Ego defense mechanisms are automatic, unconscious mental processes used by the mind to reduce stress, anxiety, or internal conflict. They help protect a person’s self-image and reduce emotional pain.
Common examples include:
- Denial: Refusing to accept reality
- Repression: Hiding painful memories
- Projection: Attributing your feelings to others
- Displacement: Shifting emotions to a safer target
These mechanisms are part of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and are used by everyone, often without realizing.