07 - Immature defences

Immature defences:

© SPMM Course – Various parts of the self may be projected, with various aims: bad parts of the self may be projected in order to get rid of them as well as to attack and destroy the object, good parts may be projected to avoid separation or to keep them safe from bad things inside or to improve the external object through a kind of primitive projective reparation. Introjection: This involves internalizing the qualities of an object. It is seen in normal development too. INTROJECTION Conflict Result Process Need for gratification Accusing others of causing distress Internalising the qualities observed in an external ‘object’ e.g. mother, friend, etc

Omnipotence: Original Freudian description pertains to the belief that one can transform or influence the external world through one's thoughts alone. Seen in OCD (e.g. a woman with depressive obsessions says ‘I keep getting thoughts that something might happen to my baby: I am distressed because I think something will actually happen due to these thoughts’). OMNIPOTENCE Conflict Result Process Helplessness Obsessions, narcissistic features Attaching great value (‘power’) to thoughts and believing they can influence external objects

Grandiosity: Klein’s description pertains to manic defence, closely associated with narcissism. See the box below for Kleinian definition GRANDIOSITY Conflict Result Process Inferiority feelings, guilt Self-glorification, presumption and entitlement Converting inferiority to superiority feelings

Immature defences: These are mostly normal in early phases of development and do not essentially convey abnormality. Acting out: This refers to the expression of an unconscious wish or impulse through action to avoid being conscious of an accompanying affect. The unconscious fantasy is lived out impulsively in behaviour, thereby gratifying the impulse instead of prohibiting it. ACTING OUT Conflict Result Process

© SPMM Course Sexual and aggressive impulses Violence, stealing, rape, lies Non-reflective and uncontrolled wish-fulfillment

Passive aggression: Expressing aggression towards authorities indirectly through passive obstructive activities. For example to ‘defeat’ one’s boss, one may involve in procrastination, and take sick leave that affects the boss more than oneself. PASSIVE AGGRESSION Conflict Result Process Resentment, hostility, low selfesteem Procrastination, loss of followthrough Expression through inactivity

Somatisation: Converting psychological states and tension to bodily symptoms. SOMATISATION Conflict Result Process Threat or unidentified fear Bodily Complaints Converting mental tension to physical symptoms

Regression: Moving back into childish or earlier developmental phase to avoid confronting a conflict. Regression is also considered an essential concomitant of the creative process. REGRESSION Conflict Result Process Threat or humility Childish, immature behaviour Moving back to earlier developmental stages (seen during normal development too)

Somatosensory Amplification: The tendency to experience bodily sensations as unusually intense or distressing, and this is thought to underpin somatisation and the somatoform disorders. SOMATOSENSORY AMPLIFCATION Conflict Result Process Threat or fear unidentified Bodily complaints, fear of catastrophic illness Oversensitivity to innocuous bodily features