defence reaction

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Noun

defence reaction - (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires

defence, defence mechanism, defense mechanism, defense reaction, defense

unconscious process, process - a mental process that you are not directly aware of; "the process of denial"

psychiatry, psychological medicine, psychopathology - the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders

compensation - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that conceals your undesirable shortcomings by exaggerating desirable behaviors

conversion - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism represses emotional conflicts which are then converted into physical symptoms that have no organic basis

denial - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that denies painful thoughts

displacement - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that transfers affect or reaction from the original object to some more acceptable one

idealisation, idealization - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that splits something you are ambivalent about into two representations--one good and one bad

intellectualisation, intellectualization - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that uses reasoning to block out emotional stress and conflict

isolation - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which memory of an unacceptable act or impulse is separated from the emotion originally associated with it

projection - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your own traits and emotions are attributed to someone else

psychoanalytic process - a process that is assumed to occur in psychoanalytic theory

rationalisation, rationalization - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your true motivation is concealed by explaining your actions and feelings in a way that is not threatening

reaction formation - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously develops attitudes and behavior that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires and impulses and serve to conceal them; "his strict morality is just a reaction formation to hide his sexual drive"

regression - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which you flee from reality by assuming a more infantile state

repression - (psychiatry) the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious

References in periodicals archive ?

"He had his hand with the knife raised, so I put my arm up as a defence reaction, and he slashed the blade across my hand.

Brave officer fought off knifeman - then went back to work

A defence reaction by Trip at the Dubai Pet Show on February 3 led to the untimely death of Pluto, a toy poodle.

Trip returns home

He said the only way the injection could have contributed to her death was the minor stress it might have put on her body if she was nervous - but any number of events could have caused a similar "natural defence reaction" that her weak heart could not cope with.

NATALIE COULD HAVE LOST LIFE 'AT ANY TIME' Jab had nothing to do with tragedy, says coroner

"It was only when the body's natural defence reaction kicked in, creating an infection and forcing the foreign body to come out, that we were able to see the problem."