Page 22 - ISABS Here and Now
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We live a life full of tension and stress. We Tensions that come from traumatic events Formally, we can define, Psychological
want something but we tell ourselves that in the outer world, for instance, having an Defense Mechanisms as an in-voluntary,
that something is not meant for us. accident, losing a job, missing out on a unconscious strategy of helping our mind
Accidents happen, we fall ill. All of these promotion, losing a near and dear one cope with stress and danger.
create tension and stress in our minds. etc. Tensions from outside events can be
broadly categorized as of two kinds: those .
If we were to closely look at where these that are caused by other people, and
tensions are coming from we would be those that are caused by unforeseen Have a heart that never hardens, and a
able to recognize two sources for these: events. Tensions caused by other people temper that never tires, and a touch that
events that take place within our minds, include their bad behavior with you; those
and those that take place in the outside by events include things like accidents and never hurts.
world. illnesses. -Charles Dickens
Tensions that have their source in our own Whether the tensions are because of 22
minds, come from the conflict between events inside our mind, or events in the
what we desire, and the dictates of our outer world, these need to be dealt with.
conscience. Our desires - what psycho- The 'organ' that deals with tensions in our
analysts call id, include wanting to be with mind is what the psychologists call 'ego'.
someone we find attractive, or beating up
someone we are angry with. Our The job of the ego is to create a
conscience - what psycho-analysts call the mechanisms of defense that guards our
super-ego - tells us that we cannot spend sanity, and ensures that we are able to
time with an attractive person because cope with the various tensions. These
that person comes from a different mechanisms of defense are what psycho-
background; and tells us that we cannot analysts call Psychological Defense
beat up someone because it is against the Mechanisms.
law.
