Final answer:
Repression is a defense mechanism where the unconscious mind blocks out anxiety-causing memories from consciousness, protecting the ego from overwhelming anxiety. Freud believed that while such mechanisms are protective, overuse can lead to problems like unhappiness and alienation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Repression is a major psychoanalytic defense mechanism described by Sigmund Freud. This process involves the unconscious blocking of anxiety-causing memories from conscious awareness. Repression serves as a way for the ego to protect itself from being overwhelmed by anxiety. An example of repression could involve a person who has experienced a traumatic event and is unable to remember the event itself; the memory is repressed and kept out of conscious thought.
Freud suggested that the submerged thoughts and feelings in the unconscious are significant, as they trigger responses, verbal slips, and dreams, which are symptomatic of their presence. He posited that defense mechanisms are seen as protective measures to reduce anxiety, but an overreliance on them can be problematic, leading to unhappiness and alienation later in life.
Defense mechanisms like reaction formation, regression, projection, rationalization, displacement, and sublimation are different ways in which individuals cope with internal conflicts and attempt to reduce anxiety. These mechanisms, according to Freud, are unconscious strategies that distort reality to protect the ego.