Then I realized that I have done the same thing to other people, and I just project my faults onto them. I used to strongly dislike one kid in class because he was really shy and never spoke up, even though he was smart. I used to get frustrated with him and wanted to tell him to be more assertive. Then when I reflected on this kid one day, I realized that when I was in elementary school I was also shy. I still have the tendency to be shy but have worked on it, so projection is a defense mechanism. My projecting my shyness onto other people, I pretend that my own insecurities no longer exist. Now that I have become more self-confident, I end up projecting those same insecurities onto other people.
My ego also uses projection as a defense mechanism in more general ways. For instance when I'm feeling tired, the whole world seems boring to me, when I'm depressed, I only see sad things, and when I'm feeling...
These are only a few examples of how my ego uses projection as a defense mechanism.
Reaction formation is an interesting defense mechanism. I have used reaction formation several times in relationships. Once, I had a strong crush on a girl and she played hard to get. After she rejected me, I started to dislike her strongly and suddenly she became an annoyance to me. These negative feelings were reactions formed as defense mechanisms to my unrequited love. My ego might also use reaction formation to protect itself from feeling embarrassed. For example, I excelled in math when I was in middle school but my good friends did not. I used to pretend I hated math in order to fit in better with them. Finally, sublimation can be one of the more constructive defense mechanisms. I have sublimated anger and aggression by channeling those feelings into sports.
