EMOTIONS AND DEFENSE

MECHANISMS

WHAT IS MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH?

This is the ability to accept yourself and others, adapt to and manage emotions, and deal with the demands and challenges you meet in life.

POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Why are these characteristics importan tohave?

Positive Self-Esteem. Sense of Belonging Sense of Purpose Positive Outlook Autonomy

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

MASLOW Hierarchy of needs is a ranked list of

those needs essential to human growth and development, presented in ascending order, starting with basic needs and building toward the needs for reaching your highest potential.

There are 5 levels one needs to reach. When the final fifth level is met this is called Self-actualization- the striving to become the best you can be.

UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONS

Emotions, are signals that tell your mind and body how to react to situations. Sometimes referred to as feelings, emotions are your responses to certain thoughts and events.

Happy GuiltSaddness AngerLove FearEmpathy Sympathy

SITUATIONWHAT WOULD YOU DO?Tara feels a knot in her stomach when she sees her

friend Suzanna. The last time she agreed to go to a concert with Tara, Suzanna failed to show up. It hurt Tara’s feelings that Suzanna didn’t care enough about their friendship to show up.

Suzanna says excitedly, “Tara, did you see who’s playing this weekend? Let’s get there early, Okay?”

Tara feels torn between two choices. She could ignore

her feelings by keeping them bottled up. Her other option would be to communicate her hurt and disappointment, but that would risk hurting Suzanne’s feelings.

SOLUTIONS There are many ways to deal with

feelings and emotions. The best thing to always remember is do it the right way so you don’t get hurt in the end. Be polite and respectful.

1. Use “I” Statements2. Keep your tone respectful3. Provide a clear, organized message

that states the problem4. Listen to the other person’s side

without interrupting

MANAGING YOU EMOTIONS

Emotions are neither good nor bad. Learning skills to communicate these emotions effectively with friends, family and others can strongly influence your overall level of health.

We all learn how to deal with emotions as we grow up. You see little kids throw tantrums when they are sad or mad when they get older they will learn to communicate and talk about what is making them upset or mad.

MANAGING DIFFICULT EMOTIONS

There are four ways to help with difficult emotions that

can arise over time. 1. Defense mechanisms

These are mental processes that protect individuals from strong or stressful emotions and situations.

2. Handling fear Some fear is healthy and natural; only when fear is

irrational or uncontrollable should you consider it a problem.

3. Dealing with guilt Guilt can be a very destructive emotion.

4. Managing anger Anger can be one of the most difficult emotions to handle.

The best way to fix this is anger management techniques.

COMMON DEFENSE MECHANISMS

Repression:The involuntary exclusion of a painful or conflictual thought, impulse, or memory from awareness. This is the primary ego defense mechanism; others reinforce it.

Suppression: Intentional exclusion of material from consciousness. At times, suppression may lead to subsequent repression. Examples: (2) a student goes on vacation worried that she may be failing; she decides not to spoil her holiday by thinking of school.

Rationalization:Offering a socially acceptable and apparently more or less logical explanation for an act or decision actually produced by unconscious impulses. The person rationalizing is not intentionally inventing a story to fool someone else, but instead is misleading self as well as the listener. Examples: (1) a man buys a new car, having convinced himself that his older car won't make it through the winter.

Denial:Failing to recognize obvious implications or consequences of a thought, act, or situation. Examples: (1) a person having an extramarital affair gives no thought to the possibility of pregnancy. (2) persons living near a volcano disregard the dangers involved.

DEFENSE MECHANISMS CONTINUED Compensation: Encountering failure or frustration in some

sphere of activity, one overemphasizes another. The term is also applied to the process of over-correcting for a handicap or limitation. Examples: (1) a student is failing math but gets an A in English and is happy.

Projection: Attributing one's thoughts or impulses to another person. In common use, this is limited to unacceptable or undesirable impulses. Examples: (1) a man, unable to accept that he has competitive or hostile feelings about an acquaintance, says, “He doesn’t like me.”

Idealization: Overestimation of the desirable qualities and underestimation of the limitations of a desired object. Examples: (2) a purchaser, having finally decided between two items, expounds upon the advantages of the one chosen

Regression: By another anxiety-evading mechanism known as regression, the personality may suffer a loss of some of the development already attained and may revert to a lower level of adaptation and expression.