Hosts - Merrill and Linda Hutchinson

Guest - Meredith Scudder - Assistant Director at Rock Solid Families

In today’s episode, your hosts Merrill and Linda welcome back special guest Meredith Scudder to join their discussion on defense mechanisms. Together, they emphasize that defense mechanisms are unconscious ways to reduce internal stress, acting as protective barriers against uncomfortable emotions or experiences and encourage listeners to acknowledge their own defense mechanisms and understand how they might impact relationships and personal growth.

This episode of Rock Solid Families podcast delves into the intriguing realm of defense mechanisms and emotional healing. Together with hosts Linda and Merill, Meredith explore various defense mechanisms people adopt to shield themselves from emotional wounds, ranging from humor and denial to projection and reaction formation. By acknowledging that these defense mechanisms stem from past traumas and serve as protective shields, they emphasize the need for self-awareness to comprehend the underlying emotions behind these coping strategies. Meredith and the hosts stress the value of finding safe spaces and accountability partners to process emotions and cultivate healthier coping mechanisms.

Don’t feel ashamed of your defense mechanisms, as they are a natural response to past experiences. Instead, be open to change and consider healthier ways of dealing with emotions. In the end, everyone has defense mechanisms to overcome. But with the right support and awareness, personal growth and deeper connections can be achieved.

Quotes

• "Sometimes these defense mechanisms create a boundary from us actually getting a little deeper either into ourselves or into our relationships.” (2:15 | Merrill)
• “Repression is where we subconsciously block out experiences. We've experienced something traumatic and we're conscious when it happens, but the brain shuts it out. Whereas suppression is when we consciously push it down.” ( 21:32 | Meredith)
• “These defense mechanisms are coming up for a reason. So you need to ask yourself, how are you feeling? And what are you trying to protect yourself from in that moment?” (26:24 | Meredith)

#EmotionalHealing #DefenseMechanisms #SelfAwareness #CopingStrategies #HealthyEmotions

Links

Defense Mechanisms | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lJOCtOK6zmY80g7r_FYB07Qo_zvhioObGn7pkzJLqIQ/edit?usp=sharing

Instagram Merrill Hutchinson | https://www.instagram.com/hutchinsonmerrill/?hl=en 

Instagram Rock Solid Families | https://www.instagram.com/rocksolidfamilies/?hl=en 

Website | https://www.rocksolidfamilies.org/ 

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