Freud suggested that defense mechanisms protect an individual from

Freud suggested that defense mechanisms protect an individual from anxiety.

Explanation:

According to Freud, anxiety is defined as a feeling of tension, anguish and discomfort in some way similar to fear but produced by threat or perception of loss of internal control rather than external danger. Defense mechanisms are those unconscious behaviors (mechanisms), by which a person protects himself/herself from those emotions or thoughts that would produce such anxiety or anguish, produced or that could occur when he/she feels emotionally threatened.