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American Journal of Psychoanalysis Mar 2016In our view helplessness is a primal, often intolerable feeling. It underlies and intensifies other feelings that are also hard to bear. Both analyst and patients face... (Review)
Review
In our view helplessness is a primal, often intolerable feeling. It underlies and intensifies other feelings that are also hard to bear. Both analyst and patients face helplessness, and both resort to defenses, often intensely, in order to avoid it. The intensity of this battle can merit calling it a war. The analyst's war is conducted using distancing, anger, blaming and disparaging as well as by intellectualizing the patient's struggles. Patients then find themselves abandoned and helplessly alone. We analysts, of course, want not to fall into the trap of war, and we try to free ourselves from waging it. A major way we accomplish this is through continuously working, often with the help of analysis and self-analysis, to increase our capacity to maintain our emotional stability in the face of these intensities. We learn to find new forms of awareness, beyond words and ideas. It requires a new understanding of what is threatening to us, which fosters a deeper capacity to empathize with the patient. This helps us to find the psychic, physical and emotional space within ourselves in which to hold our helplessness and other profound affective experiences. In this way we become an increasingly steady resource for our patients as well as for ourselves.
Topics: Countertransference; Defense Mechanisms; Emotions; Helplessness, Learned; Humans; Professional-Patient Relations; Psychoanalysis
PubMed: 26912242
DOI: 10.1057/ajp.2015.56 -
Microbiology Spectrum Apr 2016Invading pathogens are exposed to a multitude of harmful conditions imposed by the host gastrointestinal tract and immune system. Bacterial defenses against these... (Review)
Review
Invading pathogens are exposed to a multitude of harmful conditions imposed by the host gastrointestinal tract and immune system. Bacterial defenses against these physical and chemical stresses are pivotal for successful host colonization and pathogenesis. Enteric pathogens, which are encountered due to the ingestion of or contact with contaminated foods or materials, are highly successful at surviving harsh conditions to colonize and cause the onset of host illness and disease. Pathogens such as Campylobacter, Helicobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, and virulent strains of Escherichia have evolved elaborate defense mechanisms to adapt to the diverse range of stresses present along the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, these pathogens contain a multitude of defenses to help survive and escape from immune cells such as neutrophils and macrophages. This chapter focuses on characterized bacterial defenses against pH, osmotic, oxidative, and nitrosative stresses with emphasis on both the direct and indirect mechanisms that contribute to the survival of each respective stress response.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Bacteria; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Defense Mechanisms; Gastrointestinal Tract; Humans; Microbial Viability; Stress, Physiological; Virulence
PubMed: 27227312
DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.VMBF-0007-2015 -
Current Biology : CB Nov 2023The aerial surfaces of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and common ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) are covered with a layer of epidermal bladder cells (EBCs), which...
The aerial surfaces of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and common ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) are covered with a layer of epidermal bladder cells (EBCs), which are modified non-glandular trichomes previously considered to be key to the extreme salt and drought tolerance of these plants. Here, however, we find that EBCs of these plants play only minor roles, if any, in abiotic stress tolerance and in fact are detrimental under conditions of water deficit. We report that EBCs instead function as deterrents to a broad range of generalist arthropod herbivores, through their combined function of forming both a chemical and a physical barrier, and they also serve a protective function against a phytopathogen. Our study overturns current models that link EBCs to salt and drought tolerance and assigns new functions to these structures that might provide novel possibilities for protecting crops from arthropod pests.
Topics: Herbivory; Urinary Bladder; Sodium Chloride; Plants; Defense Mechanisms
PubMed: 37852262
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.063 -
Translational Psychiatry Jan 2023Despite the clinical relevance of defense mechanisms, there are no published studies in nationally representative samples of their prevalence, correlates, and...
Despite the clinical relevance of defense mechanisms, there are no published studies in nationally representative samples of their prevalence, correlates, and association with psychosocial functioning. We sought to estimate the prevalence and correlates of 12 defense mechanisms in the general adult population by approximating from items used to assess personality traits in the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a representative sample of US adults (N = 36,653). We examined the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of 3 types of defenses mechanisms (pathological, immature, and neurotic). For each defense mechanism, we used the Short-Form 12 to compare psychosocial functioning among 3 groups: those who (1) endorsed the mechanism with self-recognized impairment, (2) endorsed the mechanism without self-recognized impairment, and (3) did not endorse the defense mechanism. The prevalence of defense mechanisms ranged from 13.2% (splitting) to 44.5% (obsessive/controlling behavior). Pathological defenses were more strongly associated with immature defenses (OR = 5.4, 95% CI = 5.2-5.6) than with neurotic defenses (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.9-2.0), whereas the association between immature and neurotic defenses had an intermediate value between the other two (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 2.1-2.2). Pathological and immature defenses were associated with younger age, having been never married, lower educational attainment, and lower income. After adjusting the crude results for age and sex, individuals who did not endorse a given defense generally had higher scores on the mental health component of the SF-12 than those who endorsed the defense without self-recognized impairment who, in turn, had on average higher scores than those with self-recognized impairment. These results suggest that neurotic, immature, and pathological defense mechanisms are prevalent in the general population and associated with psychosocial impairment. Recognizing defense mechanisms may be important in clinical practice regardless of treatment modality.
Topics: Humans; Adult; Defense Mechanisms; Prevalence; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 36690611
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02303-3 -
Natural Product Reports Jul 2015Many organisms team up with microbes for defense against predators, parasites, parasitoids, or pathogens. Here we review the described protective symbioses between... (Review)
Review
Many organisms team up with microbes for defense against predators, parasites, parasitoids, or pathogens. Here we review the described protective symbioses between animals (including marine invertebrates, nematodes, insects, and vertebrates) and bacteria, fungi, and dinoflagellates. We focus on associations where the microbial natural products mediating the protective activity have been elucidated or at least strong evidence for the role of symbiotic microbes in defense is available. In addition to providing an overview of the known defensive animal-microbe symbioses, we aim to derive general patterns on the chemistry, ecology, and evolution of such associations.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Biological Evolution; Defense Mechanisms; Ecology; Invertebrates; Molecular Structure; Symbiosis; Vertebrates
PubMed: 25891201
DOI: 10.1039/c5np00010f -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews May 2017Specific defensive behaviors of rodents are shaped by features of the eliciting threat stimuli and situation. Threat scenarios confirmed these relationships in people,... (Review)
Review
Specific defensive behaviors of rodents are shaped by features of the eliciting threat stimuli and situation. Threat scenarios confirmed these relationships in people, with results substantially replicated in 4 additional scenario studies. Subsequent human studies involve computer games measuring fear as flight from threat stimuli and anxiety as alternation between two threats. Stabilometric studies have shown reduction in sway (freezing) to inescapable (e.g. with gun pointed at subject) threatening photographs; but enhanced lateral sway (flight attempts) to escapable threats; (gun pointed away from subject). Relationships between threat ambiguity, risk assessment, and anxiety have been validated by identification of videos of facial expressions to ambiguous threats, as anxiety; and systematic biases toward threat stimuli by anxious individuals. Enhanced rumination, interpretable as unsuccessful risk assessment, is a dynamic component of both anxiety and depression, particularly in women. While there is less experimental work on defensive threat/attack, a transdiagnostic "Fear of Harm" phenotype of aggression associated with fear suggests that this is a component of pathological as well as normal human defensive behavior.
Topics: Aggression; Animals; Anxiety; Defense Mechanisms; Facial Expression; Fear; Humans; Rodentia; Translational Research, Biomedical
PubMed: 28434585
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.11.001 -
Journal of Psychosomatic Research Dec 2018The importance of defense mechanisms in cancer progression and adaptation have been largely observed. However, few studies referred to the generally accepted...
The importance of defense mechanisms in cancer progression and adaptation have been largely observed. However, few studies referred to the generally accepted hierarchical organization of defenses and used validated measurements for defensive assessment. In this systematic review, we investigated the whole hierarchy of defense mechanisms and how they associate with various psychological aspects in cancer patients. A literature search was conducted using electronic databases. Among 1570 records published from 1990 to date, only 15 articles met inclusion criteria. Findings related to cancer patients' defensive functioning and its relations with other physical and psychological variables were extracted. A general consistency emerges on the role of defense mechanisms in cancer progression and recovery. Following the hierarchical organization of defenses, higher physical and emotional functioning emerged as being associated with High-adaptive defenses, while Mental Inhibition defenses, in particular repression, promote psychosomatic symptoms, passive decisional preferences and worse physical and emotional health. Disavowal defenses foster lower anxiety and higher emotional functioning by denying anxiety about death. Image distortion defenses, including both Minor and Major image-distorting defenses, were more frequent in cancer patients than in control groups and finally, Action defenses predicted sleep disturbance and lower survival probability. The early detection of maladaptive defensive functioning may foster appropriate psychotherapeutic intervention and prevent worsening of the illness. Further investigations are required to replicate these findings and highlight associations between defense mechanisms and various aspects of mental functioning in cancer patients.
Topics: Adult; Defense Mechanisms; Female; Humans; Male; Neoplasms
PubMed: 30470322
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.10.016 -
The Journal of Nervous and Mental... Oct 2019Although the psychological denial model argues that poor insight is a result of defense mechanisms, the direct relationship between the two remains unclear. This study...
Although the psychological denial model argues that poor insight is a result of defense mechanisms, the direct relationship between the two remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the relationship between insight into illness and defense mechanisms while considering cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. A total of 38 patients with schizophrenia were evaluated for level of insight (Schedule for the Assessment of Insight), defense mechanisms (Defense Style Questionnaire), neurocognitive function (Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia), and psychotic symptoms (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale). Regarding level of insight, partial correlation analysis controlling neurocognitive and psychotic variables showed that "recognition of illness" was positively correlated with immature defense styles and negatively correlated with mature defense styles. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that "recognition of illness" was significantly predicted by immature defense styles. Our findings suggest that patients who tend to use immature defense styles are more likely to accept their own mental illness.
Topics: Adult; Defense Mechanisms; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology
PubMed: 31503176
DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001038 -
ELife Aug 2022Bacteria use diverse immunity mechanisms to defend themselves against their viral predators, bacteriophages. In turn, phages can acquire counter-defense systems, but it...
Bacteria use diverse immunity mechanisms to defend themselves against their viral predators, bacteriophages. In turn, phages can acquire counter-defense systems, but it remains unclear how such mechanisms arise and what factors constrain viral evolution. Here, we experimentally evolved T4 phage to overcome a phage-defensive toxin-antitoxin system, , in . Through recombination, T4 rapidly acquires segmental amplifications of a previously uncharacterized gene, now named , encoding an inhibitor of the toxin, ToxN. These amplifications subsequently drive large deletions elsewhere in T4's genome to maintain a genome size compatible with capsid packaging. The deleted regions include accessory genes that help T4 overcome defense systems in alternative hosts. Thus, our results reveal a trade-off in viral evolution; the emergence of one counter-defense mechanism can lead to loss of other such mechanisms, thereby constraining host range. We propose that the accessory genomes of viruses reflect the integrated evolutionary history of the hosts they infected.
Topics: Bacteriophage T4; Bacteriophages; Defense Mechanisms; Escherichia coli; Host Specificity; Toxin-Antitoxin Systems
PubMed: 35924892
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.79549 -
American Journal of Psychoanalysis Sep 2017Many of the revolutionary principles introduced by Ferenczi in his clinical practice have now been widely accepted especially in the field of trauma and trauma therapy....
Many of the revolutionary principles introduced by Ferenczi in his clinical practice have now been widely accepted especially in the field of trauma and trauma therapy. Examples of these innovative views include his emphasis on empathy as opposed to technical neutrality and his stress on the real conditions of child caring and family environmental deficits and on the consequences of interpersonal violence and abuse that lead to "identification with the aggressor" by the victim thereby resulting in the internalization of both aggressiveness and guilt (the split guilt of the abuser). The resulting "fragmentation" of the personality, which is now considered dissociation (instead of Freud's "repression"), is at the root of several severe disorders, characterized by distortion of reality, loss of touch with one's body and loss of trust in the other. Therefore "abreaction is not enough". A new, positive relational experience must be re-inscribed at the level of implicit memory.
Topics: Aggression; Child; Child Abuse; Defense Mechanisms; Guilt; Humans; Psychoanalysis; Psychoanalytic Theory; Psychoanalytic Therapy
PubMed: 28751659
DOI: 10.1057/s11231-017-9104-7