Psychological Defenses: the healthiest and unhealthiest defenses we should know about

Defense mechanisms are the mind’s way of protecting itself from thoughts/feelings that would cause distress. Psychological defenses are the visible expression of an invisible anxiety.

For example, someone that feels weak and insecure may understandably be reluctant to reflect on and acknowledge such feelings, and so a defense of grandiosity emerges in their personality. This person may think of themselves in a larger-than-life type of way in order to guard against inner feelings of worthlessness and helplessness.

Defenses defend against the anxiety that we would experience if we were conscious of certain thoughts/feelings we have.

The most common defense is repression, where the mind simply “forgets” something that would otherwise be too painful to remember. Other common defenses are projection, denial, and splitting.

It is important to know that we all have defenses. We all have things in life that make us anxious and have thus found ways to guard against feeling those anxieties.

In the world of psychology, the presence of psychological defenses is not what makes a person “mentally unhealthy”. Rather, mental health is assessed by the type of defenses one uses. That is to say, that defense mechanisms are universal, we all have them. Which defenses we use on the other hand is what effects our mental health.

For this reason, psychologists have structured defense mechanisms in a hierarchy that arranges them from least to most healthy (or least mature to most mature).

Unhealthy defenses are ones that express anxiety by hurting others, such as displacement: yelling at our spouse when we are really mad at our boss; or ones that cause us to withdraw and isolate from others.

And at the extreme end of the unhealthy spectrum are the defenses that involve psychosis: delusional projection, psychotic denial, psychotic distortion. These are defenses that distort reality so much that a person becomes unable to experience reality the way most people do.

Healthy defenses on the other hand, helps one maintain a healthy sense of self and allows for the possibility of closeness to others in relationships.  So, what are the healthiest defense mechanisms to use? Let’s highlight the two that are widely considered to be at the top of the hierarchy: humor and sublimation.

Humor allows for one to acknowledge anxiety and express it in a safe way. All the energy that forms from the anxiety being provoked can find a healthy outlet through laughter.

“Humor allows us to share emotion, often aggressive, without discomfort, to regress without embarrassment, to play games with freedom, to laugh with impunity and relax with pleasure; it includes rather than rejects and may at times allow terrible tragedy to become bearable.” (Bateman and Holmes, pg. 93).

 It is worth mentioning that not all humor is healthy. Humor can take a very wrong turn when we use it for self-deprecation. Trying to make others laugh by making fun or ourselves is a way to decrease self-worth. Humor is at it’s best when we use it to maintain a positive view of our self and invite others to laugh with us, allowing the possibility for connection with them.  

Humor, of course, is something we see on a daily basis. But what is sublimation? We may not be as familiar with that word as we are with humor.

Sublimation is that ability to take feelings of anxiety and redirect them in ways that are socially acceptable and beneficial for society.

For example, someone who struggles with feelings of depression and low self-esteem might sublimate those feelings by expressing them through poetry, song lyrics, or art. Redirecting those feelings to such outlets allows one to share those feelings in a safe way with others (socially appropriate) and gives others an opportunity to relate to such feelings, not feeling alone for having them (benefits society).

Other examples of sublimation would be someone who struggles with strong feelings of rage and aggression taking up boxing; or someone that is self-absorbed becoming a stage actor or professor. In both cases, the person is taking something that is naturally occurring in them and redirects them in a way that is socially appropriate and helps benefit society.

The goal of anxiety is not to deny or avoid it but rather to acknowledge it as it’s occurring and find safe ways to process the emotion. Humor and sublimation offer the best ways to do just that.