What is suppression as a defense mechanism?

Suppression as a defense mechanism involves the conscious act of hiding certain feelings or thoughts and not acknowledging them. This means that an individual is aware of their feelings but chooses to deliberately push them down or keep them out of awareness. The intention behind suppression can be to manage anxiety or discomfort associated with those feelings, often to cope with a given situation in a more manageable way.

For instance, a person might suppress feelings of anger towards a colleague to maintain a professional demeanor at work, thereby allowing them to function without emotional disruption. This mechanism is distinct from outright rejection of feelings, which implies a complete denial of their existence, or transferring thoughts onto others, which involves projecting one's own feelings onto someone else. Обfuscating feelings, such as changing them to the opposite, denotes a different defense mechanism altogether.

Understanding suppression is critical in psychological contexts, as it can have both adaptive and maladaptive consequences; while it can aid in immediate coping strategies, it might also lead to unresolved emotional issues if practiced long-term.