We all experience unwanted impulses or urges from time to time.
How we deal with those feelings can influence whether we engage in acceptable orsocially unacceptable behaviors.
How Does Sublimation Work?
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Sublimation can transform negative impulses into behaviors that are not only less damaging but sometimes productive in nature.
For example, consider what might happen if you are overcome withanger.
You might find yourself with damaged relationships, for example, or earn the reputation of being a hothead.
Sublimation is one way that the ego reduces the anxiety that can be created by unacceptable urges or feelings.
It works by channeling negative and unacceptable impulses into behaviors that are positive and socially acceptable.
Freud considered sublimation a sign ofmaturitythat allows people to behave in civilized and acceptable ways.
Examples of Sublimation
Participation in sports and athletic competitions can sometimes be examples of sublimation in action.
In another example, imagine that you get into an argument with your next door neighbor.
Your feelings of anger might create an urge to physically strike them.
Because this action is inappropriate, you might deal with your feelings more appropriately by going for a jog.
A 2013 study involved actual subjects.
In it, researchers looked at whether Protestants were more likely to sublimate taboo feelings into creative endeavors.
The researchers suggested that this study represented “possibly the firstexperimental evidencefor sublimation.
“They further proposed that their findings indicate a cultural psychological approach to our defense mechanisms.
To answer this question, some have compared it with other defense mechanisms to see how it stacks up.
Others stress that sublimation is a critical part ofart therapy.
The second is that art is created which symbolizes the sublimation that exists.
Thus, thisdefense mechanismcan actually end up having a positive effect on your health and wellness.
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