The document discusses ego defense mechanisms, which are unconscious psychological strategies used to cope with reality and maintain self-image. Defense mechanisms can protect the mind from anxiety and help resolve mental conflicts. They are adaptive in small amounts but can become maladaptive and break down personality if overused. Adaptive defenses include repression, rationalization, intellectualization, compensation, sublimation, substitution, and displacement. Maladaptive defenses include denial, isolation, suppression, regression, reaction formation, and projection. The document provides definitions of specific defense mechanisms.

1. Alok Kumar Sahoo
M.Sc Nursing

2. Defense mechanisms are defined as
unconscious psychological
strategies brought into play by various
entities to cope with reality and to
maintain self-image.

3. Purpose of the Ego Defense
Mechanisms is to protect the
mind/self/ego from anxiety
They may also to be used to resolve
mental conflict to reduce anxiety.

4. They can be helpful when used in
very small doses and if overuses
become ineffective and can lead to
a breakdown of the personality .

5. Defense
Mechanism
Adaptive
defense
mechanism
Maladaptive
defense
mechanism

6. Adaptive Defence
mechanism
Maladptive Defence
Mechanism
 Repression
 Rationalization
 Intellectualization
 Compensation
 Sublimation
 Substitution
 Displacement
 Denial
 Isolation
 Suppression
 Regression
 Reaction formation
 Projection
 Conversion
 Dissociation
 undoing

7. Defence
Mechanism
Definiton
Compensation overachievement in one area to make up for deficiency in
another
Rationalism Justifying one’s ideas or behavior
Projection Attributing one’s own undesirable thoughts, impulses or feeling
to others
Displacement Releasing one’s pent-up feelings on a less threatening object
Identification Increasing one’s feelings of worth by identifying or modeling
oneself on people who are respected or influential
Repression Unconscious forgetting of painful ideas, events and conflicts
Regression Reverting to an earlier level of development
Fantasy Withdrawing to a make – believe world through daydreaming
Denial Refusal to accept the reality of a threatening situation in spite of
real evidence
Withdrawal Removing oneself from situations that are embracing or painful
reaction
formation
Behaving in a way that is very opposite of one’s real feeling/
motives

8. Intellectualisa
tion
Using logical explanations without feelings or an affective
component
Negativism Becoming incooperative and doing the opposite of what should
be done