defense mechanism

1. Different Defense mechanism

2. Topics to be covered
• Body’s defense mechanisms, brief on physical
defense and mental defense
• Role of sympathetic nervous system in
processing emotion, trauma etc.
• Importance of instincts
• Understanding basic gut instinct

4. Different Defense Mechanisms
The overall wellbeing of a person depends on two
systems the physical body and mental wellbeing,
hence the defense mechanism has to also
incorporate the wellbeing of both these systems.
The physical defense system mainly has three main
lines of defense:
• The physical barrier
• Defensive cells and proteins, inflammation and
fever
• The immune system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2XuzSm6o6Y

5. Cont…
 Projection: Attributing one’s unacceptable feelings or desires to
someone else. For example, if a bully constantly ridicules a peer
about insecurities, the bully might be projecting his own struggle
with self-esteem onto the other person.
 Denial: Refusing to recognize or acknowledge real facts or
experiences that would lead to anxiety. For instance, someone with
substance use disorder might not be able to clearly see his problem.
 Repression: Blocking difficult thoughts from entering into
consciousness, such as a trauma survivor shutting out a tragic
experience.
 Regression: Reverting to the behavior or emotions of an earlier
developmental stage.
 Rationalization: Justifying a mistake or problematic feeling with
seemingly logical reasons or explanations. Example, failing in an
important exam and thinking how the performance can be
enhanced in future.

6. Cont..
 Displacement: Redirecting an emotional reaction from the rightful
recipient to another person altogether. For example, if a manager
screams at an employee, the employee doesn't scream back—but the
employee may yell at their family members later that night.
 Reaction Formation: Behaving or expressing the opposite of one’s true
feelings. For instance, a man who feels insecure about his masculinity
might act overly aggressive.
 Sublimation: Channeling sexual or unacceptable urges into a
productive outlet, such as work or a hobby.
 Intellectualization: Focusing on the intellectual rather than emotional
consequences of a situation. For example, if a roommate unexpectedly
moved out, the other person might conduct a detailed financial
analysis rather than discussing their hurt feelings.
 Compartmentalization: Separating components of one’s life into
different categories to prevent conflicting emotions.

7. Cont….

8. Sympathetic nervous system (SNS)
• The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is one of the two divisions
of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), along with the
parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), These systems primarily
work unconsciously in opposite ways to regulate many functions
and parts of the body.
• The sympathetic nervous system directs the body's rapid
involuntary response to dangerous or stressful situations. A flash
flood of hormones boosts the body's alertness and heart rate,
sending extra blood to the muscles
• Sympathetic nervous system, division of the nervous system that
functions to produce localized adjustments (such as sweating as a
response to an increase in temperature) and reflex adjustments
of the cardiovascular system.

9. Types of nervous system
• Sympathetic and
• Parasympathetic Nervous System.
• The sympathetic nervous system prepares the
body for the “fight or flight” response during
any potential danger. On the other hand,
the parasympathetic nervous system inhibits
the body from overworking and restores the
body to a calm and composed state.

10. The Relationship Between Emotions and
our Nervous System
• Our emotions are invisible energies in motion that move
through you with lightning-fast speed, flooding us with
signals of either pleasure or pain. Like brush strokes on a
blank canvas, our emotions color your world with contrast
and meaning. For many of us, emotions seem to have an
interior life and will of their own. Previously, it was thought
emotions were purely mental activities generated by the
brain, over which we had little or no control. We now know
that emotions have as much to do with the body as with
the brain..
• New research now shows that we can consciously choose
to influence the development of our mind and emotions.
It's been discovered that our heart functions as a complex
information and networking center.

11. Cont…
• With each heart beat, our heart communicates with our body, heart and brain
through our nervous system, hormonal system, electromagnetic fields and other
energetic pathways. These internal communication networks also affect the way
we perceive the reality, which greatly influences the emotions of our
experience.
• our emotions are perfectly reflected in our nervous system. Scientific research
shows that our emotions stimulate very specific activities in our nervous system.
This means that our nervous system has the intelligence to distinguish between
positive and negative emotions, as well as between different negative emotions.
• One of the easiest ways scientists have found to observe the effects of emotions
on the nervous system is through monitoring heart rhythms. It has been
discovered that intense emotions are clearly shown in our heart's rhythms. For
example, when you are experiencing intense emotions like fear, frustration,
anxiety or anger, your heart rhythms are spiked and jagged and because there is a
neural (nerve) connection between your heart and brain, our intense emotions
greatly affect our ability to think clearly.
• However, the opposite also is true for whenever you feel loved and appreciated as
you generate internal feelings of emotional well-being and your heart rhythms
become synchronized and harmonious and your ability to think clearly is
enhanced.

12. Nervous System
• The nervous system is our body's primary communications
network. Our nerves, like wires, carry electrical signals or
messages within and between all the parts of our body.
• We have conscious or voluntary control over the sensory and
motor systems of our central nervous system.
• The sensory branch of our central nervous system receives and
transmits information from the outside world through our five
senses (sound, sight, smell, taste and touch) to the brain.
• We can perceive the physical world around while the motor
branch of our central nervous system carries internal signals from
our brain to our body, making it possible for us to walk, talk and
perform actions in the world around us.
• The autonomic branch of our nervous system is non-conscious
or involuntary, meaning we have no apparent control over its
function.

13. Nervous system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPix_X-9t7E

14. • autonomic nervous system operates at a subconscious level
to control all the functions of our internal organs and
glands which secrete hormones.
• It is our autonomic nervous system that is involved in our
ability to feel emotions.
• In fact, emotions are the language of subconscious mind.
• Our autonomic nervous system has two branches of
activity. The sympathetic (fight/flight) branch which speeds
up your heart rate as it signals you to prepare for action,
and the parasympathetic (relaxation) branch which slows
down
• heart rate as it signals you for rest and recovery.
Cont…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44B0ms3XPKU

15. Cont…
• Different types of emotions send different messages through your
nervous system to the heart, brain and body.
• We can feel our emotions rush through our body like cascading waves of
energy.
• Constant streams of intense emotions like fear, frustration and anger are
known to overtax our autonomic nervous system with stress signals,
causing its neural networks to jam and is analogous to your driving with
one foot on the gas pedal while the other is on the brake.
• Eventually, a chronic build-up of stress leads to autonomic nervous
system imbalance; a state of chaos within our autonomic nervous
system which results in our stress response getting stuck and remaining
in the "on" position for fight or flight.
• The autonomic nervous system is known to stimulate our hormonal
production and response. Autonomic nervous system balance is an
essential key for healthy functioning of the body, mind and emotions.

16. FIGHT –OR –FLIGHT SITUATION
• The sympathetic nervous system makes up part of the
autonomic nervous system, also known as the
involuntary nervous system. Without conscious
direction, the autonomic nervous system regulates
important bodily functions such as heart rate, blood
pressure, pupil dilation, body temperature, sweating
and digestion,
• The distinct type’s nerve cells of called neurons,
control these different physical reactions by directing
the action of skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and gland
secretion. The system allows animals to make quick
internal adjustments and react without having to think
about it.

17. Gut intelligence
 All living creatures have a gut-brain axis that can send the
neurotransmitters, neurons and hormones from our gut up to the
vagus nerve through our heart and to our head’s brain for
processing.
 Synthesizing the information from your gut, heart and
head allows you to engage your executive mind’s ability to
process the unconscious knowing of your gut and heart and,
therefore, make a conscious and wise decision.
 This process is trademarked as gut intelligence (GQ).
 The gut alerts you to cues early on. if properly managed this
information from your gut is sent to the prefrontal region of the
frontal lobe, where executive functioning occurs. The heart aligns
you to what you desire.

18. https://anchorwellnesscenter.com/gut-
intelligence-the-connection-between-the-brain-
gut/

19. Cont…
 Checking these emotions and desires you become more mindful
of the ultimate vision, values and goals you wish to
achieve. When you pay attention to how you feel about a
situation, you will gain clarity about what your emotions are
telling you. The brain assimilates the unconscious information
from your gut and heart to help you make conscious decisions.
For example:
• Anger is an emotion that tells you to change something
• Happiness and joy tell you it’s all good
• Disappointment means something fell short of your expectations
• Jealousy tells you others have something you want that you don’t
believe you can get
• Confusion is the emotion that tells you that you are disconnected
from your wisdom

20. Imbalance in gut intellegence

21. Types of Natural Instincts
Humankind has been able to survive many shifts in its environment
throughout the centuries. The ability to adapt physically and
mentally to a changing world kept humans alive while other species
gradually died off. The same survival mechanisms that kept our
forefathers alive can help keep us alive as well! However, these
survival mechanisms that can help us can also work against us if we
don't understand and anticipate their presence. It is not surprising
that the average person will have some psychological reactions in a
survival situation.
1. Fear
2. Anxiety
3. Anger and Frustration
4. Depression
5. Loneliness and Boredom
6. Guilt

22. Fear
• Fear is our emotional response to dangerous circumstances that we
believe have the potential to cause death, injury or illness. This
harm is not just limited to physical damage; the threat to one's
emotional and mental well-being can generate fear as well. For the
person trying to survive, fear can have a positive function if it
encourages him to be cautious in situations where recklessness
could result in injury. Unfortunately, fear can also immobilize a
person. It can cause him to become so frightened that he fails to
perform activities essential for survival. Most of us will have some
degree of fear when placed in unfamiliar surroundings under
adverse conditions. There is no shame in this! Each individual must
train himself not to be overcome by his fears. Ideally, through
realistic training, we can acquire the knowledge and skills needed to
increase our confidence and thereby manage our fears.

23. Anxiety
• Associated with fear is anxiety. Because it is natural for us to be afraid, it is
also natural for us to experience anxiety. Anxiety can be an uneasy,
apprehensive feeling we get when faced with dangerous situations
(physical, mental and emotional). When used in a healthy way, anxiety
urges us to act to end, or at least master, the dangers that threaten our
existence. If we were never anxious, there would be little motivation to
make changes in our lives. The person in a survival setting reduces his
anxiety by performing those tasks that will ensure his coming through the
ordeal alive. As he reduces his anxiety, the person is also bringing under
control the source of that anxiety - his fears. In this form, anxiety is good;
however, anxiety can also have a devastating impact. Anxiety can
overwhelm a person to the point where he becomes easily confused and
has difficulty thinking. Once this happens, it becomes more and more
difficult for him to make good judgments and sound decisions. To survive,
the individual must learn techniques to calm his anxieties and keep them
in the range where they help, not hurt.

24. Anger and Frustration
• Frustration arises when a person is continually thwarted in his attempts to reach a
goal. The goal of survival is to stay alive until you can reach help or until help can
reach you. To achieve this goal, the person must complete some tasks with
minimal resources. It is inevitable, in trying to do these tasks, that something will
go wrong; that something will happen beyond the survivor's control; and that with
one's life at stake, every mistake is magnified in terms of its importance. Thus,
sooner or later, survivors will have to cope with frustration when a few of their
plans run into trouble. One outgrowth of this frustration is anger. There are many
events in a survival situation that can frustrate or anger a person. Getting lost,
damaged or forgotten equipment, the weather, inhospitable terrain, enemy
patrols and physical limitations are just a few sources of frustration and anger.
Frustration and anger encourage impulsive reactions, irrational behavior, poorly
thought-out decisions and, in some instances, an "I quit" attitude (people
sometimes avoid doing something they can't master). If the person can harness
and properly channel the emotional intensity associated with anger and
frustration, he can productively act as he answers the challenges of survival. If the
person does not properly focus his angry feelings, he can waste much energy in
activities that do little to further either his chances of survival or the chances of
those around him.

25. Depression
• It would be a rare person indeed who would not get sad, at least
momentarily, when faced with the privations of survival. As this sadness
deepens, we label the feeling "depression." Depression is closely linked
with frustration and anger. The frustrated person becomes more and more
angry as he fails to reach his goals. If the anger does not help the person
to succeed, then the frustration level goes even higher. A destructive cycle
between anger and frustration continues until the person becomes worn
down - physically, emotionally and mentally. When a person reaches this
point, he starts to give up and his focus shifts from "What can I do" to
"There is nothing I can do." Depression is an expression of this hopeless,
helpless feeling. There is nothing wrong with being sad as you temporarily
think about your loved ones and remember what life is like back in
"civilization" or "the world." Such thoughts, in fact, can give you the desire
to try harder and live one more day. On the other hand, if you allow
yourself to sink into a depressed state, then it can sap all your energy and,
more important, your will to survive. It is imperative that each individual
resist succumbing to depression.

26. Loneliness and Boredom
• Humans are social animals. This means we, as human beings, enjoy
the company of others. Very few people want to be alone all the
time! As you are aware, there is a distinct chance of isolation in a
survival setting. This is not bad. Loneliness and boredom can bring
to the surface qualities you thought only others had. The extent of
your imagination and creativity may surprise you. When required to
do so, you may discover some hidden talents and abilities. Most of
all, you may tap into a reservoir of inner strength and fortitude you
never knew you had. Conversely, loneliness and boredom can be
another source of depression. As a person surviving alone, or with
others, you must find ways to keep your mind productively
occupied. Additionally, you must develop a degree of self-
sufficiency. You must have faith in your capability to "go it alone."

27. Guilt
• The circumstances leading to your being in a survival setting are
sometimes dramatic and tragic. It may be the result of an accident
or military mission where there was a loss of life. Perhaps you were
the only, or one of a few, survivors. While naturally relieved to be
alive, you simultaneously may be mourning the deaths of others
who were less fortunate. It is not uncommon for survivors to feel
guilty about being spared from death while others were not. This
feeling, when used in a positive way, has encouraged people to try
harder to survive with the belief they were allowed to live for some
greater purpose in life. Sometimes, survivors tried to stay alive so
that they could carry on the work of those killed. Whatever reason
you give yourself, do not let guilt feelings prevent you from living.
The living who abandon their chance to survive accomplish nothing.
Such an act would be the greatest tragedy.

28. The Power of Instinctive Behaviors
• In animals, instincts are inherent tendencies
to engage spontaneously in a particular
pattern of behaviour. Examples of this include
a dog shaking after it gets wet, a sea turtle
seeking out the ocean after hatching, or a bird
migrating before the winter season.

29. • Thanks