Avoidance Mechanisms

We cope with difficulties in various ways. Some are more positive than others. Whilst avoidance and denial is a relatively harmless method that can be useful in the short term, it can still result in significant internal damage and may end up coming out in other ways.

Acting Out: not coping - giving in to the pressure to misbehave.

Avoidance: mentally or physically avoiding something that causes distress.

Denial: refusing to acknowledge that an event has occurred.

Displacement: shifting of intended action to a safer target.

Distancing: Moving away.

Fantasy: escaping reality into a world of possibility.

Idealization: playing up the good points and ignoring limitations of things desired.

Intellectualization: avoiding emotion by focusing on facts and logic.

Passive Aggression: avoiding refusal by passive avoidance.

Performing Rituals: Patterns that delay.

Projection: seeing your own unwanted feelings in other people.

Rationalization: creating logical reasons for bad behavior.

Reaction Formation: avoiding something by taking a polar opposite position.

Regression: returning to a child state to avoid problems.

Repression: subconsciously hiding uncomfortable thoughts.

Symbolization: turning unwanted thoughts into metaphoric symbols.

Trivializing: Making small what is really something big.

In some ways, most forms of coping include denial as the person avoids the real issue.

So what?

Guard against negative behavior that can harm others and lead you into trouble. Try converting these into adaptive mechanisms.

When you are working with others, beware of them avoiding you. Also beware of trying to force them to confront things. Sometimes, when you take the cork out of a pressurized bottle, there is a significant explosion.

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Avoidance Mechanisms

So what?

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Disciplines

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