Everyone has defense mechanisms. What's yours?

Freud One From RM via flickr

Sigmund Freud might be best known to most of us for the term "Freudian slip", but in fact many of his ideas are at the core of modern psychoanalytic theory. One example, and the subject of today's infographic, is the defense mechanism.

Freud thought that people develop defense mechanisms to protect themselves from painful thoughts. In other, more Freudian words, when our id—"the dark, inaccessible part of our personality," where our innermost urges live—is in conflict with itself, or with the outside world, our ego—the unconscious mediator between reality and our inner id—develops mechanisms to deal with it.

Though Freud came up with the original idea, most of the defense mechanisms psychologists talk about today were defined in the century or so after he died.

So, how does psychotherapy see you? To find out what kind of defenses your own id and ego have produced, check out designer David McCandless's amazing wheel-of-defenses:

Click here to see the entire infographic in a larger size.

Being Defensive:  David McCandless, Information Is Beautiful

9 Comments

This is neat. I am going to put this on my wall and center hangit, give it a spin. So each day, I can be a new me, lol.

"... where are [sic] innermost urges live ..."

Is the grammatical error a Freudian slip?

@rettaH_daM Grammatical error fixed. Thanks!

@Robot
That's a great idea! I have to try that too! Wait, I think I subconsciously do that already.

The picture in this article is rather funny and cute. Freud leans over to a larger in life himself, as if to give advice to heal himself, from himself, to heal himself.

It is obvious that the source of the dysfunctional behavior is the patients subconscious hatred of his/her mother brought on by an improperly administered enema early on in the patients childhood.

matsci1,
Your comment sir, is this a Freud'n slip and are you having flash backs to your childhood, sir?

I'm just joking around, lol. Take care. ;)

To whom it may concern (you know who you are): animated avatars are extremely annoying. They are no better than animated ads. The apparent motion makes it nearly impossible to read the text beside them. It certainly makes it not worth the while.

Get rid of animated avatars! Let the content of your post speak for itself. If you think you need an animation to call attention to yourself, and your post -- that tells me you have nothing worthwhile to say. I just scroll on past your hyperactive icons.

Neither. It is more of a reflection of my negative opinion of Psychologists (sociologists too). I find a lot of them to be swindlers that make money off other peoples misfortunes. Especially the ones that work for the state and run court ordered “Treatment” programs that the “patient” is required to pay for himself.



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