7 Self-defense reactions when you are in a negative situation

In living life, everyone will encounter various problems. Starting from quite trivial problems such as facing traffic jams to big problems such as experiencing failure, divorce, or losing a loved one. The difficulties you have to face may overwhelm your mind or feel threatened.

Just as your body reacts to protect itself when it is in danger, your soul also has a special system to defend itself against dangerous situations. Unconsciously, you will immediately build a self-defense mechanism so that your life is not disturbed by external threats or dangers.

Everyone has their own way of protecting themselves. There are those who take out their emotions on the people closest to them, but there are also those who keep themselves busy working so that they can forget their worries. Then, which method do you usually use when you are stressed or having problems? Come on, find out the answer below.

Self-defense mechanism from a psychological point of view

The self-defense mechanism was first developed by an Austrian father and son whose name is quite good in the realm of psychology. The two people were Sigmund Freud and Anna Freud. According to this father and son, when you are faced with a difficult or uncomfortable situation, your mind needs a certain way to escape the emotions that arise. This happens because humans instinctively avoid negative feelings such as sadness, anger, disappointment, shame, and fear. In addition, you are also required not to vent negative emotions in society and the social environment.

It is at this time that your mind will form a self-defense mechanism. Self-defense mechanisms serve to ward off unpleasant feelings or to make unpleasant events and experiences feel better. Your mind will automatically activate this self-defense mode, which means it is beyond your awareness and control.

However, these emotions don't really leave your mind. You can just press it or ignore it. Therefore, the self-defense mechanism is not a way to solve problems, but merely a natural reaction of the soul to problems.

Different types of psychological reactions for self-defense

Since the self-defense mechanism was developed by Sigmund Freud and his daughter, many other experts have contributed theories to complement various types of self-defense. Here are seven of the most commonly encountered and studied self-defense mechanisms.

1. Denial (denial)

The person who is in denial knows that what he is doing is wrong or harmful, but he uses various reasons to make it acceptable. For example, the problem of cigarette addiction. Instead of admitting and changing the habit, he denies any problems by thinking, "Ah, I only smoke when I am under severe stress,".

2. Repression

When a person feels that a certain situation or conflict is beyond his control, he chooses to either forget it or refuse to admit it at all. An example of repression is when you lose someone who is very close to you. Instead of accepting reality and feeling lonely, you assume that the person is still alive. Another example is a mother who is pregnant out of wedlock. She chose to give up her child for adoption and completely refused to admit that she had given birth and had children.

3. Regression

This mechanism is characterized by a person's psychological condition regressing back to their childhood. When you feel nervous for fear of being reprimanded by your boss, you may end up sobbing like a child. Or if you've lost your love, you don't want to leave your room to go to college or work at all. You just want to curl up all day in bed hugging your favorite doll.

4. Projection

In order to defend yourself from feelings, thoughts, or emotions that you find difficult to accept, you actually project those feelings on to other people. For example, you don't like your coworkers even though you have to work with them every day. So, you just feel that your partner doesn't like you, not the other way around. As another example, you are not completely sure about your boyfriend, but you are afraid to leave him. For this reason, you are actually projecting this doubt on your friend by accusing him of not supporting your relationship with your lover.

5. Rationalization

Trying to rationalize thoughts, words, or actions that you know is actually wrong is a form of self-defense mechanism. As an illustration, you always arrive late to the office and end up being reprimanded by your boss. To avoid feeling guilty or embarrassed, you could pretend that your home is far from the office and is always stuck in traffic. In fact, you can actually leave earlier than usual so as not to be late, but you always wake up late.

6. Sublimation

Sublimation occurs when you vent negative emotions on positive things. For example, suppose you just had a big fight with your partner. To let go of anger and resentment, you seek out a useful activity such as mowing grass. Even though the impression is positive, you are really just thirsty for the feeling of wanting to destroy or break something. This type of self-defense mechanism is quite common in society.

7. Transfer (displacement)

Unlike sublimation, where you look for an outlet for positive emotions, distraction actually makes you look for objects that can be the target of your negative emotions. For example, when you fail to meet work targets. You will come home with the disappointment and become violent by slamming doors, yelling at family members, or driving recklessly. This form of self-defense mechanism is also common in people.