Defense Mechanisms

repression

pushing anxiety-causing thoughts out of conscious awareness

denial

not accepting the truth; refusing to accept the reality of something bad or upsetting

displacement

redirecting one's feelings toward another person or object, typically to someone or something less threatening than the source of the emotion

projection

dealing with unacceptable impulses by projecting them outward toward other people; seeing your own faults in other people (such as hostile people, unable to see themselves as hostile, accusing other people of hostility)

reaction formation

expressing the opposite of how one truly feels; act contrary to true feelings in order to keep feelings hidden

rationalization

coming up with a beneficial result of an undesirable occurrence

intellectualization

undertaking academic, unemotional study of a subject

sublimation

channeling one's frustration toward socially acceptable behavior (like aggressive impulses in contact sports)

regression

returning to an earlier, comforting form of behavior