How Harmful Is Sigmund Freud's Defense Mechanisms?

At some point in our lives we will all deal with stress, as it is inevitable. How individuals handle stress is what sets one apart from another. Within ourselves we have an id, ego, and superego. The id is an internal energy that operates on a pleasure principle. Sigmund Freud developed the pleasure principle theory which explains the motive of the id as an instinctual element. An example in our life where the id had the most control over our behaviors would be childhood. As children there is not much thought behind their actions, if they see someone thing they want or there is something they want to do, it is done with no further thinking involved. Id does not take into consideration the needs of others or the negatives that may come with actions. Our ego is the part of us that has the ability to weight the costs and benefits of our behaviors. The superego is the mediating factor between the two. Defense mechanisms are coping mechanisms that protect us from conflict, anxiety, shame, guilt, and unacceptable feelings or thoughts. Defense mechanisms include avoidance, denial, rationalization, repression, regression, reaction formation, projection, displacement, compensation, undoing, humor, passive aggression, and sublimation.
Denial and avoidance are two of the most common defense mechanisms I see in life whether it be through personal
With displacement, negative feelings or actions are redirected onto an innocent target. Targets can be people, pets, or objects but are symbolic substitutes. Personally, having a single parent who worked hard to support us both this is something I would be on the receiving end of. If my mom came home and had a stressful day at work she would be irritable and she the smallest thing would set her off. It was not because what I did was something horrible, but because she was mad about work and came home and took it out on the only person she