If we lack inner support, don’t know who we are or what we need, we risk being led astray by others, or worse, living a life that isn’t truly ours. We lose tons of mental energy on unnecessary worries and find ourselves stuck in the same situations and relationships over and over. 🙄

Projection is a psychological defense mechanism where unconscious aspects of our psyche are projected outward. These can include both "negative" traits (like sexuality, greed, aggression, vulnerability, etc.) and positive ones (like perseverance, beauty, intelligence, etc.). To better understand how this defense works, imagine a projector where the image is cast onto a wall or screen. We often fail to see certain qualities or behavioral patterns in ourselves, but we spot them instantly in others, often reacting intensely. We fight fiercely, argue, get angry, or admire… But whatever irritates us the most can often be found within ourselves. 🤔

Projective identification is a lower-level defense mechanism that emerges in infancy and is used to project one’s feelings into a caregiver, as the child has no other way to communicate them. If the mother fails to provide consistent care and establish a strong holding environment with the infant, this defense can persist into adulthood. Such a person may struggle to express their emotions verbally, may not even understand them fully, and instead, makes others feel these emotions non-verbally. As a result, you might find yourself irritated for no reason, bored, rude, or behaving toward the person in the way their caregiver did in childhood. 💕

When you have internal support for your feelings, bodily experiences, and a well-developed sense of awareness—essentially, when your Ego is strong—you are less likely to experience intense reactions due to your own projections. Instead, these will be manageable emotions that prompt self-reflection: What does this situation reveal about me? You’ll truly be able to recognize what pertains to you and accept that these traits are part of you too. Secondly, you won't experience the same intense reactions when others project onto you—you know who you are and accept your behavior, the consequences of your choices, and decisions. Finally, in the case of projective identification, you’ll be able to understand that this behavior is not characteristic of you and may even refrain from acting out what the other person expects of you. ❤️