1. how do you react?

2.  Wishes, memories and unacceptable thoughts are pushed to the unconscious. (unknown to the person)  You witness a murder, black out, and cannot remember a thing later.

3.  Pushing into the unconscious  TRYING to forget something that causes you anxiety.

4.  Returning to an earlier time (usually childhood) because of overwhelming stress  A toddler begins to suck his thumb at the birth of a new baby.  Upon his 50 th birthday, a man quits his job, buys a Lamborghini and “enjoys the good life”

5.  Talking yourself into something  You weren’t invited to a party so you convince yourself it wouldn’t have been fun anyway.  You didn’t get into your first choice college so you convince yourself the college was lame anyway.

6.  Placing blame on others instead of yourself  You do poorly on a test and blame your teacher instead of yourself.

7.  Behaving in a manner opposite of your true (unacceptable) feelings.  You hate your mother so you over- compensate by being nice to her out of guilt.

8.  Placing your feelings or reaction on something unrelated. “pass the buck”  You get in trouble at work, so you go home and kick your dog.  Your teacher yells at you, so you go out and punch a locker in the hallway.

9.  Socially acceptable displacement.  Channeling energy into something healthy.  You join the football team to let your aggression out in a healthy manner.

10.  Refusing to accept reality.  If you are seriously overweight, you might deny even being the least bit too heavy.  Upon hearing of a terminal prognosis, you refuse to accept the death of a loved one.

11.  Becoming emotionally detached as a way of dealing with issues and situations that would otherwise be difficult to handle.  Doctors, nurses, etc must intellectualize so they can enjoy a life outside of their professional responsibilities.