Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

Psychological Defenses: How to Understand (and change) Your Mind and Behavior

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Jun 24, 2024

Dive into psychological defenses with Dr. Rick and Forrest, exploring how they shape behavior and relationships. Learn about defense mechanisms like repression and projection, and how to navigate shame and guilt. Discover practical strategies for handling defenses and helping others. Explore the importance of distress tolerance and integrating repressed emotions for personal growth.

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INSIGHT

Psychological Defenses: An Overview

Psychological defenses protect us from inner threats, managing uncomfortable emotions and thoughts.
Defenses are rooted in historical and cultural contexts, influenced by Victorian propriety and colonialism.

ANECDOTE

Glove Paralysis: A Case Study

A woman with glove paralysis unconsciously defended against the desire to slap her father.
This demonstrates how defenses can manifest physically, unrelated to nerve pathways.

INSIGHT

Key Psychological Defenses

Anna Freud identified key defenses: repression, regression, projection, reaction formation, and sublimation.
These range from blocking thoughts to channeling impulses into productive actions.

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Psychological defenses are subconscious strategies we use to protect ourselves from uncomfortable emotions, and they exert a hidden power over our behavior. From denial and repression to projection and rationalization, Dr. Rick and Forrest explore how these defenses shape our actions, influence our relationships, and affect our overall well-being.

They start with the function and structure of most defenses, before giving a few simple examples. Rick then dives into the role of defenses in psychoanalytic theory, their role in managing self-worth and shame, and what we can do to become less defensive over time. They close with practical strategies for working with our defenses, including a brief discussion of what we can do to help other people with their defenses.

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:30: Psychological and historical factors influencing psychological defensiveness

8:00: Some examples of unconscious anxiety bubbling up

12:00: Repression, regression, projection, reaction formation, and sublimation

16:55: An overview of Freud’s developmental model of the personality

24:10: A few examples of how our defenses manifest

33:40: Consciousness, competence, and joining the defense

44:00: Navigating shame and guilt

50:15: Distress tolerance

57:15: Social connection, and finding healthy outlets

1:00:20: When and how to approach others about their defensiveness

1:10:45: Recap

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