Changes

Denial involves blocking [[external ]] events from [[awareness]]. For example, if a [[particular ]] [[situation ]] is too much for a person to handle, he or she simply refuses to allow the [[experience ]] to become [[reality ]] for [[them]], despite the fact that it happened. The use of denial is a [[primitive ]] and dangerous [[defense ]] because eventually the [[individual ]] must face reality. The longer one attempts to deny the [[objective ]] reality, the greater may be the consequences. Denial can operate by itself or, more commonly, in combination with [[other]], more subtle [[defense mechanisms ]] that support it.

Denial can be [[unconscious ]] as when a dying person refuses to admit that their [[life ]] will soon end or when a person with a heart condition denies that their overeating or smoking is of any consequence. It can also take a semi-[[conscious ]] [[state ]] where the individual accepts a portion of the situation but denies [[another]]. For [[instance]], a person may acknowledge that they were in an automobile accident but they will not accept the fact that a loved one who was critically injured might die.