Friday, April 22, 2005

Freudian Theory on Defence Mechanism

Freud, the father of psychoanalysis... Moi, the mother of defence mechanism.. I have been told time and time again that I tend to be defensive, cynical, skeptical of people.. It is true that I find it very hard to trust people, as much as I would love to.. Defense mechanisms are unconscious, meaning that we are not consciously aware of their operation. They are also individualized, meaning that different people use different sets of them. Based on the list of Freudian's constructs of denfence mechanism, I would probably be suffering from...

::Rationalization
Rationalization is thinking that one's motives are not always pure or publicly acceptable and substituting appropriate motives. A pure simple gesture of kindness can be interpreted as a evil plot of death..Sigh. Wouldn't it be simple just to see things as they are and quit worrying??


::Reaction formation
Reaction formation is showing the exact opposite of one's true motivation or intentions, mostly unconsciously. So.. saying "I hate you" may indicate love instead.. Or, believing that you love to teach may be necessary after you have spent years preparing and then found out that the only job you could obtain was in a inflexible school with horrible students. The choice is to ultimately admit your wasted time and energy preparing for such a job or to believe that you might enjoy it for the next 5 years (isn't denial, which is failing to recognize obvious implications or consequences of a thought, act, or situation, another construct of defence mechanism?? hmm....)


::Regression
Regression occurs when the coping behaviors of an earlier developmental stage reappear. For example, crying or throwing a tantrum may be used to cope with a stressful event. It is acceptable when we are a kid but not now..we will be seen as unstable or violent..