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What Is Denial?
Denial is the disbelief or ignoring of something. It occurs when the prospect of acknowledging a danger feels too threatening to tolerate, or when other concerns override it. When people are warned of an impending environmental disaster, such as a hurricane, many rush to the stores to get supplies only to find that items they need are sold out. They had been in denial that disaster could occur. And when the next disaster arrives, some rush to the stores again only to find out that, once again, items they need aren't available. Their denial has continued and they are out of luck a second time.
Can Denial Be Overridden?
There are currently terrible wildfires happening in California. The largest is the Kincade fire, which some firefighters say is the worst they have ever seen. When past fires threatened, many people refused to obey orders to evacuate and some died. But this time, almost everyone (almost 200,000 people) evacuated. They were not in denial. Why not?
Two years ago the Tubbs fire, just 20 miles away from the present one, rapidly approached in the middle of the night when people were asleep. Although many were evacuated, twenty-two died. One year ago the Camp fire, less than 200 miles northeast of the present fire, destroyed the town of Paradise and caused eighty-six deaths. Some people died in their cars, burned to death as they tried to leave town on the only road out, which was backed up with traffic. The horror of these recent events was great enough to break through people's denial; and this time there have been no fatalities, so far.
How Else Can Denial Be Overcome?
Many people are in denial about less dramatic situations, such as lack of savings for retirement or failing to back up their data. Barring an extreme event, how might they overcome denial? My complimentary Tool can help. In Step 3, instead of wishing to feel peaceful and calm, wish for a new mental pathway that will work to overcome any tendencies for denial that you might have.
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