Emotional defences

What 1 believe to be Important for any event of this kind was that one should not attempt any kind of artificial performance so that you come over as your natural self. It is also vital to handle the situation in a way that is not destructive. AVhilst, in order to get through, emotional defences may have to be breached to a degree, this does not give you a licence to go to the point of breaking down a person s self-control. You need to observe some basic rules for ensuring the psychological safety of those involved. 

But I never, and I mean never, dream of sitting at my desk, writing a paper, or reading a review critical of my grant application, even though I have those candidate dream stimuli all the time. Why don t they enter into my dreams They are certainly emotionally salient. They concern survival, attack, defence, and all the rest. In other words, a scientific dream theory has to explain why a whole class of emotionally salient experiences cannot be a dream stimulus. Instead of these themes, I dream of related problems, which rarely, if ever, happen. 

Persistent and severe cold sores may be exacerbated by a range of underlying issues, such as fatigue, emotional or stress-related problems, a cold (or other viruses which may weaken the body s defences), and menstrual periods (which is not directly applicable to this patient). Particular weather conditions, such as strong sunlight (the use of sun-block may be an issue) or wind, may make the cold sore worse. Triggers are different for each person, and any underlying issues should be referred to the patient s doctor. 

These are the unconscious strategies we all sometimes use to protect ourselves against anxiety, low self-esteem or life s harsh realities. We re motivated to minimise emotional discomfort, and these strategies tend to distort or deny reality in some way, making it easier to cope when we d otherwise feel overwhelmed or threatened. We usually learn a range of defence mechanisms in childhood or adolescence, then outgrow the ones which aren t useful anymore. However, we can get stuck, and use them excessively or inappropriately, causing problems in adult life. Common defences are shown in Table 12.S. 

Near accidents are less emotionally charged and are less likely to trigger organisational defences against openness and needs of change. 

The Tripod Delta performance-measurement system also includes a scale for measurement of top-management commitment. Its scale ranges from pathological to generative proactive, see Section 6.5. This indicator has some immediately attractive aspects. The emotions and defence mechanisms that will follow from the introduction of such an indicator for feedback control purposes must, however, be carefully considered. 

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