One topic in Chapter 12 that stood out to me was the section on Defense Mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are actions used to show how the ego protects itself. Depending on the situation a person may be involved in, they react differently in a form of defense. We all have those friends that are famous for their dramatic reactions when confronted with an issue. We may have the friend who begins to cry like a baby when getting pulled over by the cops or they may go to a corner and sit and pout when stressed. This person is using the regression defense mechanism. During regression a person may return to their inner child and perform childlike actions when reaching high levels of anxiety.
We also may have the friend that constantly talks about the mean girl at school, but still caters to her when she sees her in school. This person is using reaction formation which is a transformation of an anxiety emotion into its opposite. So even though this person may hat the mean girl, she will still show the opposite emotion when reached a high level of anxiety.
We all have the alcoholic or pothead friend who may use projection. This is when they constantly attribute their own unacceptable qualities unto someone else. They may blame someone for their wrongdoing or try to make another person's situation look bigger than their's. They may also try to rationalize, trying to make their issue not seem so bad. They usually say things like I’ll keep drinking because it’s something I do publicly, I’m not really addicted.
On a more serious note, we may have a friend who may have gone through a very traumatizing event when they were younger. They usually result in defending their self with repression and usually try to forget the event. Thinking about the event could be mentally harmful for them because they may look at it as if they are reliving the tragedy.
Nice job. 16
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