Compartmentalization (Psychology)

Compartmentalization is a psychological defense mechanism in which thoughts and feelings that seem to conflict are kept separated or isolated from each other in the mind, which may take the form of a mild dissociation; people with post-traumatic stress disorder, for example, may use compartmentalization to keep positive and negative aspects of the self apart. Acting, in an isolated moment, in a way that defies one's own moral code, or dividing unpleasant work duties from a desire to relax, are both offered as examples of the pattern. Its purpose is to avoid cognitive dissonance, the mental discomfort and anxiety produced when a person holds conflicting values, cognitions, emotions or beliefs at the same time, by inhibiting direct acknowledgment or interaction between the separated compartments.