Denial

Denial is an Awareness Reduction Mechanisms] that the Bodily Ego uses to avoid uncomfortable confrontation with reality. The reasons why the bodily ego may find confrontation with reality uncomfortable are entirely social and political. Religious indoctrination, suffering and abuse in childhood, the imposition of values that elevate the reproduction of illusion, and so on all create Patterns of Avoidance that encourage repression.

Other Awareness Reduction Mechanisms

Awareness Reduction Mechanisms > Avoidance, Denial, Displacement, Dissociation, Distortion, Distraction, Diversion, Gaslighting, Intellectualization, Internalization, Projection, Rationalization, Reaction Formation, Regression, Repression, Sublimation

Related Terms

Awareness Reduction Mechanisms > Ego Threat, Unwanted Self

Notes

Denial, not a river in Egypt, is the simple verbal refusal to accept reality as it is. Denial is often invoked when there is an external challenge to remember. When somebody comes up to you and says, “Hey, do you remember doing this,” your defensive response might be to deny so you do not have to admit and recall. For example, my mom beat me with a wooden spoon and leather belts when I was a child, but when I recalled these events and challenged her as an adult, she denied she ever did it, presumably to prevent feeling bad about some of her actions. She denies it to this day, saying she thought she was a good mother. Similarly, if you challenge a CEO for cheating in order to not pay taxes, that CEO may deny that they are doing that at all, as Tim Cook did when the U.S. Senate questioned him on his company’s use offshore subsidiaries to avoid paying billions in taxes.

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