Date : Thursday, July 23, 2009
Time : 6:44 PM
Title : Defence mechanism: Reaction formation

"[a] phobia is an example of a reaction formation. The person wants what he fears. He is not afraid of the object;he is afraid of the wish for the object. The reactive fear prevents the dreaded wish from being fulfilled."
-Calvin S. Hall, A Primer of Freudian Psychology

When an individual cannot deal with the demands of desires (including sex and love) and reality, anxiety follows. Freud believed that anxiety is an unpleasant inner state that people sought to avoid. In an attempt to protect ourselves from this anxiety, people employ Reaction formation unconsciously in their daily lives. Reaction Formation involves adopting opposite feelings, impulses or behavior. Someone adopting a reaction formation defense strategy would treat a spouse or loved one in the same manner in which they’d treat a hated enemy. Another example would be that two people really fond of each other fight all the time, in order to suppress their desire of love for each other. This may also occur when there is a failure of acceptance that the other person is really important to them. In order to suppress their feelings for that person, they may resort to reaction formation and try to hate or fight with their loved ones in order to avoid the anxiety of not having them around.
(from wikipedia)

Child1: "Eh whats that?"
Child2: "Don't tell you."
Child1: *glares with hatred* "Like I really want know."

Classic example.



What appears to be might not be what it is.
Sometimes the big picture might not even be seen.

Yours so unintentionally so deceiving,
mine so conscious so selfish and childish.

Labels: Psychology, Thoughts