Defense mechanism as a response to trauma in “Take a Break” from Arash Buana Logic Mess album
Abstract
This research explores the expression of psychological trauma in “Take a Break”, one of the songs in the debut album by Indonesian singer-songwriter Arash Buana, Logic Mess (2022). The song presents a personal narrative shaped by emotional distress, inner conflict, traumatic experiences, and the journey to deal with them. Using Sigmund Freudian view on defense mechanisms, this study discuses how trauma is portrayed and processed throughout the song lyrics. The methodology used in this research is a qualitative descriptive analysis. The finding shows that the trauma experienced by the song character is resolved through various defense mechanisms such as denial, sublimation, rationalization, regression, and displacement which also confirms the relevance of Freud’s theory in interpreting the inner dynamics of an individual.
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References
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Sumalani, K. M., & Khan, F. S. (2018). A study of ego defense mechanisms of the main character of novel My Feudal Lord. European Academic Research, 6(7), 3723–3737.
Wulandari, Y. E. (2020). Dinamika kepribadian penderita psikotik dengan riwayat pengalaman sebagai korban perundungan: Sebuah studi kasus. Ristekdik: Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling, 5(2), 218–227. https://doi.org/10.31604/ristekdik.2020.v5i2.218-227
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Ahmad, M. S., Bukhari, Z., Khan, S., Ashraf, I., & Kanwal, A. (2023). No safe place for war survivors: War memory, event exposure, and migrants’ psychological trauma. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.966556
Akhtar, S. (2020). Dancing with words. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 68(1), 163–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003065120910154
Ardiansyah, A., Sarinah, S., Susilawati, S., & Juanda, J. (2022). Kajian psikoanalisis Sigmund Freud. Jurnal Kependidikan, 7(1), 25–31. https://doi.org/10.31227/osf.io/jurnalpsikoanalisisfreud
Arifah, Z. M., & Indriyani, J. G. (2024). Menggali kecemasan tokoh Lian dalam novel Ingatan Ikan-ikan: Pendekatan psikologi sastra Sigmund Freud. Komnasindo, 56. https://proceedings.uinsa.ac.id/index.php/konasindo/article/view/2496
Barnaby, A. (2012). Coming too late: Freud, belatedness, and existential trauma. SubStance, 41(2), 119–138. https://doi.org/10.1353/sub.2012.0018
Buana, A. (2022, March 11). Take A Break [Lagu dan lirik video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R_d06l0i3A
Dhungana, K. (2023). Psychological trauma in Anand’s Across the Black Waters. Shanti Journal, 3(1–2), 124–141. https://doi.org/10.3126/shantij.v3i1-2.60855
Fajry, S. S. S., & Winangsit, E. (2023). Terapi musik untuk meningkatkan kesehatan mental: Tinjauan literatur dalam perspektif psikodinamika. Assertive: Islamic Counseling Journal, 2(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.54099/assertive.v2i1.1234
Haj, S. (2021). The (ir)representability of the belated traumatic wound in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Journal of Black Studies, 53(1), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347211047877
Harel, G. (2020). Maintaining the tension between the classic seduction theory and the role of unconscious fantasies: A contemporary reconsideration. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 36(2), 216–231. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjp.12544
Harimuti, A. (2024). Understanding trauma through Freudian psychoanalysis. Journal of Psychological Studies, 10(2), 115–128.
Hasibuan, M. N. S., Masrizal, M., Hsb, E. R., Adam, D. H., & Irmayanti, I. (2021). Analisis psikologi sastra dengan teori Freud dalam lirik lagu Bingung karya Iksan Skuter. Jurnal Education and Development, 9(2), 433–440. https://doi.org/10.46585/ed.v9i2.2593
Jelínková, E. (2022). Trauma narratives of Scottish childhood in Janice Galloway’s short stories. American & British Studies Annual, 15, 64–73. https://doi.org/10.46585/absa.2022.15.2430
Kaur, H., & Jaggi, P. (2023). Intergenerational trauma in the context of the 1947 India: Pakistan partition. Psychological Studies, 68(3), 374–387. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-023-00730-w
Kumparan Hits. (2023, February 21). Perayaan debut album, penyanyi Arash Buana segera gelar Logic Mess showcase. https://kumparan.com/kumparanhits/perayaan-debut-album-penyanyi-arash-buana-segera-gelar-logic-mess-showcase-1zs9kd2K17z
Lee, C. W., Lee, J., Jun, J. Y., Lee, S. H., Yu, S., Park, J., … & Kim, S. J. (2020). Associations between defense mechanisms and life satisfaction among North Korean refugees. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-42403/v1
Marlinna, D. A. T., & Ernawati, A. (2024). The Kya’s PTSD and defense mechanism as represented in Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing. Loquēla (Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Education), 2(2), 99–114. https://doi.org/10.61276/loqula.v2i2.68
Murti, D. A., Nugroho, A., & Haryanto, S. (2014). Defense mechanism of Adele reflected in Adele’s 21 album: A psychoanalytic approach (Undergraduate thesis). Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta.
Newsome, R. (2022). Walking with shadows: Writing trauma, short fiction and Jungian psychoanalysis. Short Fiction in Theory & Practice, 12(1), 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1386/fict_00049_1
Ningtias, C. A. A. (2022). Trauma dan psikoanalisis Freud dalam karya sastra. Jurnal Psikologi dan Sastra, 4(1), 55–66.
Pedersen, C. (2019). Encountering trauma ‘too soon’ and ‘too late’: caruth, laplanche, and the freudian nachträglichkeit. Topography of Trauma: Fissures, Disruptions and Transfigurations, 25-44. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004407947_004
Pophariini. (2022, August 28). Arash Buana: Logic Mess. https://pophariini.com/arash-buana-logic-mess/
Sandri, M., & Indrastuti, N. S. K. (2024). Mekanisme pertahanan diri tokoh Matara dalam novel Mata di Tanah Melus karya Okky Madasari: Kajian psikologi sastra. Humanis: Journal of Arts and Humanities, 28(3), 329–340. https://doi.org/10.24843/JH.2024.v28.i03.p04
Shine, S. A., & Falah, F. (2021). Konflik batin dan mekanisme pertahanan psikologis: Perspektif bandingan psikoanalisis Freud pada balas dendam tokoh utama film The Professionals (2016) dan Foxtrot Six (2019). Sabda: Jurnal Kajian Kebudayaan, 16(1), 29–31. https://doi.org/10.14710/sabda.16.1.29-42
Soualah, B. (2023). Exploring the intersection of trauma and defense mechanisms in the character of Severus Snape in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series (Master’s thesis). Mohamed Khider University of Biskra. http://archives.univ-biskra.dz/bitstream/123456789/26753/1/Belkacem_SOUALAH.pdf
Straten, L. V. (2024). ‘Recreating Katalin Street’: Reenacting a haunting past utopia as manifestation and bodily testimony to trauma in Magda Szabó’s Katalin Street. Junctions: Graduate Journal of the Humanities, 8(1), 87–103. https://doi.org/10.33391/jgjh.185
Sugiyono. (2022). Metode penelitian kualitatif, kuantitatif, dan r&d. Bandung: Alfabeta.
Sumalani, K. M., & Khan, F. S. (2018). A study of ego defense mechanisms of the main character of novel My Feudal Lord. European Academic Research, 6(7), 3723–3737.
Wulandari, Y. E. (2020). Dinamika kepribadian penderita psikotik dengan riwayat pengalaman sebagai korban perundungan: Sebuah studi kasus. Ristekdik: Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling, 5(2), 218–227. https://doi.org/10.31604/ristekdik.2020.v5i2.218-227
Zoromba, M. A. (2024). Advancing trauma studies: A narrative literature review. Heliyon, 10(8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e412288
Zuraida, L., Thoyibi, M., & Setyabudi, T. (2014). Ego defense mechanism reflected in Nicholas Sparks’ The Last Song (2009): A psychoanalytic perspective (Undergraduate thesis). Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta.
Published
2025-12-31
How to Cite
RIZKY, Sylvia; FARIDA, Hana.
Defense mechanism as a response to trauma in “Take a Break” from Arash Buana Logic Mess album.
Pioneer: Journal of Language and Literature, [S.l.], v. 17, n. 2, p. 337-355, dec. 2025.
ISSN 2655-8718.
Available at: <https://unars.ac.id/ojs/index.php/pioneer/article/view/6977>. Date accessed: 13 feb. 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.36841/pioneer.v17i2.6977.
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