Hi. I am avoiding writing a psych report. Maybe I will feel more ambitious later. Or not. There are some days it is just not happening for me.
Anyway, been thinking about ways of helping people cope with this nasty vision loss stuff. We have gone over a lot of DBT stuff. Maybe we should get psychoanalytical. Dr. Freud; I presume.?
PsychCentral did a page on defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are ways people distance themselves from full-awareness of uncomfortable situations, thoughts, feelings etc. There are primitive defenses and more mature defenses. Primitive ones are the ones we may use as kids and they may not always work over the long-term. Mature defenses work a little better.
Want an example? Denial is a primitive defense. I know someone who is the Queen of Denial – because da Nile is not just a river in Egypt, ya know! If it is not to her liking, she denies it is happening. No acknowledgement. Nada.
You know the problems with that. We cannot refuse to acknowledge some ugly, little truths for very long. They have a tendency to break down the door and come in anyway.
A couple of more primitive defense mechanisms are regression and acting out. In regression things feel so overwhelming you just go back to an earlier stage, ignoring your responsibilities and wanting to be taken care of. Acting out is just that. Think temper tantrum. For a list of others, check out the article.
Then there are the mature defense mechanisms. I KNOW you did not see yourself in any of the primitive ones.
I know I ‘never’ engage in those.? Maybe you will see yourself in the mature ones.
For sublimation think substitution. It is channeling energy you would use in a negative way into a positive use. I want to scream and break things because my vision got worse. Instead, I scrub the floor.
Compensation is focusing on strong points. I was never beautiful but I was smart. Put a lot of energy into that. The day is coming I won’t be able to test so I am working on my counseling skills. Got it?
Last one PsychCentral mentions is assertiveness. Assertiveness is being direct and firm. Not too passive and not too aggressive. It is the Baby Bear of communication styles. Not too hard. Not too soft. Just right.
So those are the defense mechanisms. Are you leaning on a primitive one too hard? Could you start to use a more effective strategy? Might make things a little easier.
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