How to Transform Anxiety into Action: Adopting Mature Defense Mechanisms

Hey, everyone. I'm Kristen, the anxiety  therapist. And today I want to talk about defense mechanisms. I had previously  done a video about defense mechanisms, but it was more of an overview and a little  bit more generalized. So today, I want to dig in a little bit deeper and talk about the  three different types of defense mechanisms. You can kind of think of them as the trio of  shields. A lot of times when we think about defense mechanisms, we think about them  as being maladaptive or unprod

uctive. And while a lot of them are, that's not necessarily  the case. So just wanted to share a little bit more information about the three types of defense  mechanisms which are mature neurotic and immature. This is actually the first video in a three-part  series where I go a little bit more deeply into each category to start with. We have mature  defense mechanisms and these are going to be, you know, just what the name implied,  more mature. So they'll be reflective of a higher emotional in

telligence. And  you can kind of think of them as like the superheroes of our psychological arsenal,  and each defense mechanism serves a purpose. If you think about it kind of like having a  toolbox where you might pull out a screwdriver for one job and you might pull out a hammer  for another job, you know, defense mechanisms, they do serve a purpose for us. It may  not always be a healthy or adapt one, but they are trying to protect us in some way. So that was mature, neurotic defense mechani

sms  are a little bit more like frenzied sidekicks. So they mean well, but they can really  kind of get us into a bind if we rely on them too heavily. And then immature defense  mechanisms, they're impulsive. So if you think of immature just being more childlike, kids  are very impulsive, they don't think about consequences. These are going to be more  of your immature types defense mechanisms. So just to give you some context  around this, like let's say you received some criticism at work. So

if you're  channeling your mature defense mechanisms, you might crack a joke about it to lighten the  mood. Or you might take that as constructive feedback and pour your energy into improving, kind  of turning a negative situation into a positive. If neurotic defense mechanisms are at play,  you might find yourself either insisting that the criticism was unfounded or twisting the  logic in some way to kind of protect your ego or you might stuff or bury the hurt deep down  pretending like it neve

r actually happened. And then if we're in the immature defense  mechanism state, then we might catch ourselves blaming a colleague for the mishap  or kind of stomping off in a huff, like again, reverting to kind of very childlike and less  sophisticated ways of handling that stress. So now that I've given you kind of an overview  of the three categories, I want to focus in on the first of the three in this video, and that's  mature defense mechanisms. These are sort of like our wise mentors in o

ur stories. They guide  us through life's ups and downs using humor, creativity, perspective, things that really  help to keep us grounded and resilient. So three of the heavy hitters in mature defense  mechanisms, our number one altruism. So this is where we find solace in helping others whenever we  volunteer or lend a hand or are helpful to others in some way, we sort of get this warm glow. It  helps to transform our own struggles into acts of kindness because, you know, helping others always

  leads to warm and fuzzy feelings for ourselves. So that is one way to use a mature defense  mechanism. The next is sublimation. If you've ever channeled your frustration,  sadness, or any emotion into painting, writing or training for a marathon, this is  sublimation at play. It's the art of redirecting less desirable impulses into more socially  acceptable and even productive activities. Again, we're sort of taking those distressing  feelings and channeling them in a healthy way, in a product

ive way. And then finally, we  have humor. This is a tricky one because I think a lot of people use humor when they  feel uncomfortable. And humor being used to deflect or in excess can become  unhealthy and a form of avoidance. But there's something to be said for the  ability to laugh at life's challenges. And that is really an indicator  of emotional intelligence. So if we kind of see that adversity and are  able to lighten the burden for ourselves by utilizing humor in some capacity,  then i

t makes it much more adaptive. Again, going back to the work example,  let's say that you're dealing with a particularly challenging project at work.  So instead of succumbing to the stress, you might decide to just have some lighthearted  banter with your coworkers. And in turn, this sort of eases the tension and  fosters a more positive environment. So this is an example of human in action  where the mature defense mechanism not only benefits you but also those around you.  Another situation m

ight be that you find yourself feeling really frustrated with  a situation that's out of your control as I'm sure most of us have. So instead  of letting this frustration consume you, you channel it into a passion project  like gardening or creating art or coding. In this example, we're talking about  sublimation so that negative energy of frustration is transformed into something  beautiful or productive. So as we wrap up our exploration of mature defense  mechanisms, it's clear that these stra

tegies not only help to protect us from  emotional distress, but they also contribute to our growth and happiness. And you know, it's  a reminder that even in the face of adversity, we really do have the power to choose how  we respond and turn those challenges into an opportunity for learning or growth or  whatever because, you know, life is full of things that are out of our control and it's  really important how we respond to those things. So I hope this video was helpful. Stay tuned  for nex

t week's installment where I'll be talking about neurotic defense mechanisms.  These tend to be very common in folks who struggle with anxiety. So I hope you'll have  a good one, and I will see you next week.