Personality Disorders and Defense Mechanisms

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders O The DSM-IV is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders and personality types.

Personality Disorders O Paranoid: suspicious, argumentative, paranoid, continually on the lookout for trickery and abuse, jealous, tendency to blame others, cold and humorless O Schizoid: has few friends; a "loner"; indifferent to praise and criticism of others; unable to form close relationships; no warm or tender feelings for other people O Sociopath: breaks rules and laws; takes advantage of other people for personal gain; feels little remorse or guilt; appears friendly and charming on the surface; often intelligent

Personality Disorders O Schizotypal: also aloof and indifferent like the schizoid; magical thinking; superstitious beliefs; uses unusual words and has peculiar ideas; a very mild form of schizophrenia O Borderline: very unstable relationships; erratic emotions; self- damaging behavior; impulsive; unpredictable aggressive and sexual behavior; monophobia; easily angered O Histrionic: overly dramatic; attention seekers; easily angered; seductive; dependent on others; vain, shallow, and manipulative; displays intense, but often false emotions

Personality Disorders O Narcissistic: grandiose; crave admiration of others; extremely self-centered; feel they are privileged and special; expects favors from others; emotions are not erratic O Compulsive: perfectionists; preoccupied with details, rules, schedules; more concerned about work than pleasure; serious and formal; cannot express tender feelings O Passive-Aggressive: indirectly expresses anger by being forgetful and stubborn; procrastinates; cannot admit to feeling angry; habitually late

Mental Disorders…. NEUROSIS: suffers experience high levels of anxiety or tension in managing their daily lives. E.g. panic attacks, phobias, and O.C.D. PSYCHOSIS: patient loses touch with the real world, may suffer from hallucinations or delusions and needs treatment before he/she can life a life with any degree of normality. E.g. paranoid schizophrenia

Mental Disorders… ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS: a habitual pattern of rule-breaking and harming of others. Symptoms include: O Pathological lying O Absence of empathy towards others, deliberately causing them pain. O A lack of feelings of guilt for damage caused (Serial Killers)

Adolf Hitler

How do people respond to dealing with disorders? Psychologist Sigmund Freud would use… O Defence Mechanisms

What are Defence Mechanisms? Situations can occur that can challenge your healthy mental outlook. Wanting to guard yourself against pain, stress, and frustration in these situations is only natural… Using Defence Mechanisms is one way you care for your mental health…however, if an individual relies too heavily on defense mechanisms to avoid their problems, they may face severe mental health issues.

Defence Mechanisms… … are behaviour patterns people use to protect themselves… …they can be positive or negative solutions to a problem. It depends entirely how they are used… …when people are aware they are using defence mechanisms, they are in control of their actions. They are using the defence mechanism in an attempt to maintain a healthy mental state…

Defence Mechanisms… Some people fail to realize they are relying on defence mechanisms. In these cases, they can cause people to lose touch with reality…

Repression… Is the blocking of unacceptable impulses from consciousness; removing traumatic experiences from our conscious memory… “It didn’t happen”…syndrome

Rationalization… The cognitive reframing of ones perceptions to protect the ego in the face of changing realities. E.g. the promotion one wished for and didn’t get becomes: “a dead end job for brown nosers”…

Displacement… The redirecting of thoughts, feelings and impulses from an object that gives rise to anxiety to a safer, more acceptable one. Replacing a threatening object with a less threatening one.. E.g. being angry at your boss and kicking the dog.

Denial… The refusal to accept reality and to act as if a painful event, thought or feeling did not exist. One of the most primitive of defence mechanisms and characteristic of very early childhood development… Example???

Reaction Formation… The converting of wishes or impulses that are perceived to be dangerous into their opposites; finding reasons why others shouldn’t do something that we’ve done… E.g. a woman who is furious at her child and wishes her harm might become overly concerned & protective of the child’s health…(post-partum depression).

Projection… The attribution of one’s undesired impulses onto another. E.g. an angry spouse accuses their partner of hostility… “It’s not my fault, you started it…”

Regression… Is the reversion of an earlier stage of development in the face of unacceptable impulses. E.g. an adolescent who is overwhelmed with fear, anger, might become clingy & begin thumb sucking or bed wetting or have a temper tantrum

Fantasy / Daydreaming The channelling of unacceptable or unattainable desires into imagination; it can protect ones self esteem as when educational, vocational or social expectations are not being met, one imagines success in these areas… Examples…

Sublimation.. The channelling of unacceptable social impulses into more acceptable outlets. E.g. Anger, competition – Hockey fights

Compensation… A process of psychologically balancing perceived weaknesses by emphasizing strength in other arenas… The “I’m not a fighter, I’m a lover” philosophy…

Compartmentalization… A process of separating parts of the self from awareness of other parts and behaving as if one had separate sets of values… e.g. an honest person who cheats on their income tax return and keeps their two value systems distinct and un-integrated while remaining unconscious of the cognitive dissonance…

Undoing… Is the attempt to take back behaviour or thoughts that are unacceptable. E.g. Excessively praising someone after having insulted them…