Say the name “Freud,” and it strikes like a lightning rod, or projective measure for that matter. Whether you love him or hate him, he was an innovative pioneer from which countless theories, research, and schools of thought have been drawn. Often misunderstood or taken too literally without considering the historical context in which he wrote, some of his theories can be misinterpreted. That being said, I do not want to come across as a Freudian apologist. Like the rest of us, he was prone to his vices and stances, some of which could be considered politically incorrect in today’s world.

So, with that being said, I would like to touch upon his introduction of defense mechanisms and the concept of repetition compulsion. Freud introduced the concept of unconscious defense mechanisms such as denial, repression, projection, intellectualization, and reaction formation, to name a few. I see them in use throughout my sessions and in my personal relationships. People have an uncanny way of living in unconscious denial to the point that they do not allow themselves to see that a molestation has occurred in the family, a family member is homosexual, has a blatant eating disorder, or that the parent they idealized was quite sociopathic or interpersonally destructive. Their unconscious motivations keep them living in ongoing denial around the issues, resulting in intrapersonal and interpersonal dysfunction. However, the denial maintains one’s self-preservation in that seeing the reality of a situation could result in psychological devastation.

Another regular use of a defense mechanism relates to the use of projection. Projection allows us to displace our own unwanted feelings onto those around us. For instance, “my brother has just always been so jealous of me” may serve as a projection of one’s own jealousies toward the brother. Intellectualization, on the other hand, functions to separate cognitive thought from feeling, allowing the individual to more safely navigate through the world without dealing with vulnerable feeling states.

Repetition compulsion refers to the unconscious need to repeat early attachment disruptions in the hope of correcting the early relational problems with an abusive father, or invalidating mother, and so on and so forth. Of course, it never works out well. Patients are surprised when I connect the dots to their relationships, wondering how it is that they always seem to find someone who invalidates them, for instance.

I could go on and on about Freudian concepts, such as his developmental stages. However, that is not the point of this blog. Despite what you think of him, some of his concepts are timeless and play out on a regular basis. As a brief psychological exercise, you may want to think about what patterns you repeat or what defense mechanism you unconsciously rely on. Just some food for thought.