When Reality is Painful …

One day a man called Andrew Laeddis was back home from work discovering that his wife had killed his three children. She was mentally ill and he did not get her help though. Afterwards, Andrew murdered his wife for killing their children. As a result of being unable to accept that he had murdered his wife and the fact that she killed their children, Andrew unconsciously invented another self, created another story in which someone else had committed his own crime. Moreover he denied having any children to escape from the reality of being a murderer and being responsible for the death of his family. At the end, Andrew became mentally ill himself for refusing to accept reality. This is the story of the Movie “Shutter Island” which is an example for what is called “Defense Mechanisms” and how they have a huge effect on our lives. Due to the fact that everyday people are faced with problems, stress, conflict and emotional pain, the mind needs to be protected against these painful feelings. As a result, “Defense Mechanisms” play an important role during these times in order to protect the mind from Stress and Anxiety by “unconsciously” denying reality and refusing it. Although Defense Mechanisms have positive side that they protect the individual against painful thoughts and experiences but using them without awareness can be destructive. “Defense Mechanisms” were researched by Sigmund Freud who’s an Austrian neurologist who became well known as “Father of Psychoanalysis”. Freud defined “Defense Mechanisms” as people’s unconscious behavior to cope with distress and anxiety; in other words they are ways that people use “unconsciously” to escape from painful experiences which they do not want to deal with or think about. Freud identified some types of “Defense Mechanisms” that can be used by a person while trying to defend himself against anxiety. These types include: 1. Denial
It is the refusal to accept reality, in which the person convinces himself that the problem does not exist or pretend that it did not happen at the first place. For example: when smokers deny that smoking is bad for their health because they just cannot face the fact that they cannot stop smoking. 2. Displacement
This one means placing your anger on an object or somebody. People often use this one when they cannot express their feelings to that person who made them angry but instead he places his anger on someone else who did nothing wrong. For example: a man angry at his boss and cannot express this anger for fear of losing his job so instead he comes home kicks any object or argue with his wife. 3. Sublimation
It is similar to displacement but the difference between them is that in Sublimation the person places his painful emotional into a constructive activity. Many artists like musicians and painters had painful lives but instead they had used art as a place to express their feelings. 4. Repression
It means pushing stressful thoughts, experiences or painful feelings into the unconscious mind. In this one the person pushes himself to forget but in fact he just stops thinking about the problem but its effects still exist in his life as it still occurs in his unconscious. For example: a man had a childhood problem so it affected him by having a problem in forming relationships. 5. Projection
It means when you unconsciously project your feelings or thoughts on someone else. For instance when you are mad at someone and then you think that he is the one that is mad at you or is trying to make you feel angry. 6. Regression
It is the reversion to an earlier stage of human development as a result of being exposed to a painful situation. For example: a teenager whom from fear kept on crying and reacting like a child. 7. Rationalization
It means making excuses to justify an unacceptable behavior to protect the ego from feeling guilty. For instance: a shopaholic woman justify buying more clothes to keep her good image among other people at job. 8. Humor
It means laughing at situations which are not funny. For example: when a man loses his job and then he jokes about it with his friends. So he transferred this painful reality into a joke to reduce the intensity of the situation. 9. Reaction Formation
This one means saying the exact opposite of what you feel because it is unacceptable or for fear of the consequences. For example when a man is angry at his boss at work but he unconsciously act like the opposite in order not to be fired.

10. Idealization
It is when the person makes something better than it is; therefore he disregards the bad aspects and focus on the good ones. For example: when someone enters in an unhealthy relationship and then he keeps convincing himself with the good qualities in the other person.
There are two common properties between these types; the first one is that they occur unconsciously and the second one is that they distort the reality and transform it.
Since that Sigmund Freud thought that Defense Mechanisms are what people do when they are faced with stress he also thought that Stress and Anxiety are caused by the three parts of personality (ID, Ego, Super Ego) fighting with each other which at the end causes the Defense Mechanisms. Therefore according to Freud's theory of personality, he divided every human into three parts of personality; ID, Ego and Super Ego. The ID is an unconscious “childish” part of personality that has lots of impulses and things that it wants to do at the time. The ID is based on the pleasure principle. It does not care about reality or morals or ethics, all it cares about is fulfilling its needs, satisfaction and pleasure. The Super Ego is the moral and ethical part of the personality that has the perception of what’s right and what’s wrong. Therefore it always has to limit what the ID wants to do. The Ego (I) is that conscious part which is based on reality principle. Its job is to satisfy the ID needs and at the same time not to break the ethical and moral rules. Therefore it has to deal with that conflict between the ID and the Super ego. When these three parts of personality are fighting with each other, they cause “Anxiety” which causes “Stress”. As a result, the Ego starts to feel like it’s under attack so it begins to do “unconsciously” one of the “Defense Mechanisms” to protect itself from having to deal with too much stress. Therefore whenever the individual faces a problem that he cannot solve or a situation he cannot deal with, he immediately unconsciously give it some wrong explanations and escape from it. These wrong explanations are the “Defense Mechanisms” which begin to work seeking rational ways to escape the problem. Therefore Defense Mechanisms occur when people are faced by Anxiety” that causes stress. Since that Freud noted that Anxiety is the main cause for “Defense Mechanisms” he had divided it into three types: 1- Reality Anxiety: the most basic form of Anxiety. It is based on fears of real world events and real situations such as: fear of being bitten by a dog therefore the way of reducing this anxiety is to avoid approaching dogs. 2- Neurotic Anxiety: this type comes from unconscious fear. For example: a dependant girl finds herself in a responsibility position in which she cannot cope therefore her behavior will be hostility towards who placed her in this situation and towards those who caused her to be unable to cope. 3- Moral Anxiety: fear of violating morals and values, and it comes from the super ego. For example: fear of stealing.
Beside the main cause which is “avoiding Anxiety”, there are other causes for Defense Mechanisms which is “reducing tension” as they cause change in perception that reduces feeling of tension by distorting reality. Moreover they may avoid depression, emotional and psychological disorders.
“Defense Mechanisms” are neither good nor bad; it depends on how they are being used. In the article “Essay on Defence Mechanisms: A way to cope with Tension” the author Tanvi Jain stated that Defense Mechanisms may rescue the individual from disorganized behavior however the over use of them without awareness may lead to maladjustment behavior. Therefore Defense Mechanisms have a positive side and a negative one. As for the Positive side; they enable people to deal with stressful situations in their daily life. They may help them adapt with their problems and painful situations. They also protect the mind from unpleasant feelings and thoughts that the conscious mind cannot deal with. They prevent people from being overwhelmed with stress. They avoid anxiety and tension. In addition, they strengthen the individual to deal better with coming stress and allow him to be safe and get into new relationships. They help the individual to anticipate for future discomfort. Moreover there are some types of Defense Mechanisms that are very useful like “Sublimation” and “Humor”. In the article “15 common Defense Mechanisms” the author “John Grohol” mentioned that Freud considered “Sublimation” to be a positive “Defense mechanism” as it can be used in a healthy way, because in Sublimation the person places his negative emotions in a constructive activity or positive action rather than destructive. Also in “Humor” the individual does not deny the existence of a problem but he faces it and confronts it with joking and laughing to reduce from its pain feeling. Therefore Defense Mechanisms may help the person look at the problem from a different perspective. They help the person ignore the painful side and try to find a positive side for it by placing these bad conditions into something useful. In fact other mechanisms can also be healthy if not used for long times. Finally Defense Mechanisms positive effects can be achieved if the individual knew how to use them wisely in a normal way without overusing them.
Although “Defense Mechanisms” have many positive effects, however failure to realize their existence leads to many problems. Besides, the overuse of them can be very destructive and may cause many negative effects. Freud considered most of Defense Mechanisms to be negative as they involve lies and may create more problems. According to article “Psychiatry 101 – defense mechanisms” Dr. Sanity mentioned that Overuse of “Defense Mechanisms” without awareness can cause mental illness. They prevent people from facing reality because they distort the perception of reality and transform it. They may make the person deny his problems and pretend that they had never happened or even exist. They do not solve the problems in a constructive way instead they can be destructive. They can cause growth of aggression. Moreover they cause lack of responsibility; they can make the person blame others for his own mistakes. They may cause the person to be unable to socialize and unable to cope with reality. Overusing Defense Mechanisms for long times can be addictive. Accordingly, Defense Mechanisms problem is that they are used for long times so they may become automatic therefore they may prevent people from realizing their true feelings and isolate themselves from reality. The story of “Death of the Salesman” is an example for the negative effects of the wrong use of Defense Mechanisms. In the article entitled “How Does Defense Mechanism affect human’s life cycle” the author (Jane H.) mentioned that the character of the story “Willy Loman” kept on denying that his present life was corrupted after being successful in the past. He refused to believe the reality. He could no more differentiate between his present and his past. As result of not being able to cope with reality nor socialize, he committed suicide due to the continuous refusal of reality.
People cannot avoid using Defense Mechanisms but they can avoid being exposed to their negative effects. In the article entitled “How to avoid using Defense Mechanisms” the author (Suzanne Rose) claimed that it is hard for people to avoid using Defense Mechanisms if they do not recognize they are using them. Therefore people should have awareness of what Defense Mechanisms they are using. Moreover the individual has to put in mind that all people use Defense Mechanisms all the time. The individual has to avoid being exposed to repression stage which is from the main causes of negative effects. “Repression” makes the individual deny that the problem even exists. People can avoid repression by acceptance of reality regardless of whether they like it or not. People should confront the reality and deal with it not to escape but to find solutions to solve it instead. People can ask others to recognize their own “Defense Mechanisms” because sometimes people cannot realize their own behavior while it’s so obvious to others. In addition, when the individual gets to understand “Defense Mechanisms”, this leads to less stress, the ability to form healthy and better relationships. Also they may help the acceptance of workplace and the good communication with others. Besides people can avoid overusing Defense Mechanisms by other healthy ways like talking about their problem with friends or family members, they can help finding a solution instead of escaping from the situation. The individual should cope with his anxieties and problems directly not through Defense Mechanisms. Sports can be a constructive activity in which you push out your repressed feelings by playing a sport you like or doing a favorite hobby. Moreover, consulting a psychologist is also a good way for avoiding negative effects as he is going to help people understand more about Defense Mechanisms, their negatives and how to overcome them. Freud’s psychoanalysis purpose was to bring back the repressed memories, thoughts, problems and fears from the unconscious mind to the conscious one to help the individual face his reality and solve his problems which he was escaping from. Therefore the main cure for Defense Mechanisms negative effects is “Facing the reality”.
In conclusion, “Defense Mechanisms” is a tool of surviving rather than coping. They do not solve the problems but they may help you adapt with your problems. They can be healthy if they are used properly but they can be harmful if they were overused without awareness. They may cause very bad effects like mental illness or they can cause suicide due to refusal of reality and the continuous denying for it. People should have awareness of “Defense Mechanisms” and that all people use them every day, unconsciously to avoid anxiety, pain, guilt and stress. Defense mechanism are needed to protect the mind from painful feelings but People should know that overusing Defense Mechanisms for long times can be addictive and automatic which makes people unable to know their true feelings. People should accept their reality and deal with their repressed feelings, thoughts and experiences trying to find solutions for them. People can overcome being exposed to the drawbacks by simply facing their reality and not to escape from it because “Defense Mechanisms” is a temporary solution and then the person will come to a point that he has to face the reality.

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