A defense mechanism is the act or technique of coping mechanisms that reduce anxiety generated by threats from unacceptable or negative impulses. Defense mechanisms, which are unconscious, are not to be confused with conscious coping strategies. Sigmund Freud was one of the first proponents of this construct. Defense mechanisms may result in healthy or unhealthy consequences depending on the circumstances and frequency with which the mechanism is used. In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, defense mechanisms are psychological strategies brought into play by the unconscious mind to manipulate, deny, or distort reality in order to defend against feelings of anxiety and unacceptable impulses to maintain one’s self schema. These processes that manipulate, deny, or distort reality may include the following: repression, or the burying of painful feeling or thought from one’s awareness even though it may resurface in a symbolic from: identification, incorporating an object or thought into oneself; and rationalization, the justification of one’s behavior and motivations by substituting “good” acceptable reasons for the motivations. Generally, repression is considered the basis for other defense mechanisms.
Healthy persons normally use different defences throughout life. An ego defense mechanism becomes pathological only when its persistent use leads to maladaptive behaviour such that the physical or mental health of the individual is adversely affected. The purpose of ego defence mechanisms is to protect the mind/self/ego from anxiety and/or social sanctions and/or to provide a refuge from a situation with which one cannot currently cope.
Projection is a defense mechanism that involves talking our own unacceptable qualities or feelings and ascribing them to other people. For example, if you have a strong dislike for someone, you might instead believe that he or she does not like you. Projection works by allowing the expression of the desire or impulse, but in a way that the ego cannot recognise, therefore reducing anxiety.