What Is "enable Protection"?

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

The main thing is that psychological defense is an unconscious process. The defenses are turned on without our knowledge - then they are. If we realize that we are now turning on protection, this is no longer protection, but a choice.

According to the prevailing method of protection, the personality type is diagnosed. The smaller the range of protections, the more problems. A wide range of protections - mental health.

But not everything is so simple.

Let's consider the role of defenses in our life using an example.

The elevator has broken down and you go up on foot to the 9th floor. On the 5th floor, a heel breaks and you continue walking barefoot. On the 8th floor you meet a young drunken neighbor. He is glad to see you and says that you breathe sexually. You get scared, you fly another floor past him and hide behind your door. After catching your breath, look at yourself in the mirror and think that you are a really sexy woman, but thinking about your neighbor is disgusting. In the evening, you tell all this to your husband, exaggerating the dramatic and funny moments. Having finally discussed this adventure with a loved one, you finally regain your peace of mind.

Let us examine in sequence all the defenses that worked in this episode.

1. Translation of affect. The breakdown of the elevator angered you, you wanted to find and punish those responsible. But the anger fell on the heel and bare feet, which were "punished" to run along the dirty stairwells. Anger from one object (elevator and culprit) is transferred to another (heel and legs).

It would be good to be more aware of your feelings, to admit the presence of your unpleasant states (hostility, envy, destructiveness). Otherwise, you have to transfer all this to your loved ones, break, destroy and subject yourself to tests completely in vain. And remain completely unaware of what the nonsense is going on.

2. Displacement. Already from the 2nd floor, you forgot about your anger. And behind the repression came rationalization (see p. 5). Well broke and broke. It makes no sense to shake the air and spoil your mood. And all destructive impulses were transferred to the heel and legs (see item 1). But the mood remained more or less good and carefree. Sometimes so be it! But it's better if not always. Maybe it's time to roll out the application and achieve the replacement of the elevator? Or maybe - burn it all with fire. Calm is more expensive.

The trick is that this is not exactly what we decide. This is decided by our brain structures. They choose the best survival mode for us. But sometimes due to such factors (hormones, mental trauma, news on TV, pressure from authorities, etc.) that if we all knew about the "logic of survival" of our brain, we would never trust this gray mass.

3. Dissociation. When a drunken neighbor thought you were sexy, you might be happy, but you didn't allow yourself to feel it. You completely lost the feeling of being attractive on the 8th floor, because it was mentally labeled as dangerous (you ran away). But once safe, the feeling returned. Dissociation protection from danger was not needed for long. She saved from a sense of her attractiveness, which was considered dangerous at that moment.

In people who were abused in childhood (and not only sexually), the feeling of their attractiveness and goodness is so reliably dissociated that it never returns at all. A person is scared and not accustomed to being good and attractive with all the ensuing layers (asocial behavior, for example, or eating disorders). And only in the process of psychoanalysis can one start trying to somehow get in touch with this splitting off.

4. Projection. The hardest defense for awareness. It's hard even to believe in it, not to integrate it into the psyche. This requires a lot of trust and time.

What has been projected here? Escaping from a neighbor was out of fear. Fear of what? Well, the guy drank and weaves whatever, but what will he do? What was the real danger there? It's a day in the yard, you know him, his family, in a pinch you will hit him over the head with the heel of his removed shoe. Was the fear a sense of danger from yourself? Was your psyche scared of your own destructive and sexual impulses? - get excited by this neighbor or take it out in anger? I scared myself. But the neighbor became dangerous (not an angel, but I would be even worse).

And I will repeat it again. Projection is the most difficult defense to be aware of. We absolutely believe in the correctness of our perception. It is he, but not me! Moreover, the object for projection always confirms our "correctness".

From the point of view of object relations theory, projection is the process when I enter into a relationship with my inner object through another (excluding self-reflection and seeing only "him"). What does this mean? - but the fact that conflicts in any relationship are precisely this process. Our relationship would be easy and beautiful if we were aware of our own destructive and unpleasant inner objects.

5. Insulation. So I wanted to run away as soon as possible. Feel yourself where no one will disturb. When you want to be left alone, so as not to feel completely alien and frightening impulses inside yourself (see paragraph 4)

6. Rationalization is complacency (see item 2). Thinking about your experience in the form of a story that has gone through the censorship of the psyche and turned out to be as clear and enjoyable as possible. “I'm really cool! Spit on the elevator and legs, and rushed past this asshole! Crazy woman! - this is how self-respect returns. The presence of this process proves that, in fact, the situation was not easy.

Our entire world often resorts to complacency. This is also our survival.

In the psychoanalyst's office, you can (and should) look behind this wall. But be careful. Loss of self-esteem is not something that is beneficial for quality psychoanalysis.

7. Sarcasm and relaxation, as defenses, worked in ridiculing the situation. And in "rewriting" it as more amusing and funny.

8. Creation of kaolitsiya. Attracting a husband to his side by telling a story about his experience in such a way that it would be funny and funny for him. Thus, receiving support and confirmation of one's "steepness" and adequacy - the mental balance is finally restored.

Is it so bad to use psychic defenses?

I will never say that this is good or bad. However, I am for sarcasm and ridicule of hopeless (!) Situations to teach children. I also practice this in psychotherapy if the patient is the first to do it. Also, I always remember to look as clearly as possible at what we are defending against.

The existence of psychological defenses is due to evolution. We survived because we learned how to do it. And we can perish with the same success if we stubbornly do not notice what we are defending against.

What part of reality is the child able to see and understand? What part of reality can a suffering or frightened adult be able to see? - these are always questions.

Our unconscious is sometimes wiser than us. Is it always? What is his motive? The main thing for the brain is to prolong our physical existence, not to turn us into outcasts (for one cannot survive) or to transform us, but thus not allowing us to die from mental pain or the horror of meeting reality.

We also defend ourselves not only from external reality, but also from internal reality.

Protections can improve life. And they can make us mentally blind. Therefore, there are no rules here. But there is common sense and responsibility.