Rather than keeping you from being aggressive or attacking, defensive behavior can create hostility or distrust towards you that may not have existed before. This can lead to a vicious circle of defense, frustration, protection from future frustration, and other bad feelings.
Why is defense a bad thing?
Below are some of the negative effects defensive behavior can have on your life: You don’t behave in a way that fits with who you want to be or how you envisioned your life to be. You end up making other people feel bad without meaning to, and it makes you feel even worse. 28
What Causes Defensive Behavior?
Causes of Defensiveness People become defensive because they anticipate or sense a threat in their environment, not because they just want to be difficult. Unfortunately, defensive behavior creates a two-way cycle. 29
Why are you so defensive?
Answer: When people talk about someone becoming defensive in the context of a conversation, they generally mean someone who engages in emotional defensive maneuvers to avoid experiencing an unwanted emotion or admitting responsibility for an action that they have denied.
If someone is on the defensive, are they guilty?
When someone is defensive, it means they want to defend their position. It’s certainly not a sign of guilt. When a person is defensive, it means they want to defend their position. It’s certainly not a sign of guilt. 27
Does defensive mean you are guilty?
When someone is defensive, it means they want to defend their position. It’s certainly not a sign of guilt. When a person is defensive, it means they want to defend their position.
Why are we on the defensive?
Feeling defensive is a natural self-protection mechanism that we carry within us, says clinical psychologist Dr. Kate Renshall from Sydney. I think we all get defensive when someone insists on something that’s getting too close or touches something that we might already have our doubts about.
What does it mean when someone is on the defensive?
A defensive person is busy justifying their actions or words. They have a defensive stance as they try to protect themselves. If you know that defense means protection, you have an idea of what defense means. When a person acts defensively, they are trying to protect or justify themselves.
Where does the defense come from?
Defensive behavior can stem from a difficult childhood or a traumatic past, which can make a person more likely to “react through a negative lens,” said Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT, psychotherapist and founder of Love and Life Toolbox.
What does it mean when someone gets defensive?
Being on the defensive means reacting with an overprotective mentality, hence a situation that may not warrant it. Defensiveness is an impulsive and reactive way of responding to a situation or conversation.
Why are people so defensive?
Research has shown that making the wrongdoer feel like an outcast increases defensiveness in response to misconduct. Defensive behavior is a common response when people feel personally attacked, but it can impair our ability to identify problems and find solutions.
How do you know if someone is defensive?
Using statements like “Please tell me more about how you feel” or “Help me understand what’s upsetting you” can dampen other people’s defensiveness. Approach a solution.