Insight & Action: Mirror, Mirror

The power of projection

Are you listening to someone else or looking in the mirror?

One of the most enduring contributions of psychoanalysis in popular culture today is the construct of defense mechanisms. You have Freud to thank for concepts like denial and projection. These terms are part of our everyday vernacular. When thoughts or feelings make us uncomfortable, psychological defenses help create distance from our anxiety. Defenses are little unconscious tricks that distort reality to make it more comfortable for us.