According to esteemed psychologist and legendary coke fiend Sigmund Freud, denial is a type of defense mechanism that people use when they are faced with facts that are just too uncomfortable for them to accept despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
I'm no shrink but I can personally vouch that I've been in a state of denial for quite some time regarding certain issues related to my health. Once again I fooled myself into thinking I was invincible. As I relayed to many in our audience who offered up their kind words and services, denial is a funny thing. It sneaks up on you like a thief in the night and then BAM! All of a sudden you're forced to face certain things that you've consciously placed on the back burner with the flame on low and pretended to forget about.
Sooner or later it all boils over.
But enough about me. How about you? Are you in a state of denial? According to our good friends at Wikipedia there are different types of denial. Just for shits and grins, see if you fit into one or some of the following categories.
Denial of Fact
This category usually involves an individual who tries to avoid the facts being thrown at them by lying. The lying can take on two forms. Either by commission or omission. A person who is in denial of the facts they are being presented with usually think those same facts are harmful to either themselves or others. (Note: Depending on your political affiliation please feel free to cite your own examples. Republicans, I suggest you look at Hillary Clinton. As for you Democrats - any member of the current Administration, past or present will do.)
Denial of Responsibility
Otherwise known as the "Not me!" syndrome. Remember the old Simpsons episode where Bart became quasi famous for uttering the phrase "I didn't do it" when in fact the whole world knew he did? That' s a classic case of denial of responsibility. Here in the real world, we humans usually add to the denial by blaming everybody but yourself when something goes wrong.
Denial of Impact
This could probably called the "It ain't that bad" syndrome. I mean, so what if I got drunk and ran over a homeless dude. I was probably doing society a favor by getting him off the streets and sucking at the taxpayers tit anyway. He was probably some kinda drug addict or child molester that was gonna commit a crime sooner or later.
Denial of Awareness
This one takes some creative thinking. The incident that I best recall was the infamous Twinkie defense in which an attorney argued that his client was unaware of their actions because they had gorged themselves on too many of those tasty treats and it rendered them unaware of the crime they had committed. Hey, it worked! At least to a degree,. The charges of murder didn't stick and the client was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. This novel approach to criminal defense sparked many a copy cat scenario both in and out of the court room in which something totally unrelated to the matter at hand was the direct cause of an individuals actions. See other arguments such as violent behavior in children and the impact of video games or pornography and its relation to sex crimes for further reading.
Denial of Cycle
Our friends at Wiki classify this as "It just sorta happened "syndrome when in fact the outcome could have easily been predicted. (Note to self re-read my daylog at least once a week until gets into my thick skull). It usually involves a series of events that that are ignored until the "surprise ending" smacks you in the face.
Denial of Denial
Huh? I'm not in any kind of denial. Why would you say that? I don't have to change a damn thing about my behavior to you or anybody else. What's that? Are you calling me deluded? Well, kiss off asshole! I'm the one running this ship and you can get off any time you like.
Yeah, denial, it's just not a state of mind anymore. For some people its become a way of life.
Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong...
Love,
Borgo
Source(s)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial
| 
