A psychological defense which turns a socially unacceptable impulse into a socially acceptable one.

In general, sublimation is a creative, productive process which turns socially destructive impulses into socially productive ones.

Sublimation is generally considered a mature defense, which means that the person is conscious of what they are doing and does it intentionally. Even when it is done unconsciously, the results are productive rather than destructive.

Doctors and medical scientists are often motivated to study and cure disease because they have personal experience with it. Diseases are a manifestation of human mortality, and our ability to cure them gives us the feeling of mastery and control. In other words, doctors fear death, and so they sublimate their fear by stopping other people from dying.

Sublimation is considered “mature” because the pro-social benefits are obvious. They're yet more obvious when you compare them to the more primitive defense displacement. A warlord also fears death, but instead of helping others, he “conquers” death by killing other people. This is not exactly what you'd call productive, mature, or pro-social.

Another great, perhaps better, example of sublimation is music. Roughly speaking, the different genres represent different emotions.

• Metal, grunge = anger, resentment, frustration
• House, techno, EDM = excitement, Joi de Vivre, lust
• Country, singer-songwriter = sadness, contemplation

Music is probably the best example of “pure” sublimation, because it expresses our strongest emotions without changing or damaging the physical world.

The sublimation of writing books is similar to that of science and medicine, except that the results take place in the imagination, rather than the real world. The writer manages/processes their own emotions by creating an elaborate fantasy in which a host of characters play out the author's fears and desires.

Novels also illustrate why sublimation is considered a “mature” defense: they often take years to write. The author maintains a high level of productive effort over a long period of time, all for the sake of working out an emotion that could be expressed unproductively in a single outburst. This is high level of effort shows:

1. How strongly the author feels their unacceptable impulses.
2. How much self-control they have.
3. How badly they want to not do the unacceptable thing.

For example, a serial killer mystery novel, like The Snowman, by Jo Nesbo.

Instead of becoming a serial killer himself, Nesbo works out his fascination with murder and gore by writing a novel in which a character plays out his own fantasies. And, instead of hunting serial killers himself—a dangerous and gruesome occupation—he creates a character who can do it for him…

Readers love these books because reading allows them to see their own impulses play out in their imaginations, with no risk of doing anything that would hurt anyone else, or get themselves into trouble.