Free Essay On Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanism is a way in which the mind compromises solutions on things that it is incapable to solve. It is an unconscious process of coping from unacceptable situations. It can be both positive and negative in a certain way. The mind has that ability to alter the current situation in order to gain acceptance of the unpleasant stimulus. And in turn, the person would be able to easily cope with the situation. Defense mechanism offers a protection to the individual and may manifest in different ways.
Repression is a type of defense mechanism wherein the person experienced a selective amnesia in order to forget the situation or the unacceptable stimulus. Personally, a friend of mine experienced a traumatic car accident when she was a child. But when asked about the event that transpired during that time, she cannot remember it happened.
Another type of defense mechanism is Displacement. It is simply a redirection of a person’s reaction to a powerless substitute. Unconsciously, it transfers emotions to a new aim or object as a proxy for the original target. It is often aggressive and destructive in nature. We had a classmate from our school before who used to bully most of the students. Little did we know that he has been experiencing a family problem and that in order to divert his emotions from his family, he turns violent and aggressive towards his classmates.
The opposite of Displacement would be Sublimation. Unlike Displacement, Sublimation is often seen as positive and a creative activity. There is a redirection of target as well, but it is converted to a more socially acceptable form. When I lost a loved one in our family, this form of defense mechanism helps me recover from that and I develop the habit of writing poetry in order to express the emotions that I have inside. Instead of breaking down and sulking with my emotions, I managed to convert that and transform it into a creative product.