Tips on Life in Small Bites

Coping/Defense Mechanisms ( Part 1 of 2) Outline: Coping/Defense Mechanisms: Definition Function of Coping Mechanisms List of Coping Mechanisms Embracing Our Coping Mechanisms Definition: Coping/Defense Mechanisms are our ways of managing stress, anxiety, or negative emotions. It could be a conscious choice on how to manage these emotions, or it could be unconscious. When it is conscious, we are actively choosing an action/behavior to help us manage/deal with these emotions. When it’s unconscious, we find ourselves thinking/acting/behaving in certain ways and might be surprised by them. Function of Coping Mechanisms Our way to survive/adapt to our mental/emotional/interpersonal stimuli/“environment.” Our psyche cannot take too much stress/negative stimuli, as they could overwhelm our “system,” so our unconscious/subconscious kicks in, without our full (conscious) knowledge, to help us manage the situation. When it is conscious, then it’s our way of choosing what we want to do with the ...

Coping/Defense Mechanisms (Part 2 of 2): When and How to Change Coping Mechanisms Outline: • Healthy Coping Mechanisms • Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms • When to Consider Changing Them • Practical Tools on Changing Coping/Defense Mechanisms Healthy Coping Mechanisms Any Coping Mechanism that works to relieve us of our stress without causing harm to ourselves or others, is a healthy one. We sometimes just need to cope the best we can at the moment. Some examples of a healthy Coping Mechanism can be: Avoidance; Denial; Fantasy; Humor; Idealization; Intellectualization; Magical/Wishful Thinking; Minimizing/Trivializing; Numbing; Rationalization; Reaction Formation; Sublimation; and Suppression.  The KEY here is that these mechanisms are temporary – Just to get us through the moment. Any of them being always used in all situations, could backfire on us. Coping/Defense Mechanisms can be “neutral,” and not be categorized as either healthy or unhealthy: It depends on what’s happening...