According to Sigmund Freud, “Anxiety is the price we pay for civilization. As members of social groups, we must control our sexual and aggressive impulses, not act them out (Myer, 2014, p. 427).” Because of this conflict, Freud proposes an idea the ego uses to protect itself, known as defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are “the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality (Myer, 2014, p. 427).” Freud believed that repression, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories (Myer, 2014, p.427), branches out into six different defense mechanisms. These six mechanisms are as followed: Regression, Reaction formation, Projection, Rationalization, Displacement and Denial. Out of these six different defense mechanisms, the one I use the most to keep unwanted thoughts, desires, and memories in my unconscious is Displacement.
Displacement can be defined as “shifting sexual or aggressive impulses towards a more acceptable or less threatening object or person (Myer, 2014, p.427).” In simpler terms, displacement is channeling negative emotions through a more positive alternative. I …show more content…
Between SAT preparation, college application, extracurricular activities and more, life becomes hectic. This is where my use of displacement first comes into action. The first way I use this defense mechanism to keep unwanted thoughts, desires, and memories in my unconscious is through my violin. As soon as I enter the door of my home, I go straight to violin. Somehow the violin transfers the stress and anxiety of the day into a beautiful melody. Depending on the day, the longer I play. Sometimes when I’m in the middle of homework and I get to a point where I mentally can’t function, I turn straight to my violin. The violin is the first way in which I can take negative energy and turn it into something
Displacement can be defined as “shifting sexual or aggressive impulses towards a more acceptable or less threatening object or person (Myer, 2014, p.427).” In simpler terms, displacement is channeling negative emotions through a more positive alternative. I …show more content…
Between SAT preparation, college application, extracurricular activities and more, life becomes hectic. This is where my use of displacement first comes into action. The first way I use this defense mechanism to keep unwanted thoughts, desires, and memories in my unconscious is through my violin. As soon as I enter the door of my home, I go straight to violin. Somehow the violin transfers the stress and anxiety of the day into a beautiful melody. Depending on the day, the longer I play. Sometimes when I’m in the middle of homework and I get to a point where I mentally can’t function, I turn straight to my violin. The violin is the first way in which I can take negative energy and turn it into something