Defense mechanism

the question stem quite frankly, sucks.
but, that doesn't mean you can't figure it out.
here's why suppresion is not an appropriate answer:
it is a mature mechanism. the qs sucks, but the behavior of the girl does not seem to indicate a mature response. suppression would be a better answer for instance if the girl herself had cancer and decided to put her negative feelings aside to enjoy a night out (so long as she was aware of her cancer).
blocking isn't appropriate either, as that is a temporary slip-up. think of a student not remembering an answer.
for it to be repression, the idea or feeling has to have been eliminated from consciousness after having being acknowledged. nothing here shows that she acknowledged the pain of her friend dying and THEN forgot it.
that basically leaves denial, here is the key part:
denial does not allow reality to penetrate. it is asserting that some clear feature of external reality is just not true. it is used to avoid becoming aware of a painful aspect of reality.

also denial is not only for the stages of dying!!!

[YuQX]

Suppression!

Suppression is the COUSCIOUS removing of a stressful event from awareness; Denial is the automatic DISTORTION of reality to exclude material that evokes conflict.-----Kaplan Notes

Because I didn't see any distortion from that girl, she just avoid the stressful event consciously. So suppression is the right answer for her defense mechanism.

[mjl1717]

Originally Posted by YuQX

Suppression!

Suppression is the COUSCIOUS removing of a stressful event from awareness; Denial is the automatic DISTORTION of reality to exclude material that evokes conflict.-----Kaplan Notes

Because I didn't see any distortion from that girl, she just avoid the stressful event consciously. So suppression is the right answer for her defense mechanism.

Well said.

[Miklos]

Originally Posted by YuQX

Suppression!

Suppression is the COUSCIOUS removing of a stressful event from awareness; Denial is the automatic DISTORTION of reality to exclude material that evokes conflict.-----Kaplan Notes

Because I didn't see any distortion from that girl, she just avoid the stressful event consciously. So suppression is the right answer for her defense mechanism.

I looked it up in Kaplan and Saddock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, 9th Edition.

Emphasis mine.

Page 207:

Under Narcisstic defenses;

Denial: Avoiding the awareness of some painful aspect of reality by negating sensory data. Although repression defends against affects and drive derivatives, denial abolishes external reality. Denial may be used in both normal and pathological status.

Compare the above to

Page 208:

Under Mature defenses;

Suppression: Consciously or semiconsciously postponing attention to a conscious impulse or conflict. Issues may be deliberately cut off, but they are not avoided. Discomfort is acknowledged but minimized.

Amanda is 18 year old. Her friend just died from crack overdose. Everytime someone talked about her friend she would change the subject. She would not want to even look at her friend's picture.

Therefore clearly denial, even though the question stem is very poor.

[sarda]

its denial

[Auxunauxia]

So it's suppression vs. denial.

Some say depression, some say denial.

Subsequently then I'd ask if the girl realizes that her friend is dead.

If she does, and she's just diverting the issue because it makes her uncomfortable and she knows it.

Then it's suppression.

If she does it unconciously, and refuses to acknowledge that her friend is dead, then that would mean it's denial.

So if this was a multiple-choice answer, and suppression and denial were both on the test, then I'd mark both, and erase a random one (on a coin flip).

...

...

......

Yeah.

[sarab]

It Is Suppression

[stephew]

surpression.

[DeepRoller]

This is just more evidence, etiological this time, that psychiatrists suck at dealing with mental patients. THEY WON'T LET GO OF THIS OUT OF DATE BULLS**T.

Michael

[unknownunknown]

Originally Posted by DeepRoller

This is just more evidence, etiological this time, that psychiatrists suck at dealing with mental patients. THEY WON'T LET GO OF THIS OUT OF DATE BULLS**T.

Michael

If that's one of the choices, I am picking that.