Defense Mechanisms | How We Manage Anxiety (and Get Stuck)

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The What, Why, and How of Defense Mechanisms 03:47 Primary vs. Secondary Defenses 04:09 Primary Defense Mechanisms 04:42 Denial 05:17 Omnipotent Control 06:28 Idealization and Devaluation 07:48 Projection 08:24 Projective Identification 09:14 Somatization 09:44 Secondary Defense Mechanisms 09:58 Repression 10:43 Isolation of Affect + Compartmentalization 11:52 Rationalization + Intellectualization + Moralization 13:34 Displacement 14:08 Reaction Formation 14:57 Sublimation 15:59 Conclusion

[@terencehennegan1439]

Thank you and a happy new year.

[@bravemind8152]

❤ Thank you Lina ❤

[@lenavoyles526]

Wow. Equating emotions with “intruding pathogens”. That was quite an evocative metaphor right there.

[@MsCutie0707]

Moreso anxiety not emotions

[@sadahussain2467]

Salute to your grip on the topic and crispy concise communication skills you have got.such clarity is rare!

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad to hear my style of teaching resonated with you. Best wishes, Alina

[@kristinazakharova3928]

Such a simple and succinct way to explain such difficult concepts! Thank you!

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you so much for your kind words, Kristina! I'm so glad to hear it was helpful. Best wishes 😊

[@elizabethamandahead3958]

Thanks

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you so much, Elizabeth! That is very generous of you 💛

[@OmarAshokaibi]

Speechless!! I'm a pathologist with a long journey of learning and teaching, but you're of the best teachers I've ever known. I'm craving to read a book for you. Thank you!

[@drachenreiter.1265]

Please continue your amazing work!!! You are literally helping thousands of struggling students!!!

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

That's so kind, I'm glad to hear the video is helpful!

[@markmarki9511]

Your explaination of projective identificatiom is one of the bests I heard - I too struggled to understand that one. Keep making these informative vids. They really are helpful and interesting.

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

I'm so glad to hear my explanations were helpful. Projective identification is such a hard concept to understand. Thank you so much for your kind words, it means a lot. Best wishes!

[@pfunzohopemudau3140]

You explain these terms so well, after a confusing lecture I come to your videos and listen to your simple explanations. thank you.

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you so much, Pfunzo! That is such a kind compliment, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the video. Best wishes 🍀

[@SusanaXpeace2u]

This was really interesting, it went a bit deeper than other videos I've watched about defence mechanisms. you speak English with a lovely accent, not American, Not English, but like a native of somewhere English speaking.

[@SusanaXpeace2u]

I understand projective identification 😭😭 because when I tried to communicate something very important to my mother she used a range of strategies to shut me down. First she was the victim of me, hurt by me. My father told me off for hurting her. I kept tryign to explain and I was shut down, given the cold shoulder. I kept trying and I was told I was angry and detached from reality! After three years, my mother told me it was merely my perception that she was giving me the cold shoulder and I raged at her, raaaaaaaaged at her like I was craaaaaaaaazy. I was so angry, to having been given the silent treatment for 3 years that in the end, I was ''angry'' and I was ''crazy''. So I handed them angry and crazy on a plate.

[@shmoolicious]

You're back! My favorite KZbinr!!

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you so much, how kind of you to say! That’s so encouraging to hear 😌 I currently don’t have enough time to be consistent but I’m always happy when I manage to film a new video 😊

[@nicknorizadeh4336]

Thanks really needed to go through some of my defense mechanisms after some failure and disappointments in my life!

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Hi Nick, thanks for your comment! It takes a lot of time and patience to understand our own defenses. I wish you the best.

[@gerrymanrique9395]

This is superb. Thank you so much! I’m glad I found this channel.

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Wow, thank you for you kind words, Gerry. That means a lot!

[@ChrissieGregory]

Thanks for the great explanation of defense mechanisms. So happy to have found your channel. 👌

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you, Chrissie! Great to have you here :)

[@saketbgp1980]

Excellent clarity of thoughts... thanks for making the video. Please make one on Type and Trait Theory

[@amanr6346]

Absolutely brilliant videos! I’m retraining as a Psychotherapist and these videos are so informative and well explained! 😀

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

That's awesome, Aman! I wish you best of luck with your training. Thank you so much for your comment as well, I'm in training myself and love to share what I learn 😊

[@matthewmckever2312]

Hi Alina I'm going to therapy on Tuesday, 3 days time so I figured I better have a dive into the different processes but once I started your vids I couldn't stop. Your very concise and clear and I can now put names to faces, so to speak. So thankyou. Take care now Matthew.

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Dear Matthew, no need to know theoretical concepts for psychotherapy. I hope you find a practitioner who helps you dive deeper into the lived experience of it all :) It's the most intense journey I've ever been on. Best wishes, Alina

[@dianneedwards4757]

Just discovered you! Brilliant! Will purchase Psychoanalytic Diagnosis. Lecturers online throw these terms around without explaining them in detail. I was in Psychoanalysis with a Lacanian therapist but it didn’t work out. Now with a Psychotherapist with an MBBS and a PhD in Psychological Medicine. I am in Melbourne, Australia. You are an excellent teacher and communicator.

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you so much, Dianne! Best wishes to the other side of the world :)

[@elizabethsteele4633]

Excellent . You covered a lot of ground in a clear and provocative presentation . Thank you .

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you! Uh, "provocative" satisfies the boring teenager inside of me, haha. All the best for you, Elizabeth!

[@nafeesa14]

Absolutely enjoyed this one❤

[@MrGpoulin]

Love this. Especially the fact that this is coming from a licensed psychologist, in sharp contrast with these zillions of self-proclaimed "coaches" or "experts" who use their single (and terrible) past experience/relationship with a person with BPD or NPD to make videos followed by thousands who enjoy the bashing of the poor people who are caught with these disorders for their entire lifetime.

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you so much for your comment, Georges. I hope dearly that sharing what I learn can bring more nuance to conversations. I can definitely tend towards generalizations on my bad days, but so far the daily reality checks and supervision at work has helped me a great deal. It's so unfortunate to see how substantial and nuanced concepts in psychology get hijacked and misrepresented. There is so little self-awareness and so much compartmentalization happening. And that's certainly not real clinical wisdom, which we all (me included!) need so much.

[@Ahdchen]

Love this book!❤

[@mannagarwal5390]

Psychodynamic Psycho-Therapy is promising to bring lasting changes and possibly even preventing psychological disorders... Very under-developed field. I am a doctor and most of what I'm doing is addressing the neurotransmitter changes caused by chronic unmanaged emotional experiences. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

[@TheWildWahine]

Thanks for talking about the American Dream being a representation of omnipotent control. The two extremes: chamber of guilt and shame or scapegoats.

[@Kendriquecoats]

Absolutely love your content. This has definitely helped me on my path to getting certified as a marriage & family therapist. Thank you!

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Wow, that’s so wonderful! Thank you for your kind comment, Kendrique. That means a lot. I wish you all the best for your work 🍀

[@danielmiller7037]

‏high quality content thank you

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Glat to hear you liked it, Daniel! Thanks a bunch for your comment :)

[@emilyk7851]

this is great!

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you, Emily 😊

[@DamyanTenev]

Most of those are part of enneagram.interesting is that those who fixate on the 9 point can copy any of other def.mechanisms and don't have a specific lie that tells thels themselfs about the self,all others looking for something fairly visible and tracable but not the 9.The 9 is mostly in the state of adam and eve in the garden.Dissociation is primary defence mechanism of the 9 and turns out all others have a little piece of it in their structure.

[@Qadr90]

Thought-provoking video as usual, thank you. You make the point that defence mechanisms are important and serve a function, and aren't something we need to get rid of. Whilst I understand that these “defence mechanisms” can serve a purpose (i.e., an immediate positive benefit for the person utilising the defence mechanism), I don’t quite understand how that makes them necessary or desirable over some other mental process that doesn’t involve some type of delusion (is it fair to call it that? -- I don’t know), or unconscious process. If we have sufficient self-awareness to shine a light on our unconscious defence mechanisms, would it not be better to replace them with something a little more “grown-up”? Because, to me, these defence mechanisms sound entirely based around protecting one’s ego, rather than a practical mechanism used to help one move forward in life, or not chase every thought or feeling one has (e.g., I have a negative thought, and I consciously decide that I’m not going to go down that path because I know it’s not in my interest to do so). Of course, I could just be speaking from my intellectualization and omnipotent control defence mechanisms 😉 But no, this is something I’ve been thinking about recently so I’m interested in hearing other thoughts, hence this comment. You’re also beautiful.

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you for your elaborate comment and interesting question! I'll try my best to answer 😋 The goal is always to have flexible and secondary (mature) defense mechanisms. Primary defenses are indeed undesireable because they distort reality so much and make problem-solving difficult. But mature defenses (if they are moderate and flexible) are desireable. If we couldn't repress, rationalize, sublimate, etc, we would constantly be flooded with intense emotions, impulses, memories - which would make life unliveable. In modern times the term "ego" has gotten a bad reputation. But in Freud's case, he never talked about the ego but about the "I" (the original German term that Freud used is "Ich", which translates to "I"). The goal is to strengthen the "I", give it healthy defenses to navigate reality more effectively, while weakening defenses in therapy when something needs to be worked through that they keep hidden. I hope that makes sense! Best wishes.

[@sameersawdekar3293]

So very well explained Alina. Very succinct and to the point. Just one question, is Sublimation the same as Self-Actualization?

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you, Sameer! No, sublimation and self-actualization are not the same. Sublimation is a mature defense mechanisms which helps to turn a lower impulse that might be dysfunctional (desire for revenge, sadism, exhibitionism, etc.) into something useful (for example being a lawyer, surgeon, actor). Therefore, you might say that sublimation can be a part of the journey towards self-actualization but they are not the same thing. I hope that helps!

[@sameersawdekar3293]

@@PsychodynamicPsychology Thanks for your prompt response Alina. Thanks for clarifying. Yes, now I have a better understanding of sublimation

[@luigisecchi2248]

Hello, a very, very significant and usuful video. Do you think that one can work on defenses by himself? (without a therapist..) Thanks.

[@darisesanker6022]

Good question. I am going to try too lol

[@ashwinidarade3159]

i have a doubt regarding mature defense mechanism, I think repression and isolation of affect us part of immature DM

[@eddiesanders2719]

Subscribed!

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Welcome!

[@yusaaziz3214]

Images in dreams also helpful in identifying defences…defence mechanisms is also archetypal…quite often called as Archetype of Defences

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

That can absolutely be the case!

[@anandarpm]

🙏

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you so much, that's so kind of you to contribute 💛

[@anandarpm]

Thank you 🙏

[@e-t-y237]

Dissociation must be close to the rocket ship of defense mechanisms. As in, "I'm out of here just try to reach me."

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

It's one of many defense mechanisms and can come in various forms (from depersonalisation, derealisation to extreme forms of dissociations).

[@drachenreiter.1265]

I would like to take therapy sessions to learn the psychodynamic therapy better. Is there a way to DM you to ask you details about your therapy sessions In case u provide them?

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

Thank you for your interest but I do not provide psychotherapy online!

[@drachenreiter.1265]

@@PsychodynamicPsychology oh well... then I'll just enjoy your uploads.

[@remotefaith]

Ok so we’ve identified these defences we all use, now what? We can’t live without them and they obviously help people to function. To constantly self analyse just leads to more confusion

[@drew67gmdrm72]

Awareness of our own defenses allows to not have it on autopilot . You stop pause and then you have choices

[@kingbrad4863]

They will probably happen naturally. If you self reflect you'll understand why you do things better and have a better understanding as to why, and what you can do better. You ask yourself why you're doing that thing. In hopes of not needing to constantly be coping, rather coming from a place of being above the problem. Realizing that the problem is your avoidance/ the way you see the problem rather than the problem itself. Maybe understanding that your reaction wasn't exactly your fault will lead you to taking responsibility for your actions. Maybe it'll help you understand why other people behave the way they do and how to help them. The only person who needs to protect their self esteem is the one with a low one.

[@alexrowdy2718]

Basically, whatever feelings you have - they belong to some classification in psychology.

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

The super-psychological and always valid answer is "it depends..." 😉

[@ahmednor5806]

🙏🙏🌹🌹

[@mojoforever8583]

Great videos - please speak slower, with your accent it’s very difficult to follow!!

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

I hear that a lot. There is an option to slow down the video on KZbin for the time being :)

[@monicalaita8811]

@@PsychodynamicPsychology Brilliant!! Im chuffed! I didnt think about that! thank you for the advise thats going to help my viewing and my learning!

[@saeedneuro]

everyone is different and I'm sure Alina appreciates your feedback, but I do have to say I find her presentation, cadence, and articulation to be excellent

[@monicalaita8811]

@@saeedneuroshe’s amazing no doubt and she’s got such a rich and accurate vocabulary. Such an invaluable help with my studies. It’s just frustrating not being able to capture everything she says however Ive now slowed down the video a bit and that works wonders! Love her work

[@saeedneuro]

@@monicalaita8811 I'm sure she appreciates your feedback that's how we be the best version of ourselves 😊. I think the delivery is great tho and agree with the content being great too

[@solomancambridge2572]

The content was delivered in a easy to understand manner. It really got me thinking deeply about my defense mechanisms. I especially enjoyed your soothing tone of voice and lovely accent. I'll be back.❤

[@PsychodynamicPsychology]

So glad to hear you enjoyed this! And also happy that my voice and accent are enjoyable pleasant for you 😊