mental health

Psychological splitting, also known as black and white thinking, is a defense mechanism used by individuals to cope with their emotional conflicts and to manage their sense of self. It involves dividing the world and people into two distinct categories of good and bad, with little to no room for nuance or complexity. Splitting can be seen as a way to simplify a complex reality, but it can lead to distorted perceptions and negative outcomes in personal relationships and social interactions.

Splitting occurs when a person experiences a strong internal conflict, such as anxiety, guilt, shame, or anger, and attempts to resolve the cognitive dissonance by simplifying their perception of reality. This can involve idealizing certain individuals or situations as “all good” and devaluing or demonizing others as “all bad”. For example, a person who is experiencing difficulty in a romantic relationship may idealize their partner as perfect and loving one day, but then see them as cruel and hurtful the next. This can result in an unstable sense of self and difficulty with emotional regulation.

The roots of splitting can be traced back to childhood experiences and relationships. Children who have experienced inconsistent parenting or have had difficult relationships with their caregivers may learn to split in order to cope with their emotions. For example, a child who experiences frequent punishment or criticism may learn to see themselves as “all bad” while seeing their parent as “all good”. This helps them to preserve a positive view of their parent while avoiding feelings of guilt, anger or shame.

Negative outcomes of splitting

Splitting can lead to several negative outcomes, including impaired social relationships, increased stress, and difficulty with decision-making. In interpersonal relationships, splitting can cause individuals to view others in rigid and unrealistic ways, leading to conflicts and misunderstandings. For example, a person who sees themselves as “all good” may have difficulty acknowledging their own flaws and taking responsibility for their actions, leading to strained relationships. Similarly, a person who sees others as “all bad” may struggle to trust or form positive relationships.

Splitting can also cause distress and anxiety, as individuals may feel overwhelmed by their emotions and struggle to make sense of their experiences. This can result in negative self-talk, where individuals may engage in self-blame or self-criticism, leading to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. Additionally, splitting can interfere with decision-making, as individuals may struggle to see the complexity of situations and make well-informed choices.

Treatment for splitting involves helping individuals to develop a higher resolution picture and balanced view of themselves and others. This can involve exploring past experiences and relationships to identify the roots of the splitting pattern and learning new coping strategies for managing emotions. Psychotherapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), can be effective in helping individuals to identify and challenge their negative thought patterns and develop more adaptive coping skills. Mindfulness practices and self-compassion can also help individuals to regulate their emotions and increase their sense of self-awareness.

In conclusion, psychological splitting is a defense mechanism used by individuals to cope with emotional conflicts and manage their sense of self. It involves dividing the world and people into two distinct categories of good and bad, and can result in distorted perceptions and negative outcomes in personal relationships and social interactions. Treatment for splitting involves exploring past experiences, developing coping strategies, and learning to view oneself and others in a more balanced and nuanced way. With proper treatment and support, individuals can develop more adaptive coping skills and improve their emotional well-being.

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Defense mechanisms are a set of unconscious psychological processes that help individuals cope with stressful or anxiety-provoking situations. A defense mechanism protects the individual’s mental well-being by reducing or avoiding feelings of anxiety, guilt, or other forms of psychological distress. Defense mechanisms operate on an unconscious level, meaning that the individual is not aware of using them to cope.

Defense mechanisms can be adaptive or maladaptive, depending on the situation and the individual’s coping strategies. Adaptive defense mechanisms allow individuals to manage stress and anxiety in a healthy way, while maladaptive defense mechanisms can lead to problems with emotional regulation and social functioning.

Defense mechanism examples

Some commonly familiar examples of defense mechanisms in everyday life that can be positive (i.e. adaptive) include:

  1. Humor: Using humor to diffuse a stressful situation can be a healthy way to cope, as it can help individuals see the situation in a more positive light.
  2. Sublimation: Channeling negative emotions into constructive or creative outlets, such as art or sports, can be a beneficial way to cope with stress.
  3. Altruism: Helping others can be an adaptive defense mechanism, as it can give individuals a sense of purpose and reduce their own feelings of anxiety as well as those of others they help.
  4. Suppression: Deliberately putting aside troubling emotions or thoughts for a period of time can be a healthy way to cope with stressful situations.

In contrast, maladaptive defense mechanisms are not generally mentally healthy, and can lead to serious psychological problems, especially when overused. Some key examples of maladaptive defense mechanisms include:

  1. Denial: Refusing to acknowledge a problem or a difficult situation can prevent individuals from taking appropriate action to address the issue. Denying the existence of a problem does nothing to change the reality of its existence.
  2. Projection: Blaming others for one’s own negative feelings or behaviors can prevent individuals from taking responsibility for their own actions. Projection also creates or exacerbates conflict with others socially, which can introduce new problems to the existing difficulties of managing one’s negative emotions.
  3. Repression: Pushing negative thoughts or memories into the unconscious can lead to feelings of anxiety or depression, as individuals are unable to process and address their feelings. Over time, repression can create enormous psychological distance between oneself and one’s own emotions, which can act as an existential kind of alienation from oneself.
  4. Regression: Reverting to childlike behavior or emotional states can prevent individuals from effectively coping with stressful situations. We’ve all wanted to run and hide in the face of life’s challenges from time to time — but when people choose to actually do so, it usually exacerbates and compounds the existing problems they are unable or unwilling to face.

Defense mechanism vs. Coping strategies

One thing to note is that defense mechanisms are not the same as coping strategies. Coping strategies are conscious, intentional efforts to manage stress and anxiety, while defense mechanisms operate on an unconscious level. While some coping strategies may overlap with adaptive defense mechanisms, the two concepts are distinct.

Defense mechanisms are often used to protect the individual’s self-esteem and sense of well-being. They can be useful in certain situations, such as during times of acute stress or trauma. However, over-reliance on defense mechanisms can lead to problems with managing emotions and functioning in social settings. People who consistently use unhealthy defense mechanisms may benefit from therapy or other forms of treatment to help them develop healthier coping strategies.

Therapists and mental health professionals may use techniques such as psychoanalysis or cognitive-behavioral therapy to help individuals identify and address their defense mechanisms. By becoming more aware of these unconscious processes, individuals can develop healthier coping strategies and improve their ability to manage emotions and participate fully in social life.

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Research has shown that emotional repression causes authoritarianism (Altemeyer, Adorno, Stenner et al). Fundamentalist religious groups favor the most repression, culturally — ergo, fundamentalist groups are at the highest risk for nurturing authoritarian traits.

Emotional repression is the keystone of fundamentalist parenting. The strict application of “Biblical law” as cherry-picked by extremists is inherently contradictory & hypocritical, stunting emotional and psychological growth through corporal punishment and capricious applications of anger for sometimes opaque reasons.

When trusted caregivers apply physical violence to a developing mind, seeds of deep distrust and paranoia are planted. Children learn to “obey” by repressing negative parts of themselves so deeply they fall out of conscious awareness altogether & rule the personality “from below.”

The abused child learns “splitting” as a psychological defense mechanism, which later in adulthood is considered a “superpower” — they present a saccharine but False Self in their outer aspect to the tribe, and sequester negative id impulses deep down into an “inner sociopath.”

Repression creates divided minds

Never being given the required emotional support to transcend the paradoxical human project of reconciling the positive & negative aspects inherent in all people, they become “arrested” at a moment of obsession with punishment as the only solution to every problem. They see the world in very black and white terms — the classic “you’re either with us or against us” zero-sum worldview in which everybody who doesn’t agree with you must be delegitimized and eradicated completely.

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