Avoiding responsibility can be a defense mechanism of denial.
Everyone knows this guy. He shows up late and leaves early several days a week. With all of his missed appointments and all that free time, he still cannot seem to get anything done. Blaming everyone else for his mistakes, he hangs out in the lunchroom bragging about his upcoming promotion. He is the only one in the office who was surprised when he was fired. Here are seven signs of denial.
Justify
Rationalization: She doesn't have to deal with what she can't see.
Lacking coping skills to handle life stresses, a person refuses accountability for her reckless or irresponsible actions. Avoiding conflict when things go awry allows her to justify her behavior. Inability to pay bills, or extreme experiences such as death or divorce, can be difficult to accept. Refusing to recognize the importance of her actions, this person can validate her denial.
Judging Others
Denial comes in many forms. A man judges another person's life choices in order to avoid looking at himself. Provided with this a false sense of superiority, this man is comfortable criticizing the lives of others when his own house might not be in order.
Motivated Forgetting
Motivated forgetting is a painless way to deny painful situations. This reaction to denial causes phobias and unreasonable fears, according to psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, founder of the defense-mechanism theory of unconscious behaviors. A woman despises a co-worker or just doesn't trust him, not recognizing that he has a mannerism similar to that of her of ex-husband.
Taking It Out On Others
A man gets a parking ticket and vents his anger by fouling peers on the basketball court. Having been caught speeding and accepting the consequences can be difficult for this man. However, it is not safe to act out on a police officer. Or: A person who is angry and desperate over looming unpaid bills hits his girlfriend, because it is not safe to hit the bill collector. In both cases, he denies responsibility for his actions by taking his stress out on others who don't deserve it.
The Elephant in The Room
Similar to the proverbial elephant in the room, a person publicly denounces a group of people for breaking religious commandments when he is guilty of similar rule-breaking. This form of denial can be difficult for others to understand because everyone else can see that this person has broken similar commandments.Yet he appears clueless.
Immaturity
Believing you are above the law is a common form of denial.
Drinking and driving is an example of irresponsible behavior. When an individual was young this behavior might have carried few consequences. The memory of feeling empowered and getting away with an action that today is reprehensible can lead a person to act immaturely to deny her culpability.
The Rules Don't Apply To Me
Stealing bread to feed a starving family is not a crime. This person knows that stealing is a crime. He understands the consequences of illegal behaviors, but he denies responsibility by implying that his actions are above the law or that some laws are meant to be broken.
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