Defense
...ego uses to protect the conscious mind from threatening feelings and perceptions. Sigmund Freud first used defense as a psychoanalytic term (1894), but he did not break the notion into categories, viewing it as a singular phenomenon of repression. His daughter, Anna Freud, expanded on his theories in the 1930s, distinguishing some of the major defense mechanisms recognized today. Primary defense mechanisms include repression and denial, which serve to prevent unacceptable ideas or impulses from entering the conscience. Secondary defense mechanisms-generally appearing as an outgrowth of the primary defense mechanisms-include projection, reaction formation, displacement, sublimation, and isolation.
The defense mechanisms
Freud's daughter, Anna, who still does psychoanalysis, summarized several ego defenses in The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense (1936). As noted above, the ego protects itself from three threats: (l) the id, because the urges from the id can become so strong that they overwhelm the ego, bringing with them irrational chaos. Thus, we might panic if our sexual or brutally hostile urges popped into our conscience. (2) The outside world or real danger. For example, the ego would realize that a child's parents staunchly forbid any aggression; thus, showing the slightest hint of murderous urges to them would produce severe anxiety. Likewise, a fear of driving recklessly or of being rejected by a lover may have a certain basis in reality. (3) The superego is a threat to the ego too. The basic duty of the ego is to find some satisfaction for the id. If the superego detects any immoral aspects in our behavior, there is hell to pay in the form of self censure and guilt. The ego tries to avoid this discomfort. But, keep in mind that, according to Freud's original theory, the ego defenses are successful only so long as the conscious part of the ego is...
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