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Lecture 46- Defense Mechanisms-I — Transcript

by SWAYAM BHU · 2,613 words · 426 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:17Namaskar friends. Today we are going to
0:20start a new module of the stress
0:22management course. This is module 10
0:25which focuses on the use of defense
0:28mechanisms as a tool to reduce stress.
0:32This is lecture one of module 10. Let us
0:36have a quick precap of what we are going
0:39to study in this particular lecture. In
0:43this lecture, we will learn about coping
0:46strategies primarily the use of defense
0:50mechanisms and the defense mechanisms
0:52which have been covered in this
0:54particular presentation are acting out,
0:58rationalization,
1:00reaction formation, sublimation and
1:03suppression. So let us begin with our
1:06discussion and see what defense
1:09mechanism is.
1:13Coping as we all know are the strategies
1:18in terms of actions, thoughts and
1:21feelings which used to help people adapt
1:24to life changes and improve how they
1:28feel.
1:30Most of the time the changes which come
1:33to us abruptly or quickly can be stress
1:37genenic. In order to mitigate that
1:40stress, we try to engage in different
1:43kind of corrective or adaptive behaviors
1:47because it is challenging to cope with
1:50changes
1:52which are causes of lowering self-esteem
1:56which can potentially lead to anxiety,
1:59depression or physical changes. We need
2:02to come up with a number of coping
2:06methods.
2:08Usually the two basic ways to cope with
2:12stresses is cognitive appraisal. That is
2:16we try to change our perception about
2:19the situation or we try to change our
2:23emotions. We try to regulate our
2:25emotions and sometimes we try to detach
2:28intense emotions from the stressor from
2:32the situation which was initially very
2:35stressful as it was causing a lot of
2:38negative emotions.
2:40Now when we focus on emotion regulation
2:46there is a particular type of mechanism
2:48which is known as defense mechanism
2:51which comes to play.
2:55This defense mechanism was initially
2:58introduced by Sigman Freud.
3:01We all have heard the name of Sigman
3:04Freud, a legendary psychologist and
3:07psychoanalyst
3:08who came up with his psychoanalysis
3:11theory.
3:12In his theory, he divided the
3:15personality into three parts
3:18unconscious, subconscious and conscious.
3:21And similarly he proposed three arms of
3:25our ego structure that is it which is
3:28the unconscious part and it is composed
3:31of the desires the wants the wishes but
3:35which are known as it impulses. The
3:37second arm was the super ego which is
3:40the moral arm of our self. It contains
3:44all the ethical values, the moral values
3:48which are preached by the society. And
3:51the third which is more real arm,
3:54reality oriented arm is known as ego. So
3:58ego has a basic task to make a balance
4:02between super ego and it. Moreover, it
4:05tries to fulfill the id impulses in a
4:08socially sanctioned manner in order to
4:11avoid any potential harm due to becoming
4:16unsocial or antisocial in accomplishing
4:21one's goals.
4:23So what happens that ego has different
4:26kind of mechanisms to protect our
4:28self-concept to protect our self-esteem.
4:32Whenever we feel that we have done
4:34something wrong or we have some thoughts
4:37in our mind which are highly
4:39inappropriate or condemnable,
4:42it may dent our own self-concept, our
4:46self-esteem. It may put us in a state of
4:49shame or guilt. So, ego has a particular
4:53type of mechanism which safeguards such
4:57harms and that is why this is called
5:00defense mechanisms. The idea was
5:03initially proposed by Sigman Freud and
5:06later on elaborated by his daughter and
5:09his successor Dr. Anna Freud.
5:13Anna Freud identified 10 major defense
5:17mechanisms and the list was further
5:20expanded by other psychoanalysts who
5:23gradually came to field.
5:27Anna Freud while defining defense
5:30mechanism says that these are the
5:33automatic tactics which are used by the
5:36ego to reduce inner distress.
5:40Individuals
5:41commonly adopt these subconscious
5:44strategies. One must notice that these
5:48strategies operate on a subconscious
5:50level. So if you adopt one or the other
5:55defense mechanism, it doesn't mean that
5:57you are actually intentionally
5:59manipulating things. Everything is
6:02happening subconsciously. So the person
6:05using defense mechanisms may not be
6:08aware of the fact that he or she is
6:11doing it.
6:12What is the use of adopting such defense
6:15mechanism? The basic purpose is to
6:18manage the conflict within themselves.
6:22Now why this conflict is happening?
6:24Because it has its own demand and it
6:28wants to fulfill those demands at any
6:30cost. Whereas super ego exists there as
6:34a moral arm and it keeps checking the id
6:38impulses by saying that this is
6:40appropriate, this is inappropriate, we
6:42must not think like this, we must not
6:44act like this, this is not our right to
6:48enter into this situation but the it is
6:51not ready to listen to it. So there is a
6:54condition of conflict between these two
6:56aspects of an individual's personality.
7:00And ego is there to resolve this
7:03conflict because whenever there is a
7:06conflict stress builds up and if the
7:09conflict is inner it is even more
7:12stressful and it is very important to
7:15reduce that stress. Therefore ego adopts
7:19some kind of defense mechanism to
7:22safeguard the self
7:25from any kind of potential damage. Here
7:30is the first defense mechanism which we
7:34are going to discuss about and this is
7:36known as acting out.
7:39Acting out means the formation of
7:42damaging behaviors that take attention
7:44and motivation away from other stressor
7:48could potentially serve as a defense
7:51mechanism for individuals with conduct
7:54disorder, antisocial personality
7:56disorder or oppositional defined
8:00disorder. Even for people who are high
8:04in traits of hostility and aggression,
8:07this is a popular defense mechanism.
8:12Now, what do I mean when I say that
8:16adopting another damaging behavior can
8:19take my attention away from the actual
8:22stressor?
8:23You might have noticed that people
8:26usually scream, they shout at each
8:29other, they start fighting, they start
8:32breaking objects. Even a small children,
8:35they all come up showing this kind of
8:37behavior. Remember a very popular movie
8:40tamipar.
8:42What the main artist of that movie was
8:45doing? He was engaged in fighting with
8:48his friends. He was showing defiance
8:51towards the parents and the teachers.
8:53And at the end of the day, what we came
8:56to know about him that the child was
8:58suffering from learning disorder. He was
9:00suffering from reading disorder. And
9:02because he could not cope with the
9:05stress successfully, he engaged in other
9:08type of behaviors which were damaging
9:11for oneself as well as for others in
9:14order to take attention away from the
9:17actual cause. Now for children this is
9:21quite acceptable because they are still
9:24immature. They are not cognitively
9:26mature so that they can express their
9:30stress in the appropriate way and they
9:32can analyze their own self and they
9:35understand what the problem is so that
9:38it can be solved. But what if adults
9:41keep on doing the same kind of behavior?
9:45Most of us when get stuck with one kind
9:48of problem or the other kind which we
9:50are not able to solve or when we realize
9:55that we have committed some kind of
9:58mistakes due to which negative emotions
10:00are building up we are feeling stress
10:02what we try to do we start shouting we
10:06start finding we start throwing objects
10:09now these damaging behaviors because
10:12they are intense enough they can simply
10:17disorient the whole scenario snatching
10:20the intent uh attention away from the
10:23actual problem and focusing it on some
10:26other issue. Suicide is also an example
10:30of this kind of behavior. So instead of
10:34uh showing our emotion in a more matured
10:37way, instead of discussing the problems
10:41properly, communicating them, doing
10:44introspections,
10:45identifying the actual stressor and then
10:48working upon it either to change the
10:52situation or to upskill oneselves to
10:55enhance one's own resources to cope. one
10:58is simply engaging in a more damaging
11:02behavior so that the previous problem
11:05can become less important. Okay.
11:08So this is the basic mechanism of acting
11:12out.
11:14What are the consequences of acting out?
11:17Obviously it has many many negative
11:21consequences including damaging
11:23relationships. If you keep fighting with
11:25your family members or with your
11:27colleagues obviously your relationships
11:30will be strained with them. It actually
11:33increases the stress because there was
11:36one problem and in order to take your
11:40attention away from the actual problem
11:42you engaged in some more damaging
11:44behavior creating a new front of
11:47stressgenic situation. So there may be a
11:51short time
11:54uh fleet from the actual problem. It is
11:57in no way going to reduce the stress
12:00actually for the person.
12:03This also has known consequences for
12:07one's mental health. So impacting mental
12:10health is also common. What could be an
12:14alternative to such behavior? An
12:16alternative to such behavior can be
12:19verbal expression of your problem. You
12:22can engage yourself in some other
12:24physical activity which is benign, which
12:27is not damaging. Maybe you can start
12:29playing or start playing some musical
12:31instrument or anything else. And then
12:34relaxation and mindfulness training can
12:37help you introspecting in a better way
12:41without getting anxious, without sinking
12:43into the feeling of guilt and then you
12:46can manage the emotions nicely.
12:51Coming to the second defense mechanism.
12:55When someone justifies their behavior by
12:59offering a reasonable explanation
13:02instead of telling the actual intention
13:06behind the behavior. It is known as
13:09rationalization. So we try to
13:11rationalize what we have done or
13:14rationalize what has happened to us.
13:16Okay.
13:19You might have read about the character
13:21of Robin Hood.
13:23He was a hero for poor people because he
13:28used to snatch money from rich and
13:31distribute it to the poor instead of
13:34keeping it for himself. Now this could
13:37be an example of rationalization.
13:41Snatching money from other people cannot
13:44be legalized. It cannot be socially
13:46approved. But when you take money from
13:50riches and distribute it to poors, it
13:54somehow help you to overcome the guilt
13:57of being indulged in an inappropriate
14:01action which is not socially sanctioned
14:03which is considered illegal. Okay. So
14:07this kind of defense mechanism can help
14:11the person
14:14reduce the stress for the time being but
14:17somehow it distorts the actual social
14:22situation the actual intentions and
14:25somehow people start believing in those
14:28alternative explanations only. So what
14:31happens the actual reason lies some uh
14:34at the back of their mind in their
14:36unconscious mind and at some later point
14:40of time it may convert its form it may
14:44cause some sort of mental health issue
14:47for them.
14:50Uh many times what happens if uh uh I
14:54talk about the academic life of all of
14:57us what we have done even everybody of
15:00us has sometimes missed the deadlines of
15:02submitting assignments and then we
15:04started telling reasons and excuses
15:08which were all related to the external
15:10world that this was happened that was
15:14happened that is why I could not
15:15complete my assignment and submit it
15:18timely.
15:20So this is also an example of
15:22rationalization.
15:24One thing that you should note that
15:26defense mechanisms has a range of
15:29intensity. Sometimes they can be very
15:32mild, they can be very benign. On the
15:35other hand, they can be very intense.
15:38Correct? For example, killing somebody
15:41and then trying to rationalize could be
15:44an intense example of using defense
15:47mechanism. On the other hand, giving
15:50simple excuses for being late for 10 or
15:5315 minutes uh g attributing the
15:56responsibilities to the external
15:58environment could be an example of mild
16:01use of defense mechanism. So there is a
16:03whole range right every time we come up
16:06with defense mechanisms or maybe
16:09rationalization if I talk about it
16:11particularly it is not all the same. It
16:14ranges from mild and acceptable to very
16:17intense and sometimes unacceptable use
16:20of rationalization.
16:22It usually helps to maintain a positive
16:25self-image and avoid accountability for
16:29an action or a word.
16:32However, it can lead to a lack of
16:36personal growth by preventing
16:38individuals from learning from mistakes
16:41and impair relationships creating a lack
16:44of accountability and trust.
16:50The next popular defense mechanisms
16:52which is used by most of us is reaction
16:56formation.
16:58Before we dwell into the technical
17:01discussions, if I try to explain this
17:04concept in a very simple and plain
17:06manner, reaction formation means
17:11hiding one's actual feelings and acting
17:15in an entirely different manner. So if I
17:19actually uh don't like a person, I will
17:24act in an overly generous manner towards
17:28him or her. This would be an example of
17:31reaction formation. Okay? So whatever
17:34was my true intention, true emotion
17:37towards that person, if I find it
17:40socially unacceptable
17:42or if I find it risky expressing them
17:46out, what will I do? I will try to
17:50substitute my actual emotions or maybe I
17:54try to hide my actual emotions beside a
17:58behavior an action which conveys an
18:03entirely different set of emotions which
18:06could be very positive.
18:08So uh now if you go through the text
18:13which is given on your slide, it says
18:15that reaction formation happens when one
18:18decides to replace their original
18:21impulse with the contrasting
18:24one pertaining to a situation or a
18:26concept. The way I explained that if I
18:29don't like a person but I don't find it
18:32either appropriate or or unsafe to
18:37reflect my true feeling, I would behave
18:40in a manner as if I were very very happy
18:42with the person and I actually like him
18:46or her a lot. Okay. So reaction
18:49formation can be identified in instances
18:52where an individual show exaggerated
18:55kindness towards another individual whom
18:58they hold animosity towards.
19:02It is when someone acts in a way that is
19:04the opposite of how they really feel in
19:07order to avoid anxiety or criticism from
19:11others.
19:13What is the use of reaction formation?
19:16It helps individuals avoid social
19:19disapproval. As I said, sometimes it is
19:22socially inappropriate to show your
19:25dislike, to show your anger, to show
19:28your emotion towards somebody due to the
19:31social norms due to something else.
19:34So if you react if you adopt the defense
19:39mechanism of reaction formation this
19:42will help you in avoiding such
19:44unpleasant happenings. You can manage
19:47your anxiety for the time being but this
19:51will lead to an inauthentic behavior and
19:55inner conflict. I have certain set of
19:58values but I'm showing an entirely set
20:00of actions in my behavior.
20:04So these were the three main defense
20:06mechanisms we covered in this
20:09presentation and the rest of them will
20:13be covered sequentially in coming
20:17lectures. Let us have a recap of what we
20:20have learned today. Coping mechanisms
20:24are definitely ways people adapt to
20:26adjust to their emotional stress in
20:29difficult situations.
20:32Some coping mechanisms are
20:35counterproductive. Counterproductive
20:37means which are adopted to get a certain
20:40result but instead of leading the person
20:43to the desired outcome, they started
20:47behaving in a way or they resulted in
20:50something which is actually
20:54contrary to what we wanted. So we
20:57adopted defense mechanisms in order to
21:00reduce the stress. Yes, they seems to
21:03reduce stress for the time being but in
21:07the long run they are going to increase
21:09the level of stress by you know
21:13worsening the situations.
21:16So defense mechanisms can be put under
21:20the category of counterproductive
21:22mechanisms. Apart from that we have
21:25problem focused coping where we directly
21:28operate upon the problems. These coping
21:30mechanisms will be dealt with in the
21:32next module. And then emotion focused
21:35coping of which defense mechanism was an
21:39example. We talked about acting out
21:43coping. We talked about rationalization
21:46and reaction formation. Whereas
21:48sublimation and suppression will be
21:51dealt with in the coming lectures.
21:54These are the references that you can go
21:58through for further enhancement of your
22:00knowledge.
22:03List of books and references continues.
22:09Here are some more books. Thank you very
22:12much for your patient listening.

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