Can anyone tell me key differentiators between a diagnosis of reaction formation and sublimation?
Both of them seem to have to do with channeling an unwanted thought/anxiety into something productive. Is the sole difference that the new activity is 'opposite' of the unwanted anxiety in reaction formation (so its really a subset of sublimation?)
Thanks
I had the impression that sublimation is more often talked about in terms of _deeper_ social relationships than reaction formation. The other side of the coin is, the initial action/relationship/dynamic in reaction formation is more easily identified.
What I mean is this:
Sublimation: Classic example is that we have the drive (according to Freud) towards Eros, sex, etc. Yet we cannot just have sex all day, since society needs to operate (due to the "exigencies of life," if I recall correctly) -- and so we sublimate this desire and put the energy to use in a productive way, ie, as workers in the economy, farmers, etc.
In this example, the deeper drives/issues are fundamental to our world -- sex, the basic necessities of life, etc.
Reaction formation: An example would be, A girl is abandoned by her father at 7 years old, and then her mother at 16 years old. She ends up being a fiercely independent woman. She finally can trust someone enough to get married to him at a later age, and even then she is very independent. This girl took an obvious insult (abandonment) and the reaction formation was her independent attitude.
Yes, both are productive/protective outcomes.
When I say sublimation is about something "deeper," it could be that sublimation is more about drives, traits, huge themes to a person's life; and reaction formation is more about a specific event or dynamic.
I would not use the term "unwanted thought/anxiety." Want does not seem to relate to it. I do not think that either term is a subset of the other term.
Also, in reaction formation, the outcome doesn't have to be the opposite of the original action. Some things don't have obvious "opposites." I think it is something more like compensatory towards the original dynamic.
Good luck!
