In Defense of Defensiveness (Paperback)

Kenneth L. Fischer Phd

ISBN 10: 1539622592 / ISBN 13: 9781539622598

Published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016

About this Item

Paperback. Freud said our defenses are unconscious. I say only Repression may be considered unconscious - Example: Repressed memories and repressed impulses. All the other defenses we have the capability of bringing to our awareness. I substitute for "defense mechanisms" my more colloquial term - "Defensiveness." To help us identify the type of defensiveness we may be employing - I describe each in a way that makes it easier to relate to their relevancy for us. Defensiveness is the perceptual tool we use to reduce our anxiety and preserve our Self Concept such as it is. In short, defensiveness' job is to distort our perception of ourselves in order to reduce the anxiety of seeing ourselves as we really are. Lowering our defenses is an important first step in mitigating our perceptual tendency to distort what we see. Getting into the process of lowering our defenses will enable us to see what of ourselves needs changing. Trusting our perceptions after lowering our defenses will lead us to present ourselves more realistically through the behavioral changes we make. Living with our defenses is an admission that it would not be possible to live without them. Defensiveness will always be our fall-back option to rely upon to take some of the pressure off- But we will be in control of it rather than it in control of us. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781539622598

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Defense of Defensiveness (Paperback)
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1539622592
• ISBN 13: 9781539622598
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Freud said our defenses are unconscious. I say only Repression may be considered unconscious - Example: Repressed memories and repressed impulses. All the other defenses we have the capability of bringing to our awareness. I substitute for "defense mechanisms" my more colloquial term - "Defensiveness". To help us identify the type of defensiveness we may be employing - I describe each in a way that makes it easier to relate to their relevancy for us. Defensiveness is the perceptual tool we use to reduce our anxiety and preserve our Self Concept such as it is. In short, defensiveness’ job is to distort our perception of ourselves in order to reduce the anxiety of seeing ourselves as we really are. Lowering our defenses is an important first step in mitigating our perceptual tendency to distort what we see. Getting into the process of lowering our defenses will enable us to see what of ourselves needs changing. Trusting our perceptions after lowering our defenses will lead us to present ourselves more realistically through the behavioral changes we make. Living with our defenses is an admission that it would not be possible to live without them. Defensiveness will always be our fall-back option to rely upon to take some of the pressure off- But we will be in control of it rather than it in control of us.