Bongo, Aristotle Rouan B English101 7:30-8:30am MWF 02-20-19

Why do People have a sense of Defense Mechanism to Someone or Something?

Introduction
There are moments in life when people tend to use defense mechanisms to protect oneself
from feelings of anxiety or guilt, which usually arise because we feel threatened about something
and we feel anxious about unacceptable thoughts and emotions. Defense mechanisms are our
way of knowing that we are secure from the cruelties of this world full of uncertainties. It is
important for an individual to have a sense of defense mechanism to make good things feel better
for him or her. Feeling secured and protected are usually the things that most people desire and
that is why defense mechanism is relatively important for every single person.

Body
Most people are usually unaware that they are already using defense mechanisms in
difficult situations and this is the result of the theory of Sigmund Freud which is the father of
Psychoanalytic Theory. Freud developed the Psychoanalytic Theory of personality development,
which argued that personality is formed through conflicts among three fundamental structures of
the human mind: the Id, Ego, and Superego.

He emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind, and a primary assumption of

Freudian Theory is that the unconscious mind governs behavior to a greater degree than people
suspect. There are six most common defense mechanisms which are repression, regression,
denial, projection, displacement, and sublimation.

Repression is an unconscious mechanism employed by the ego to keep disturbing or

threatening thoughts from becoming conscious. Regression is a movement back in psychological
time when one is faced with stress. Denial involves blocking external events from awareness. If
some situation is just too much to handle, the person just refuses to experience it. Projection
involves individuals attributing their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and motive to another
person. Displacement is satisfying an impulse with a substitute object. Sublimation is satisfying
an impulse with a substitute object in a socially acceptable way. Learning about defense
mechanisms might be confusing but it is just a mere unconscious state of the mind that is present
in all individuals when faced with fearful situations.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it is not unusual when people use defense mechanisms. Sometimes we feel
threatened about a certain situation and we use defense mechanisms to deal with conflicts and
problems in life and helps remove uncomfortable feelings that we may encounter. This can be
applied in many various situations. An example for displacement is that when a person is faced
with frustration from the workplace and from his or her superiors, they may go home and kick
the dog, beat up a family member, or engage in cross-burnings. This person may have been
scolded by his or her superior and could not talk back because it is his or her boss so instead he
or she will just let the anger out in other ways. Another form of defense mechanism is
sublimation. This is similar with displacement, but takes place when we manage to displace our
emotions into a constructive rather than destructive activity. This might, for example, be artistic.
Many great artists and musicians have had unhappy lives and have used the medium of art and
music to express themselves. Therefore, having a sense of defense mechanism to something or
someone may not be entirely an unacceptable thing but also a very helpful way of a person
coping with unpleasant emotions.