Isn't it amazing how many excuses we come up with for justifying our actions?
Source Article (youtube - 17 Ego defense mechanisms)
Here are 17 EGO Defense Mechanisms with their examples.
Count how many of these you have experienced with yourself or around you, and let me know in the comments
Without further Adieu, here are they
No: 17 - DENIAL OF REALITY
Definition: Protecting the self from an unpleasant reality by the refusal to perceive or face it
Example: A Smoker concludes that evidence linking cigarette use to health problems is scientifically worthless
No: 16 - FANTASY
Definition: Gratifying frustrated desires by imaginary achievements
Example: A socially inept and inhibited young man imagines himself chosen by a group of women to provide them with sexual satisfaction.
No: 15 - REPRESSION
Definition: Preventing Painful or dangerous thoughts from entering consciousness
Example: A mother’s occasional murderous impulses towards her hyperactive two-year-old are denied access to awareness.
No: 14 - RATIONALIZATION
Definition: Using contrived “explanations” to conceal or disguise unworthy motives for one’s behavior
Example: A fanatical racist uses ambiguous passages from scripture to justify his hostile actions toward minorities
No: 13 - PROJECTION
Definition: Attributing one’s unacceptable motives or characteristics to others
Example: An expansionist-minded dictator of a totalitarian state is convinced that neighboring countries are planning to invade
No: 12 - REACTION FORMATION
Definition: Preventing the awareness or expression of unacceptable desires by an exaggerated adoption of seemingly opposite behavior
Example: A man troubled by homosexual urges initiates a zealous community campaign to stamp out gay bars.
No: 11 - DISPLACEMENT
Definition: Discharging pent-up feelings, often of hostility, on objects less dangerous than those arousing the feelings
Example: A woman harassed by her boss at work initiates an argument with her husband.
No: 10 - EMOTIONAL INSULATION
Definition: Reducing ego involvement by protective withdrawal and passivity.
Example:A child separated from her parents because of illness and lengthy hospitalization becomes emotionally unresponsive and apathetic.
No: 9 - INTELLECTUALIZATION (ISOLATION)
Definition: Cutting off affective charge from hurtful situations or separating incompatible attitudes by logic-tight compartments.
Example:A prisoner on death row awaiting execution resists appeals on his behalf and coldly insists that setter of the law be followed.
No: 8 - UNDOING
Definition: Atoning for or magically trying to dispel unacceptable desires or acts
Example:A teenager who feels guilty about masturbation ritually touches a door knob a prescribed number of times following each occurrence of the act.
No: 7 - REGRESSION
Definition: Retreating to an earlier developmental level involving less mature behavior and responsibility
Example:A man whose self-esteem has been shattered reverts to childlike “show-off” behavior and exhibits his genitals to young girls.
No: 6 - IDENTIFICATION
Definition: Increasing feelings of worth by affiliating oneself with a person or institution of illustrious standing
Example:A youth-league football coach becomes excessively demanding of his young players in emulation of an authoritarian pro football coach.
No: 5 - OVERCOMPENSATION
Definition: Covering up perceived weaknesses by emphasizing a desirable characteristic or making up for frustration by over gratification in another
Example:A youth-league football coach becomes excessively demanding of his young players in emulation of an authoritarian pro football coach.
No: 4 - ACTING-OUT
Definition: Engaging in antisocial or excessive behavior without regard to negative consequences as a way of dealing with emotional stress
Example:An unhappy, frustrated sales representative has several indiscriminate affairs without regard to the negative effects of the behavior
No: 3 -SPLITTING
Definition: Viewing oneself or others as all good or bad without integrating positive or negative qualities into the evaluations; reacting to others in an “all or none”, manner rather than considering the full range of their qualities.
Example:A conflicted manager does not recognize individual qualities or characteristics of his employees. Instead, he views them as all good or all bad, seeing most of them as all bad.
No: 2 -SUBLIMATION
Definition: Channeling frustrated sexual energy into substitutive activities
Example:A sexually frustrated artist paints wildly erotic pictures.
No: 1 -FIXATION
Definition: Attaching oneself in an unreasonable or exaggerated way to some person, or arresting emotional development on a childhood or adolescent level
Example:An unmarried, middle-aged man still depends on his mother to provide his basic needs.
Count how many of these you have experienced with yourself or around you, and let me know in the comments