisms in response to stress.

Projection

Projecting undesired attributes onto others.

ex of projection

Accusing someone of not listening when you are the one not listening.

purpose of projection

Denying one's own undesirable behaviors.

Repression

Keeping feelings from entering consciousness,

ex of repression

an abused child not recalling trauma until adulthood. .

use of repression

Coping mechanism to deal with past events

Displacement

Transferring emotions from one situation to an unrelated person.

ex of displacement

Yelling at someone due to a bad exam grade.

reason for displacement

Inability to express emotions to the actual target.

Intellectualization

Using reasoning to avoid emotional stress.

ex of intellectualization

Overthinking a situation and focusing on trivial details.

use of intellectualization

:Blocking out emotions to prevent feeling overwhelmed.

Rationalization

Logically justifying behaviors and feelings,

ex of rationalization

like making excuses to avoid hurting someone.

use of rationalization

:elief in understanding oneself better than reality.

Sublimation

Replacing inappropriate actions with appropriate ones.

use of sublimination

Preventing inappropriate behavior by channeling it into acceptable outlets.