What are defence mechanisms? Explain repression.
Defence mechanisms are a way to deal with anxiety by distorting the reality of which the individual is not aware, regulated by ego.
Some defense against anxiety is normal and adaptive but people who use these mechanisms to such an extent that reality is truly distorted, develop various forms of maladjustments.
The most important is repression, in which anxiety-provoking behaviours or thoughts are totally dismissed by the unconscious.When people repress a feeling or desire, they become totally unaware of that wish or desire. Thus, when a person says, “I do not know why I did that”, some repressed feeling or desire is expressing itself.