Working with defenses is great for when we are noticing challenging behaviors or habitual patterns in ourselves, that we want to improve.
It could be that we always procrastinate after talking to our boss, we isolate ourselves after speaking to our parents, or we shut-down when intimacy comes close to us, whether that be from lover, friend or other.
Defense mechanisms can be when the amygdala begins running the show and our neocortex is not used.
Defense mechanisms can be so habitual, or they can be so “efficient” that we can barely know that we are defending and guarding from life.
We can sometimes really not realize how much we are avoiding feeling and avoiding the experience of life.
If we avoid life too much, we can end up feeling disfigured, lost, displaced, frustrated, disconnected, and our ability to feel the positives about living are also impacted.
Please see the following Quiz which can support greater understanding around these issues: