![]() ![]() Next, you might practice rerouting your pattern of thinking in the moment next time you’re confronted with your own mistakes. It could be perfectionism, for example, or low self-esteem that causes you to try and avoid accepting the fact that you made an error. If you tend to default to deflection, you might ask yourself why. You might reflect on how you naturally react when someone approaches you with constructive criticism, or how you respond when a mistake or shortcoming you’re responsible for is brought to your attention. How To Overcome The Tendency To Deflectīecoming aware of this tendency in yourself is typically the first step toward overcoming it. The conflict and tension that deflection can cause in relationships can lead to loneliness, isolation, and a limited support network as well as stress and anxiety, all of which can contribute to mental health challenges and even mental illness. It can wear down levels of trust, prevent honest communication and effective conflict resolution, and signal emotional immaturity. An individual refusing to ever take responsibility for their own mistakes and instead consciously choosing to blame their friend, partner, or another party can be tiresome for others to continually experience. Outside of work, deflection can take a toll on other types of relationships too, such as friendships and romantic partnerships. As a result, he could experience negative mental health effects. His desire to avoid blame has reduced his credibility and likely increased his overall stress at work due to worries about making future mistakes and the now-tense or untrusting relationships with colleagues. Jamie's reputation among his coworkers, including his boss, will likely suffer. In a professional setting, such as in Jamie's case, deflection has some obvious consequences. His boss, unimpressed, writes up Jamie for his error as well as his lack of accountability. At the center of Jamie's arguments is the desire to deflect blame for his own mistake. He might tell his boss that it’s actually the fault of the person who handed the project off to him, or that it’s the fault of his boss for putting pressure on him-both of which are untrue in this case. As a result, he might automatically push back on the feedback. However, let's assume that Jamie instead defaults to denial to avoid the unpleasant and unacceptable feeling of failure after making a significant error. Jamie knows the significance of his error, feels guilty for it, and is aware that it’s an uncommon error for someone of his experience level to make.įor many, such a meeting might be uncomfortable, but relatively straightforward: You might apologize, own up to your mistake, and take corrective action. Jamie's boss invites him to her office to discuss the mistake. One day, he makes a critical error that significantly delays progress. Consider the case of Jamie, who is working on an important project for his employer. ![]() ![]() Let’s take a look at an example to better understand what deflection looks like and how it works. These underlying cognitive processes can be driven by a number of other factors that an individual would need to examine and address in order to change the behavior, such as perfectionism, low self-esteem, or a fear of abandonment. Instead, it’s typically the underlying cognitive processes-such as denial-that ultimately drive deflective behaviors and must be addressed in order for meaningful change to be possible. While it may feel second nature and as if it’s uncontrollable, the behavior itself is usually not what is difficult to manage. Unlike projection, deflection is a mostly conscious process. When shifting blame, an individual may be experiencing denial about their own level of personal responsibility and will deflect the unacceptable thought-that they are the reason for the failure or mistake-away by attributing the blame to someone else. Blame-shifting refers to "passing the buck", or finding any reason to justify the conclusion that another person is ultimately responsible for an undesired outcome rather than oneself. The concept of denial is at the center of many maladaptive defense mechanisms, including deflection and projection.Īnother common theme behind deflection is blaming others, or blame-shifting. A person in denial is failing to recognize or accept apparent truths about a situation, or their feelings regarding a situation. In psychology, denial refers to the avoidance of unacceptable or unpleasant thoughts or feelings. While the manifestation of deflection can vary considerably, there are a couple of common themes that tend to be associated with this behavior. This type of defensiveness as a coping skill is commonly used to divert the focus or blame away from ourselves.
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