Defense Mechanisms Essay

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Defense Mechanisms

As Ms. Bullock walked toward the check-in area, she began to feel her body stiffen. Negative thoughts began to run through her mind, afraid of what the results from her colonoscopy would say. After checking in, she found a seat and sat down. She tried to think positive and set her mind on something more uplifting. As time went by she began to think about her grandkids and how she couldn 't wait to see them tomorrow. When it was time for her to meet with the doctor, she was relaxed and ready to hear the results, good or bad. Defense mechanisms, or coping strategies is an unconscious process that protects an individual from unacceptable or painful ideas or impulses. We use defense mechanisms to defend ourselves from emotions …show more content…

On the other hand, an enormous use of defenses can possibly lead to a differentiated amount of psychological disorders. Sigmund Freud, a psychologist, stated in one of his papers called “The Neuro-Psychoses of Defence” that the idea of defense mechanisms comes from the psychoanalytical theory that there are exertions in the mind that disagree and fight against each other. Going through the different types of defenses, they are all done unconsciously. The understanding most likely involves hiding oneself inner feelings and terrorizing to bring down their self-esteem or arouse anxiety. Some common defense mechanisms that a patient may show, like Ms. Bullock, are denial, repression, projection, displacement, sublimation, and …show more content…

It’s a part of us that we have to have in order to function. Medical assistants play an important role when it comes to patients. Knowing the different defense mechanisms will help that assistant differentiate how to talk to that patient as well as how to handle the patient. Defense mechanisms can be helpful or harmful to us as well. We have to be able to control our actions as well as our feelings. Some are tough, some are easy. We just have to know when and how to use them. We can not let them reach our limits. Taking the time to evaluate ourselves is one step to fighting bad defense mechanism and making sure the good ones outweigh the

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