Reactive training is a defense mechanism, this occurs when someone experiences an instinctive or unconscious desire, which they consciously reject, leading them to develop an impulse opposite to the one they reject.
An example can help us understand better. Suppose a woman disagrees with her mother, who is very dominant, this rejection leads her to hate the way the mother tries to intervene and limit her life, she does not want to feel that hatred: deep down she believes she is a bad person to feed this feeling against her mother. Then a reactive training behavior develops: do you leave your life?
- “Reactive training is a complex defense mechanism where by which unacceptable feelings and impulses are modified to make them acceptable.
- “Isaacson Robert.
Obviously, this mechanism of reactive formation occurs in the unconscious, the person does not realize that he has developed it, simply, as in our example, feels a strong need to act in a certain way, what this process shows is the exaggeration of the statements.
One of the most typical cases of reactive training is the opposite of our first example, this happens when a mother or father experiences resentments or hidden feelings of rejection on the part of their children, all social mandates ensure that you must love them unconditionally. That’s why hostility toward children generates unconscious feelings of guilt.
Typically in these cases, reactive training creates a strong need to overprotect them, in fact, what do they protect them from?Your own sense of hostility towards them. Parents fear their rejection will hurt them. Overprotecting them is a way to prevent or repair this damage. Then there are the controlling mothers or fathers, who promote dependence on their children.
The opposite also happens. Unconscious feelings of guilt result in unlimited tiredness, basically allow them to do what they want, as a bad way to compensate for the rejection they feel, they impose no limits on their children, in the end they encourage irresponsible attitudes and pernicious behaviors. They make them demanding and dependent.
Do other very common cases of reactive training occur with called men?Sexist? Or among bad women called “feminists. ” Sometimes a man does not tolerate his own fragility because he has learned that any manifestation of sensitivity or tenderness calls into question his masculinity.
That’s why they become falsely tough and violent people, imposing unnecessary suffering and challenges. Something similar happens with women hypersensitive to any manifestation of masculinity.
There are also cases that go a little further, are realities in which the defense mechanism is more intense and deep, leading to extremely rigid behaviors, which become compulsive.
Then what we commonly call “fanatics” appears. They feel strong sexual desires and become advocates of chastity. Or these people who live sacrifice themselves for others go to extremes. They’re probably trying to get rid of the unconscious guilt.
It is important to emphasize that people are not aware of this whole process, do not recognize the feelings or desires they reject, nor do they realize that they are developing impulses to hide them, there are self-deceptions and also unclear behaviors towards others. , but it’s not deliberate.
Sometimes reactive training encompasses not only one person, but an entire group: a family, an ideological group, a team, etc. These environments sometimes feed guilt in the face of certain subjective realities, for example, they idealize love and place it on a plane of perfection and not in human terms, that is, imperfect, which favors the formation of these defense mechanisms.
There are cases in which reactive training becomes a very important obstacle to advancing, imposing and affecting the life of the person, in these situations can become a risk to physical and mental health, at this stage the only reasonable solution is psychotherapy that facilitates the emergency and appropriation of unconscious content.