Alec Wells·Aug 31, 2025Living with Our Defences. Integration and Moving ForwardOver the course of this series, we have explored the major defence mechanisms first outlined by Freud and later refined by Anna Freud. We…
Alec Wells·Aug 29, 2025Humour. Lightness as a Shield and a BridgeIn the last article, I explored suppression and repression, the ways in which the mind sets aside or buries uncomfortable material. Now we…
Alec Wells·Aug 27, 2025Suppression and Repression. Choosing to Pause or Choosing Not to See?In the last article, I explored sublimation, the defence mechanism that transforms difficult impulses into creative or constructive…
Alec Wells·Aug 24, 2025Sublimation or Turning Lead into GoldIn the last article, I explored regression, the defence mechanism that draws us backwards into earlier patterns of behaviour when life…
Alec Wells·Aug 22, 2025Regression. Returning to Old PatternsIn our last article, I explored displacement, the redirection of emotions onto safer targets. Now we turn to regression, a defence…
Alec Wells·Aug 19, 2025Displacement. When Frustration Finds the Wrong TargetIn our last article, I looked at rationalisation, the stories we create to make our behaviour seem acceptable. Now we turn to displacement…
Alec Wells·Aug 17, 2025Rationalisation. The Story We Tell OurselvesIn the last article, I explored projection, the mechanism that allows us to see in others the traits we cannot accept in ourselves. Now we…
Alec Wells·Aug 16, 2025Denial. The First Wall of Defence.In the opening of this series, I looked at why defence mechanisms still matter and how they continue to shape our responses to life, even…
Alec Wells·Aug 14, 2025Standing Guard, Why Defence Mechanisms Still MatterMore than a century ago, Sigmund Freud introduced the world to the concept of defence mechanisms, the subtle, often unconscious…
