Ineffective Ways of Handling Stress> Defence Mechanisms of the Ego - Projection

• Projection is an ego defence mechanism in which a person “throws out” or attributes their own unacceptable thoughts and feelings to others.
• A common pattern of projection is that “I hate him” becomes “He hates me,” so the inner feeling is seen as coming from outside.

According to Coleman (1981), "Projections probably develop from our own early realisation that putting the blame on others for our own failures, unethical thoughts, and misdeeds helps us to avoid social approval and punishment."

• The ego feels anxiety when it is caught between the id’s desires and the superego’s moral rules.
• To reduce this inner anxiety, the ego changes it into outer anxiety by seeing the cause of distress as other people or the external world.

• Projection occurs when the ego can no longer keep an unacceptable tendency repressed and can no longer deny its existence.
• At this stage, the ego attributes to other people or situations the very traits or impulses that actually belong to the person.

• Projection can reduce stress in the short term by lowering the tension caused by unacceptable thoughts and desires.
• If projection is used too often, it becomes an unhealthy way of coping because it does not solve the real inner conflict.

• A person who has hostile feelings towards someone may say, “He hates me,” instead of accepting “I hate him.”
• A person who has lost interest in someone may say, “He is losing interest in me,” to avoid feeling guilty about their own loss of interest.

• Projection is a defence mechanism where a person attributes their own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to others.
• It helps the ego reduce anxiety by shifting inner conflict to the outside world.
• Projection happens when the ego can no longer repress or deny unwanted impulses.
• It may temporarily reduce stress, but it avoids dealing with the real inner conflict.
• Examples include blaming others for one’s own feelings, like saying “He hates me” instead of “I hate him.”