Psychological Defence In Different Age. Deviative Behavior.

Defense mechanisms Defense mechanisms are helpful and, if used in a proper manner, are healthy. Some disorders, such as personality disorders and psychosis, may in fact be caused in part by inadequate use of appropriate defensce mechanisms. However, if misused, the defense mechanisms may also be unhealthy. personality disorderspsychosis The maladaptive use of defense mechanisms can occur in a variety of cases, such as when they become automatic and prevent individuals from realizing their true feelings and thoughts or when they put the person in actual danger. For example, someone who is in denial about the possibility that a new sexual partner could carry an STD may not take appropriate precautions to protect their own sexual health.STD

Defense mechanisms Defense mechanisms can also be maladaptive when they are continually used in a way that disrupts reality- testing. Repeated denial and paranoid projection use can cause people to lose touch with the real world and their surroundings and consequently isolate themselves from it and dwell in a ‘created’ world of their own design. For example, people with addictive behaviour are known to misuse such defense mechanisms as denial. Defense mechanisms can also be harmful if:maladaptive There are too few defenses which can be employed in coping with threats; There is too much superego activity, which causes the use of too many defenses.

List of defense mechanisms Sigmund Freud was the first person to develop the concept of defense mechanisms, however it was his daughter Anna Freud who clarified and conceptualized it. She has described various different defense mechanisms. The list of particular defense mechanisms is huge and there is no theoretical consensus on the amount of defense mechanisms. It has been attempted to classify defense mechanisms according some of their properties (ie. underlying mechanisms, similarities or connexions with personality).

Compensation Compensation occurs when someone takes up one behavior because one cannot accomplish another behavior.

Denial An ego defense mechanism that operates unconsciously to resolve emotional conflict, and to reduce anxiety by refusing to perceive the more unpleasant aspects of external reality.

Displacement An unconscious defense mechanism, whereby the mind redirects emotion from a ‘dangerous’ object to a ‘safe’ object. In psychoanalytic theory, displacement is a defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses to a more acceptable or less threatening target; redirecting emotion to a safer outlet.

Intellectualization Concentrating on the intellectual components of the situations as to distance oneself from the anxiety provoking emotions associated with these situations

Projection Attributing to others, one’s own unacceptable or unwanted thoughts and/or emotions. Projection reduces anxiety in the way that it allows the expression of the impulse or desire without letting the ego recognize it.

Rationalization The process of constructing a logical justification for a decision that was originally arrived at through a different mental process

Reaction formation The converting of unconscious wishes or impulses that are perceived to be dangerous into their opposites

Regression The reversion to an earlier stage of development in the face of unacceptable impulses

Repression The process of pulling thoughts into the unconscious and preventing painful or dangerous thoughts from entering consciousness.

Sublimation The refocusing of psychic energy (which Sigmund Freud believed was limited) away from negative outlets to more positive outlets. These drives which cannot find an outlet are rechanneled. In Freud’s classic theory, erotic energy is only allowed limited expression due to repression, and much of the remainder of a given group’s erotic energy is used to develop its culture and civilization. Freud considered this defense mechanism the most productive compared to the others that he identified. Sublimation is the process of transforming libido into ‘social useful’ achievements, mainly art. Psychoanalysts often refer to sublimation as the only truly successful defense mechanism.

Undoing A person tries to 'undo' a negative or threatening thought by their actions.

Suppression The conscious process of pushing thoughts into the preconscious.

Dissociation Separation or postponement of a feeling that normally would accompany a situation or thought.

HumorHumor. Refocuses attention on the somewhat comical side of the situation as to relieve negative tension; similar to comic relief. comic relief

Idealization Form of denial in which the object of attention is presented as "all good" masking true negative feelings towards the other.

Identification The unconscious modeling of one's self upon another person's behavior.

Introjection Identifying with some idea or object so deeply that it becomes a part of that person.

Inversion Refocusing of aggression or emotions evoked from an external force onto one's self.

Somatization Manifestation of emotional anxiety into physical symptoms.

Splitting Primitive defense mechanism-when a person sees external objects or people as either "all good" or "all bad."

Substitution When a person replaces one feeling or emotion for another.

Introduction and History of Mental Illness Our earliest explanation of what we now refer to as psychopathology involved the possession by evil spirits and demons. Many believed, even as late as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that the bizarre behavior associated with mental illness could only be an act of the devil himself. To remedy this, many individuals suffering from mental illness were tortured in an attempt to drive out the demon. Most people know of the witch trials where many women were brutally murdered due to a false belief of possession. When the torturous methods failed to return the person to sanity, they were typically deemed eternally possessed and were executed

The medical model By the eighteenth century we began to look at mental illness differently. It was during this time period that "madness" began to be seen as an illness beyond the control of the person rather than the act of a demon. Because of this, thousands of people confined to dungeons of daily torture were released to asylums where medical forms of treatment began to be investigated. Today, the medical model continues to be a driving force in the diagnosing and treatment of psychopathology, although research has shown the powerful effects that psychology has on a person's behavior, emotion, and cognitions. This chapter will discuss the various ways mental illness is classified as well as the effects of mental illness on the individual and society.

Classifying Psychopathology Mental illness is classified today according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM IV), published by the American Psychiatric Association (1994). The DSM uses a multiaxial or multidimensional approach to diagnosing because rarely do other factors in a person's life not impact their mental health. It assesses five dimensions as described below:

The DSM Axis I: Clinical Syndromes This is what we typically think of as the diagnosis (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, social phobia) Axis II: Developmental Disorders and Personality Disorders Developmental disorders include autism and mental retardation, disorders which are typically first evident in childhood Personality disorders are clinical syndromes which have a more long lasting symptoms and encompass the individual's way of interacting with the world. They include Paranoid, Antisocial, and Borderline Personality Disorders.

The DSM Axis III: Physical Conditions which play a role in the development, continuance, or exacerbation of Axis I and II Disorders Physical conditions such as brain injury or HIV/AIDS that can result in symptoms of mental illness are included here. Axis IV: Severity of Psychosocial Stressors Events in a persons life, such as death of a loved one, starting a new job, college, unemployment, and even marriage can impact the disorders listed in Axis I and II. These events are both listed and rated for this axis. Axis V: Highest Level of Functioning On the final axis, the clinician rates the person's level of functioning both at the present time and the highest level within the previous year. This helps the clinician understand how the above four axes are affecting the person and what type of changes could be expected