*Please note that this tutorial discusses different types of emotional trauma that could be triggering for some readers.

When a person suffers an emotional hurt, there is an immediate onset of anxiety, fear, and other unpleasant emotions. Whether the hurt is small or large, the brain’s response is to try and stop the discomfort. A character may adopt certain unhealthy behaviors and attitudes to cope. And if the situation causes these negative emotions to escalate (especially anxiety), it becomes a psychological crisis. When this happens, defense mechanisms are often deployed.

Defense mechanisms are a powerful form of emotional shielding that help protect a person from the pain caused by psychological trauma. In the real world, when we see signs of a possible recurrence of a traumatic event or the negative emotions related to it, these mechanisms kick into gear to protect us. It’s normal for people to use defense mechanisms like denial from time to time, even though they are not healthy forms of coping. In fact, because they’re mostly subconscious, we aren’t usually aware of them.