Explain the different types of defense mechanisms.

Some of the defense mechanisms described by Dr. Sigmund Freud are as follows:

• Repression: It is an unconscious mechanism employed by the ego to keep disturbing or threatening thoughts outside our conscious awareness. These are the thoughts that would result in feelings of guilt from the superego.
• Displacement: It is the redirection of an impulse onto a less powerful target. A person cannot retaliate against the actual source of anger and so, redirects his anger on a less threatening object.
• Projection: It involves the individual attributing his own thoughts, feelings, and motives to another person.
• Sublimation: It is one of the most adaptive defense mechanisms as it can transform negative anxiety into positive energy. A person uses sublimation to redirect his motivation into more acceptable and productive tasks.
• Identification: Flere, by adopting another person’s mannerisms, language, patterns, etc., a person tries to imitate his character traits and starts behaving like another person. 
• Daydreaming: When life appears to be distressing, people often use fantasy as a way of escaping reality. This is called daydreaming. 
• Rationalization: It occurs when a person attempts to explain or create excuses for his failure. In doing so, an individual is able to avoid accepting the true cause or reason for his failure.

Some other important defense mechanisms are:

• Denial: It is an outright refusal to admit or recognize that something has occurred or is currently occurring. e.g. alcoholics often deny that their behaviour is problematic. 
• Compensation: It means people overachieve in one area to compensate for failures in another. e.g. a student who fails in studies may compensate by becoming a champion in athletics. 
• Intellectualization: It works to reduce anxiety by thinking about events in a cold and clinical way. e.g. a person diagnosed with a terminal illness might focus on learning everything about the disease in order to avoid distress and remain distant from the reality of the situation.