Sweet Hideout of Denial

Sweet Hideout of Denial

Sweet Hideout of Denial

As a modern colloquialism, being “in denial” is commonly misused even by professional psychologists. These days everyone is in denial about something. Don’t agree? Try to deny it in front of your friends and watch them start counting! Sigmund Freud defied denial as a defense mechanism against external realities that are unbearable for the ego; it is a protective defense against horrible news that just cannot be absorbed by our consciousness. Denial distorts reality in order to keep us from feeling hurt and uncomfortable in the face of something we really don’t want to see or understand.

However, when we use this term the distinctions between “denial” as an unconscious psychological state and “denial” as a refusal to admit a problem or a manipulation tactic are not always made. Most of us want everything to be always fine and will resort to all kinds of behaviors to suppress inner distress and discomfort. Also, disturbed characters, such as drug addicts, frequently engage in denial by lying about their addiction or refusing to discuss the subject.

Recent psychological studies suggest that the ability to turn a blind eye is not all bad: it is in fact important to forming and maintaining close relationships. People use the same trick to both ignore an annoying problem in their household and to bear with everyday human betrayal and dishonesty. Thus denial, as one of the highly evolved human abilities, provides the foundation for – believe it or not – forgiveness. If you look at it this way, in order to learn forgiveness you really have to secure yourself a quiet place at the back of your consciousness where no one will have access to; a place for you to unwind and unmask where you can drown your worries in salty sand of bustle oblivion.

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