A nurse observes that a patient is repeatedly denying the diagnosis of cancer despite clear evidence. Which defense mechanism is the patient displaying?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

AIIMS NORCET 7 Prelims Memory Based Paper 2024

Answer 1

Correct Answer: Denial

Rationale:

Denial is a defense mechanism in which a person refuses to accept reality or facts, thereby blocking external events from awareness. If a situation is too much to handle, the person simply refuses to experience it.
In the given scenario, the patient is repeatedly denying the diagnosis of cancer despite clear evidence. This indicates that the patient is using denial as a defense mechanism to cope with the distressing reality of having cancer.
Denial can serve as a temporary defense that gives the individual time to gradually come to terms with the reality of their situation.

Explanation of Other Options:

Repression

Rationale: Repression involves unconsciously blocking out painful or anxiety-provoking thoughts and memories from conscious awareness. Unlike denial, which is a refusal to accept reality, repression involves burying the distressing information so deeply that it no longer enters conscious thought.

Displacement

Rationale: Displacement involves redirecting emotions or feelings from the original source of distress to a safer or more acceptable substitute. For example, a person who is angry at their boss may displace their anger by yelling at a family member.

Rationalization

Rationale: Rationalization involves explaining an unacceptable behavior or feeling in a rational or logical manner, avoiding the true reasons for the behavior. It often involves making excuses or justifications for actions that are not the true reasons behind them.

Conclusion:

Among the given options, denial is the correct answer as it best describes the patient's behavior of refusing to accept the diagnosis of cancer despite clear evidence. Denial serves as a coping mechanism to protect the individual from the emotional pain associated with the diagnosis.