... the conscious self, created by the dynamic tensions and interactions between the id and the super-ego. It is the job of the ego to reconcile the conflicting demands of the id and super-ego within the requirements of external reality. Freud believed that in order to defend the ego from negative elements such as the id, the outside world or real danger and the superego, certain defense mechanisms had to be in place. His daughter, Anna, expanded on his theories in the 1930s, summarizing several ego defenses in her book, The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense. These mechanisms minimize anxiety, protect the ego and maintain repression of uncomfortable emotions. The ego defenses are successful only so long as the conscious part of the ego is unaware that another part of the ego is defending itself. Regression, one such defense mechanism, eases an individual's anxiety by returning her to a more ...

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