Musings on Denial
Wednesday, Feb. 05, 2014 - 7:52 AM

Why do our brains process denial?

I was lying in bed at 7:30am thinking about this and I felt the urge to just get out of bed and write about it.

Because wouldn't our lives, wouldn't our world, be a better place without it? Why has the human brain evolved in order to incorporate such a negative thought process?

When has denial done anything good for anyone?

So how did that one major flaw seep into our nature?

Denial is to lay false any claim to a fact that is true. Denial is to avoid introspection and admittance. Denial is refusing to comply.

I wonder at what point did human beings begin to display denial. I'm trying to imagine our ancestors who lived in caves and hunted mastodons.. If one were to be in denial of the fact that they were not strong enough to ford a river, or to run from a predator.. they would be swept away, or they would be eaten. Thus this would negate every instinct of survival we would have possessed.

Or did denial begin to show its face in the classical times? Did our Greek and Roman forefathers develop this as a tactic in order to thrive in their competitive and brutal social and political spheres?

Imagine today's world where people did not experience denial. When they were injured or sick they would not hesitate to go to a doctor. Relationships would be simplified in the sense that there would likely be less lying, cheating, and all around bullshit because we would be more in touch with our own feelings, and would not hide them from others.

I am thinking about this now because I work in the field of mental illness. Most people do not open up to anyone about their suffering because they refuse to admit it to themselves, let alone any one else. If we were to eliminate this out of the equation, imagine how many lives would have been saved.

yesterday - tomorrow

It might make you feel better
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