Ego Defense
Definition
Chaplin
The utilisation of psychic energy arising from the id in order to protect the ego. 1
English & English
- The retraining or sublimating or symbolic alteration of id impulses in order to protect the integrity of the ego.
- Protecting the ego by effecting harmony between id and superego. 2
Freud, Anna
… one and the same ego can have at its disposal only a limited number of possible means of defense. …
At particular periods in life and according to its own specific structure, the individual ego selects now one defensive method, now another … and these in can employ both in its conflict with the instincts and in its defense against the liberation of affects.3
Discussion
Anything to do with the concept ego is almost by definition unclear and confusing, or has at least some amount of obfuscation due to overlapping conceptual boundaries. As such, the term ego-defense is almost synonymous with defense mechanism, except that whereas a defense mechanism is typically levied against some unwanted or unpleasant external stimulus, an ego-defense blocks the awareness of internal stimuli. In other words, ego-defenses block or transmogrify those impulses which our socially-conscious critical faculties (aka. superego) have deemed problematic, hurtful to others, or simply taboo.
As Anna Freud points out, the individual person will rely most heavily on one or two of their preferred ego-defenses. However, which exactly is employed depends on context, and the preference itself shifts naturally over time.
At any given time, the individual person is consistent enough in their ego-defences to be somewhat predictable in their reactions to thoughts and feelings they don’t want to deal with. This allows the therapist/analyst to empathise more deeply and frame their interventions more compassionately and productively.