definition

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what is the difference between denial and repression

thanks

-- Patty Staring (staring2525@hotmail.com), September 22, 2002

Answers

A complex question, since there are various types of both repression and denial. One answer would be that repression is a higher-level defense characteristic of neurotics and "healthy" people. It involves "forgetting" and then "forgetting the forgetting." It is a process of "making the once conscious unconscious." Denial is a more primitive defense, characteristic of psychosis. It involves not allowing something into consciousness at all--it is quite a different thing from everyday "denial", which is a conscious process. It is related to "splitting" and "dissociation", which are characteristic of personality disorders, whereas repression is truly a sign of neurosis. When doing diagnosis, the "failure of repression" is a sure sign of personality disorder. I'd recommend that you consult a dictionary of psychiatry in your library for additional definition and discussion. There are also entire books devoted to summaries of the defense mechanisms/ego defenses.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), September 23, 2002.

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