“Problems” or Symptoms?
Blaming someone. Stealing money. Becoming addicted. Comparing myself to others. Lying. Telling “most” of the truth. Showing off. Yelling at another person. Distracting the boss so I won’t have to work. Manipulating my spouse.
It would seem that the only thing these behaviors have in common is that they’re undesirable, “bad,” and people “shouldn’t” do them.
Actually, these are all manifestations of the same underlying problem: denial.
There are SO many ways to use denial, and every single person on the planet does it. Denial is the refusal to accept reality as one experiences it, instead attempting to alter the scenes, shift blame, not have to be responsible, or take over all responsibility to protect someone else.
Like I said, EVERYONE uses denial. If you think you don’t, then guess what? … you are IN denial!
So how do you use these denial strategies? Which ones are your “favorites”? Who do you use them with and how? The closer you look at your life, the more you’ll find these strategies:
- Helpless / Hopeless
- Minimizing
- Uniqueness
- Justifying
- Rationalizing
- Compartmentalizing
- Comparing
- Complying
- Omission
- Intellectualizing
- Creating Distractions
- Blaming
- Manipulation
How are you using each one? If you have a funny or relevant story where you used one (or more) of these denial strategies, please post in the comments below!
