Undoing
Neurotic defence (grouped by Vaillant under intellectualisation); mental inhibitions level on the DSM-IV scale; secondary in McWilliams' scheme. The person tries to cancel a guilty or hostile thought or act by doing something that symbolically reverses it.
What drives it
Relieves guilt and anxiety by a kind of magic, as if the harmful thought or act could be erased.
How it shows
Work
A harsh email followed within the hour by an effusive one that never mentions the first. A boss who blows up, then buys lunch for everyone and says nothing about it. Heavy apologising after a minor assertion. Others feel whiplash, and the original issue never gets discussed.
Relationships
Gifts after cruelty; grand make-up gestures that skip the conversation. Small rituals such as touching wood or re-checking something to cancel a bad thought.
Self
Right after an aggressive moment, an urge to do something nice that makes it disappear. The relief comes from the gesture, not from any repair.
What tells it apart
Repair attempts: A repair attempt names what happened and invites a response; undoing replaces the conversation with a gesture, and the event stays unmentioned.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): OCD compulsions are repetitive, time-consuming, recognised as excessive and distressing; everyday undoing is occasional and feels reasonable to the person.
Reaction formation: Reaction formation holds the opposite stance continuously; undoing alternates, first the act, then its cancellation.
A test
After the cancelling gesture, ask about the original act; undoing shows as reluctance to discuss it, as if the gesture had closed the account.
Questions to carry
- After the cancelling gesture, how does the person respond when the original act is raised?
- Which kind gesture have I made to cancel out something I said or did?
How strong the research is
clinical. Established in clinical theory, especially of obsessional states; little controlled testing.
Where it comes from
Sigmund Freud, 1909 and 1926; Anna Freud, 1936
On the family tree: Sigmund Freud