Defense MechANNAisms

I’m not going to lie; I don’t buy into a lot of Freud’s ideas.  But while researching Freud, I came across some information about his daughter, Anna, who developed ideas on defense mechanisms, many of which her father refers to in his writings.

Apparently, when the id or superego becomes too demanding, we have feelings of anxiety or guilt, and therefore resort to defense mechanisms to protect ourselves.  These mechanisms aren’t under the “conscious” part of our brains.  They are also normal, unless they occur frequently, in which case we develop issues such as phobias or (as Freud researched) hysteria. 

Some of the main defense mechanisms are listed in the chart below:

 

Interestingly enough, I think many of these mechanisms tie back into Notes from Underground.  For example, projection.  Underground Man specifically says that he basically hates himself, and therefore thinks everyone else (i.e., his coworkers) also hate him.  Dostoevsky also seems to point out that Russians during the time period had a problem with denial, as they attempted to live “in books” and might as well be “stillborn.”