Defense Mechanisms in Psychology Denial

DENIAL

Denial

The concept that I selected in this case is ‘denial.’ This, to a large extent, happens to be one of the defense mechanisms proposed by Sigmund Freud. It therefore follows that the relevance of exploring this particular concept cannot be overstated owing to the fact that it has the potential to play a huge role in the distortion of reality.

In essence, denial could be conceptualized as the refusal to accept reality as it is. Thus, as a defense mechanism, denial is used by most persons (albeit at the subconscious level) to cope with reality and perhaps lessen the impact of feelings and thoughts that they deem unacceptable. The said negative feelings and/or thoughts could trigger anxiety. Last year, a close friend of mine lost her job in a firm that she had served with dedication and fidelity for close to two decades. On the day that she received the letter of termination, she entered a state of denial and kept saying it had to be a mistake. Although the letter was clearly addressed to her, she was somehow convinced that it was meant for someone else. Even after the said termination was unequivocally confirmed, she kept repeating: “They need me. They cannot do without me. They will definitely call and apologize.” As indicated in the definition I have already highlighted above, my friend could not face or handle the reality of dismissal. Thus, to cope, she embraced denial as a defense mechanism to ward off anxiety.