Sunday, October 23, 2005
Writing Assignment #8
In class we were taught that we need defense mechanisms but they should not be used in mal-adaptive ways. The mechanisms discussed were repression, projection, displacement, reaction formation, regression, and rationalization.
Repression-Keeps stuff buried.
My grandmother (who I love with all my heart and damn near as much as a second mother) is dying of emphysema. Every time I see her or even think of her I want to break down and cry. This is something I repress.
Projection- You have a certain feeling but you displace that feeling onto someone else. According to our text book page 481, Freud believed slips of the tongue had honesty attached to them. Everyday I teasingly call my girlfriend a “poop-head.” It’s a joke but I know in all reality that I’m the poop-head in our relationship. I project her as being the lucky one but I’m the lucky one.
Displacement- When one diverts emotions caused by one person onto another.
I took this Friday off of work to get school work done, talk to counselors about my minor, and see if I could get a Radio show with Metro’s radio station. Needless to say, I got the run around with the advising center and when I finally met the journalism’s department adviser she was rather curt with me. She actually misinformed me on this petition process I wanted to go though in attempt to use an older catalogue for my major. I then went to talk to the man in charge of Metro’s radio station. He was somewhere on campus just no where to be found. I recouped after being frustrated by not accomplishing anything on my day off. I went to the computer lab to check out my CAPP report to see if I should use the old catalog but I wasn’t sure how to do this. I then quietly used my cell phone to call my girlfriend and get her assistance. Of course, some 45-year-old looking women started to badger me saying I was distracting her and to leave the lab…I exchanged a couple of not so friendly words with her. Words that I might not have said if I wasn’t so frustrated. I sort of displaced my frustration into making a scene in the computer lab Friday.
Reaction Formation- This is when one behaves exactly opposite as they feel.
Thursday my boss was assigning work to me while on a conference call with our outside vender. He said I needed to have two tests completed on the system by Friday. I informed him that I would not be in Friday and he got his high pitched homosexual tone of voice (because he literally is homosexual there’s no pun intended) and said, “Well you’ll just have to have it done today.” Of course, the person on the conference call is laughing at the scene my boss was making. I considered it to be a disrespectful attitude toward me but I just smiled and said, “No problem.” I wanted to say a little something more than that but I used reaction formation not to, which is probably the smartest move to make in that situation.
Regression- Reverting to childhood ways of coping with stress.
I can barely remember how I handled a situation last week let alone trying to remember how I dealt with something as a kid to compare with something last week. But, this reminds me of my favorite movie American Beauty. Kevin Spacey plays a man who was about to get fired from his job after 15 years. He copes with the situation by blackmailing his job for one year’s pay. He then gets a job at a fast food restaurant, buys a muscle car like the one he had as a teenager, starts smoking pot again, and working out for the possibility to sleep with his daughter’s supposedly slutty friend. I would say he regressed but it made for a damn fine film.
Rationalization- Good reason for what you did but false explanation for behavior.
I compulsively bought Powerball tickets with my fellow co-workers under the pretense that, “I am helping parks and recreation.” The jackpot was over $3 million!!! Come on now! Open space needs a new pair of shoes.
Man, I wanted to get into sublimation but I am well over my page limit and it’s going to be a late night as is…those are just some of the ways I’ve utilized the listed defense mechanisms.
In class we were taught that we need defense mechanisms but they should not be used in mal-adaptive ways. The mechanisms discussed were repression, projection, displacement, reaction formation, regression, and rationalization.
Repression-Keeps stuff buried.
My grandmother (who I love with all my heart and damn near as much as a second mother) is dying of emphysema. Every time I see her or even think of her I want to break down and cry. This is something I repress.
Projection- You have a certain feeling but you displace that feeling onto someone else. According to our text book page 481, Freud believed slips of the tongue had honesty attached to them. Everyday I teasingly call my girlfriend a “poop-head.” It’s a joke but I know in all reality that I’m the poop-head in our relationship. I project her as being the lucky one but I’m the lucky one.
Displacement- When one diverts emotions caused by one person onto another.
I took this Friday off of work to get school work done, talk to counselors about my minor, and see if I could get a Radio show with Metro’s radio station. Needless to say, I got the run around with the advising center and when I finally met the journalism’s department adviser she was rather curt with me. She actually misinformed me on this petition process I wanted to go though in attempt to use an older catalogue for my major. I then went to talk to the man in charge of Metro’s radio station. He was somewhere on campus just no where to be found. I recouped after being frustrated by not accomplishing anything on my day off. I went to the computer lab to check out my CAPP report to see if I should use the old catalog but I wasn’t sure how to do this. I then quietly used my cell phone to call my girlfriend and get her assistance. Of course, some 45-year-old looking women started to badger me saying I was distracting her and to leave the lab…I exchanged a couple of not so friendly words with her. Words that I might not have said if I wasn’t so frustrated. I sort of displaced my frustration into making a scene in the computer lab Friday.
Reaction Formation- This is when one behaves exactly opposite as they feel.
Thursday my boss was assigning work to me while on a conference call with our outside vender. He said I needed to have two tests completed on the system by Friday. I informed him that I would not be in Friday and he got his high pitched homosexual tone of voice (because he literally is homosexual there’s no pun intended) and said, “Well you’ll just have to have it done today.” Of course, the person on the conference call is laughing at the scene my boss was making. I considered it to be a disrespectful attitude toward me but I just smiled and said, “No problem.” I wanted to say a little something more than that but I used reaction formation not to, which is probably the smartest move to make in that situation.
Regression- Reverting to childhood ways of coping with stress.
I can barely remember how I handled a situation last week let alone trying to remember how I dealt with something as a kid to compare with something last week. But, this reminds me of my favorite movie American Beauty. Kevin Spacey plays a man who was about to get fired from his job after 15 years. He copes with the situation by blackmailing his job for one year’s pay. He then gets a job at a fast food restaurant, buys a muscle car like the one he had as a teenager, starts smoking pot again, and working out for the possibility to sleep with his daughter’s supposedly slutty friend. I would say he regressed but it made for a damn fine film.
Rationalization- Good reason for what you did but false explanation for behavior.
I compulsively bought Powerball tickets with my fellow co-workers under the pretense that, “I am helping parks and recreation.” The jackpot was over $3 million!!! Come on now! Open space needs a new pair of shoes.
Man, I wanted to get into sublimation but I am well over my page limit and it’s going to be a late night as is…those are just some of the ways I’ve utilized the listed defense mechanisms.
# posted by Nick D @ 8:16 PM 
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