ego mechanisms

According to Sigmund Freud, we have only two drives, sex and aggression. In Freud’s perspective there is a constant tension between the impulses of the mind and the body’s response to it, what he called instinctual tension. Freud believed that the ego, the part of the psyche that triggers the stress response when threatened, has a hard time dealing with perceptions from outside stimuli resulting in tension. But the ego has some tools it can use to help defend its self. These tools are called ego defense mechanisms. There are a number of defense mechanisms Freud theorized. The following are just of few of the well known ones. The most acknowledged defense mechanism is denial. Denial is one of the primary defense mechanisms noted by Freud. It is when an individual argues against an anxiety provoking stimuli by stating it doesn’t exist. People often resort to the denial technique when they are confronted with a situation that they find to be threatening by denying any affiliation with that particular circumstance. While denial functions to protect the ego from things that an individual finds hard to cope with, it often causes more problems in the person’s life. For example, people who suffer from addiction. People who suffer from substance abuse, whether alcohol or drug related, often resort to denial when confronted with their issues because it is perceived to be a threat to their identity. In other cases they might actually admit they do abuse drugs or alcohol but refuse to admit that their addiction is a problem that is affecting them or those around them, claiming they have a handle on the situation. The second mechanism is rationalization. The textbook definition of rationalization is defined as: the reinterpretation of the current reality to match ones liking; a reinterpretation of the truth. Rationalization not only eases stress induced anxiety, but also serves to protect ones self-esteem. This can be described as reinterpreting information perceived to