Emotional Shield: A Double-edged Sword

Learn all about emotional shields in this article!

It can be hard to face the reality of life, either because you are scared, do not know how to act, or because you are trying to avoid suffering again. In such cases, you may be carrying around an emotional shield to protect yourself.

The thing is, by doing this you are hiding your values ​​and hiding yourself. You may even become too addicted to falsifying the image you are showing to the outside world.

If you impose an emotional shield on yourself, you are keeping yourself from the authentic experiences. It is as if you are putting up a huge wall in front of you, which in addition to limiting you also prevents others from entering into your true self. This shield will thus be used as a kind of protection that works against your desire to open up to the world.

Emotional shield as a defense mechanism

You can carry an emotional shield to face reality without suffering too much. That way you avoid getting it bad and you protect yourself from what you consider to be serious threats such as:

• The relationship with others. Maybe you are afraid that people will judge you or think badly of you, or maybe you feel that your behavior is not appropriate. As a result, you are saving your values ​​by showing an external image that you think others expect of you.
• The future. That’s when it all runs off with you and you imagine one of the thousands of possible scenarios for what might happen to you. You thus believe that you are protected because you have already thought of everything. The problem is that even if you think a lot about the future, you will not have any control over anything.

• Yourself. Since you have thoughts and even emotions that you do not think are acceptable, you put on an emotional shield to protect yourself from them.

Defense mechanisms

Furthermore, you are not only in the process of protecting yourself from possible threats, but you will also find in possible disguises, different ways of acting or in simpler words: You are using a defense mechanism. Here are some of them:

• Isolation. This emotional shield sends you away from your thoughts and feelings. It forces you to stamp out to protect yourself so that you can resist what is happening without suffering from it. The problem is that this mechanism causes you to be someone else that you are not at all.
• Oppression. This way of acting is to eliminate things in life that are painful for you because they are constantly rumbling in your head. You think that if you erase these feelings, they will never be able to hurt you. But what happens instead is that you manifest them in other ways.

• Projection. It is one of the most commonly used defense mechanisms and the one that you are probably least aware of. Projecting means blaming others for your thoughts and feelings.
• Denial. You block everything you feel and think, no matter what happens in your life.
• Skip actions. These “disguises” redirect your thoughts and feelings into other people, situations or things.
• Regression. Sometimes, when it’s hard to face things, you can behave in a way that is not appropriate for your age. It’s a very immature way to accept what’s happening to you.

Getting rid of an emotional shield

The first step to getting rid of the emotional shield is to get in on yourself. Once you realize who you are and accept it, you will show your true self to the world.

Once you have been able to come into this deep contact with yourself, the next step is that you begin to be aware of the moments when you apply your defense mechanisms.

In what situations do you use them? Do you use these mechanisms in front of everyone, or are they just certain people? When and with whom are you most authentic? These questions can help you become more aware of yourself.

Working with yourself

On the other hand, it is also important that you work with other aspects of yourself. For example, it could be:

• Love yourself. If you do, the fear of being who you really are will just go away and you will begin to value yourself.
• Stay close to the ones you love the most. It is impossible to be completely fearless. So when you feel a little insecure, try talking to the people who love you. They can also be there and support you.

• Stay away from those who do not accept you for who you are. Find the people you can really figure out how to establish a relationship with and stay away from those who do not like you.
• Say goodbye to your prejudices. If you let go of your prejudices, it will be easier for you to accept and get to know others. It will also help you show your true self.
• Do not try to make guesses. Guessings are not facts, but hypotheses instead. Trying to guess what will happen or how people will act will only overwhelm you.

By being aware of these aspects, you can more easily get rid of your emotional shield and really start being yourself.