Anxiety and Defense Mechanisms

Our Lady of Fatima University

College of Nursing

NCM101 – Human Behavior

Anxiety – alerting signal; it warns of impending danger and enables the individual to take measures to deal with threat.

- response to a threat is unknown, internnnal, vague, or conflictual in origin

Fear – is also an alerting signal

- the response to a threat is known, exteeernal, definite, or nonconflictual in origin

Adaptive function of anxiety:

- warns from external and internal threat

- it has lifesaving qualities

- it prevent the threat or to lessen its consequences

Levels of Anxiety

1. mild – attentive

- impatient

- optimal learning level

- best enhances individual power of perception

2. moderate – selective inattention

- voice changes

- decreased perceptual field

3. severe – severe muscle tension

- limited perceptual field

- frantic

4. panic – fight, flight or freeze

- out of control

- irrational behavior

- feeling of impending doom

- feeling of dread or terror

Defense Mechanisms - an unconscious way to protect the personality from unpleasant thoughts which may cause anxiety.

Types of Defense Mechanism – George Vaillant’s classification

Narcissistic Defenses - most primitive

-are used by children and psychotically disturbed person

1. Denial – unconscious refusal of to admit an unacceptable idea or behavior

2. Projection – a form of rationalization, something that is true of the person and which cause anxiety if it were recognized, is repressed and is seen in someone else instead

3. Projective Identification

Immature Defenses – seen in adolescents and some nonpsychotic patients

1. Fixation – premature termination of some aspect of personality development or delay in maturation; acting out is a form of fixation

2. Hypochondriasis / Conversion / Somatization – unconscious expression of intrapsychic conflict symbolically through physical symptoms

3. Introjection – unconsciously incorporating wishes, values, attitude of others a if they were your own

4. Passive-Aggressive Behavior – aggression towards others is expressed indirectly passivity and turning against self

5. Regression – a mechanism in which a person returns to an earlier stage of development when one experiences stress.

6. Schizoid Fantasy – a person substitutes real satisfaction for imaginary satisfaction

Neurotic Defenses – encountered in obsessive-compulsive and hysterical patients and adults under stress

1. Displacement – substitution of one cathexis for another; if it is towards destruction of things it is termed displaced aggression

2. Dissociation – unconscious separation of painful feelings and emotions from an unacceptable idea, situation or object

3. Rationalization – a person justifies behavior or thoughts that may otherwise be anxiety-provoking; making or inventing excuses or reasons

a.“Sour-grapes” mechanism – self-deception by adopting a conviction, and giving up and relinquishing all efforts toward a goal because it is not worth the effort anyway

b.“Sweet-lemon” mechanism – desirable qualities are found in what was truly not wanted. The person takes frustration as a form of blessing in disguise, and tries to convince himself that what happened is exactly what he or she likes

4. Reaction Formation – objectionable thoughts are repressed by expression of their opposite goals

5. Repression – unconscious process wherein a potentially anxiety-provoking event, idea, or perception away from consciousness, thus precluding any possible resolution

6. Sexualization

Mature Defenses – normal and healthy adaptive mechanism

1. Anticipation – realistic anticipation or planning for future inner discomfort

2. Compensation/Overcompensation – covering up for a weakness by overemphasizing or making up a desire trait

3. Humor

4. Sublimation – a kind of displacement that is found to be beneficial to civilization

5. Suppression – deliberate, conscious control of unacceptable or undesirable thoughts or impulses.

Course Outline: prelims | midterm | finals