A defense mechanism is something which we use as a way to turn away from situations or thoughts we don't want to deal with, such as choosing to "forget" your responsibilities in order to avoid doing a project you dread or being in denial of some kind of truth. It derived from psychoanalytic therapy but it strived as use into the daily lives of people. It is developed by the ego in order to protect against anxiety. Anxiety is classified into three major parts:
Denial of truth is what we also see in Bates Motel as when Dylan diffuses and denies the idea of his uncle Caleb being his real father and chooses to believe the lies Caleb said about his mother's past.
Norman also undergoes some denial pertaining to Miss. Watson's death and his blackouts. He receives several blurry flashbacks about the night of her death but he chooses to ignore them because he truly believes he had nothing to do with her death. Once he actually retrieves a full flashback about what really happened that night he is able to face the actions he committed.
- Neurotic Anxiety: Anxiety which is driven by fear of punishment due to the expression of the ID's desires.
- Reality Anxiety: The most common form of anxiety, which derives from fears of reality such as being afraid of a dog biting you, or getting into an accident, etc.
- Moral Anxiety: Anxiety deriving from the fear of breaking any moral or societal codes.
Denial of truth is what we also see in Bates Motel as when Dylan diffuses and denies the idea of his uncle Caleb being his real father and chooses to believe the lies Caleb said about his mother's past.
Norman also undergoes some denial pertaining to Miss. Watson's death and his blackouts. He receives several blurry flashbacks about the night of her death but he chooses to ignore them because he truly believes he had nothing to do with her death. Once he actually retrieves a full flashback about what really happened that night he is able to face the actions he committed.