Open AccessDefense mechanism responses to COVID-19
Author(s) -
Nouf Altwaijri,
Turki Abualait,
Mohammed Aljumaan,
Raidah Albaradie,
Zahid Arain,
Shahid Bashir
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
peerj
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.927
H-Index - 70
ISSN - 2167-8359
DOI - 10.7717/peerj.12811
Subject(s) - mechanism (biology) , covid-19 , psychological distress , psychology , pandemic , schema (genetic algorithms) , mental health , psychotherapist , computer science , medicine , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease , epistemology , philosophy , pathology , machine learning
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a wide range of negative physical and mental impacts. This review begins with a theoretical explanation of the psychological defense mechanisms used to deal with the pandemic. It then discusses different categories of defense mechanisms and their roles in managing the impacts of psychological distress. The aim of this review is to highlight the various psychological defense mechanisms individuals use to deal with the pandemic and to discuss how adjustment mechanisms can protect individuals from internal and external threats by shielding the integrity of the ego (the mind) and helping individuals maintain their self-schema.