Anxiety is a natural response to stress that can be beneficial in certain circumstances. It is characterized by muscle tension and avoidance behavior in anticipation of future concerns. They are marked by excessive nervousness instead of normal emotions of apprehension, with the most common mental illnesses afflicting about one-third of all adults at some point in their lives (Muskin, 2021). People with anxiety disorders may try to avoid circumstances that exacerbate their symptoms, which impact workplace performance, personal relationships, and schoolwork. To be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, a person’s fear or anxiety must be out of proportion to the scenario or age-inappropriate or prevent them from functioning correctly. While defense mechanisms can protect individuals from anxiety, they influence their everyday lives because they can cause self-deception and deter individuals from confronting reality.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
The various anxiety disorders include panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder. Generalized anxiety disorders are characterized by persistent and excessive worry that disrupts daily activities (Mandal, 2019). The concerns and tension are non-specific and unnecessary and are often accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, restlessness, muscle tension, and sleeping problems. In addition, they often focus on everyday activities such as family health, car maintenance, chores, appointments, or job commitments.
Another kind of anxiety is panic disorder which leads individuals to believe that they have had a heart attack. Its core symptom is recurrent panic attacks constituting an overwhelming combination of psychological and physical distress (Muskin, 2021). The average age of onset for panic disorder is 20-24 years old and can occur alongside other mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression (Muskin, 2021). Panic attacks can be expected, such as a reaction to a feared object, or they can be unexpected, appearing out of nowhere.
The third kind of anxiety is the separation anxiety disorder. This disorder is characterized by extreme worry or anxiety over being separated from the person one is attached to (Mandal, 2019). The feeling is out of proportion to the person’s age and lasts for a long time, up to six months in adults and at least four weeks in children, not to mention interfering with the individual’s daily functioning (Muskin, 2021). For example, an individual with the disorder may be constantly concerned about losing the person closest to them, hesitant or unwilling to leave the house or sleep away from that person or have separation nightmares.
Last on the anxiety list is the social anxiety disorder. In social encounters, a person with a social anxiety disorder experiences substantial anxiety and discomfort about being humiliated, embarrassed, looked down on, or rejected (Muskin, 2021). As a result, individuals with this illness will strive to avoid or endure the circumstance with tremendous pressure (Mandal, 2019). Examples include extreme fear of meeting new people, drinking and eating in public, or public speaking. The fear causes problems with daily functioning and lasts a minimum of six months.
Anxiety Defense Mechanisms
It is believed that defense mechanisms prevent unpleasant thoughts and impulses from entering the conscious mind. Defense mechanisms are unconscious psychological responses that protect people from self-esteem threats, anxiety, and things they do not want to deal with or think about (Cherry, 2021). Therefore, they are believed to protect the mind from feelings and thoughts that are too tough for the conscious mind to handle. The common defense mechanisms include repression, projection, denial, regression, displacement, sublimation, repression, suppression, intellectualization, rationalization, and reaction formation.
Individuals constantly use denial and displacement approaches as their defense mechanisms. First, displacement is the act of venting our feelings, frustrations, and impulses to less threatening individuals or objects (Cherry, 2021). An example is displaced aggression, where one avoids arguing with their employer and directs their rage onto pets, spouses, or children. The second defense mechanism is denial which is the blatant refusal to recognize something has happened (Cherry, 2021). It protects the ego from things that an individual cannot cope with and is an outright rejection of the existence of reality; a well-known example is addiction.
Fourth on the list of protective mechanisms against anxiety is repression and suppression. Repression inhibits information from entering the conscious mind despite the memories impacting our behavior (Cherry, 2021). An example is struggling to develop relationships due to maltreatment as a youngster. Suppression involves consciously pushing unwelcome information out of one’s mind. One can use sublimation to carry out undesirable impulses by transforming them into more acceptable activities (Cherry, 2021). For instance, one becomes a boxer to express irritation from suffering tremendous rage.
Furthermore, individuals with anxiety use projection and intellectualization as their defense mechanisms. Projection involves attributing one’s undesired features or sentiments to other individuals (Cherry, 2021). For instance, believing someone dislikes you for intensely disliking them. Rationalization involves logically explaining an unwanted feeling or behavior to escape the underlying reasons for the behavior (Cherry, 2021). An instance is attributing a poor exam score to the instructor instead of a lack of preparation.
There are several types of anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorders, that affect the functioning of individuals. However, one employs defense mechanisms to protect themselves from anxiety. Defense mechanisms can be both beneficial and detrimental. They can be helpful in terms of protecting your ego from stress and offering a healthy outlet. However, these defense systems may prevent you from confronting reality and acting as a self-deception type in other cases. Therefore, should overusing specific defense mechanisms negatively impact one’s life, one should consider consulting a psychologist, doctor, or other mental health professional for further assistance and advice.
References
Cherry, K. (2021). Common defense mechanisms people use to cope with anxiety. Verywell Mind.
Mandal, A. (2019). What is anxiety? News-Medical.net.
Muskin, P. R. (2021) What are anxiety disorders? Psychiatry.org.