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Neel Burton – Hide and Seek: The Psychology of Self-Deception (Second Edition)*** elib exclusive ***Quote:Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love… Fyodor DostoevskySelf-deception is common and universal, and the cause of most human tragedies. Of course, the science of self-deception can help us to live better and get more out of life. But it can also cast a murky light on human nature and the human condition, for example, on such exclusively human phenomena as anger, depression, fear, pity, pride, dream making, love making, and god making, not to forget age-old philosophical problems such as selfhood, virtue, happiness, and the good life. Nothing, in the end, could possibly be more important.ContentsPart I: Abstraction1. Denial2. Repression3. Anger4. Dissociation5. Intellectualization6. Rationalization7. Positive illusions8. The manic defence9. DepressionPart II: Transformation10. Displacement11. Scapegoating12. Somatization13. Reaction formation14. Stockholm syndrome15. Minimization and exaggeration16. Symbolization and dream interpretation17. Reification and the selfPart IIIA: Evasion through fraud or fantasy18. Vagueness19. Inauthenticity20. Reconstruction of reality21. Confabulation22. Splitting23. Dehumanization24. Daydreaming25. RegressionPart IIIB: Evasion through people or the world26. Socialization27. Garrulousness28. Dramatization29. Grandiosity30. Humour31. Asceticism32. Sublimation33. Altruism34. Anticipation35. Fear and anxietyPart IV: Projection36. Projection37. Projective identification38. Idealization39. Devaluation40. IdentificationOpen for everyoneNumber of pages: 216Year of publication: 2019Url:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hide-Seek-Psychology-Self-Deception…Amazon rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars (12 reviews)Amazon 5 star review wrote:We all deceive oursenves for necessary reasons, until we are healed enough to not have to rely on these defences any more.For a terrified child, these defences allow at least some measure of coping.I am 72, have had, off and on, as necessary, 20 years of counselling from the same source. My defences were so ingrained, that it was about five years before I began to be able to attempt the process of becoming whole. It has been like climbing a cliff-face. I have had times of progress, always painful, as they involve self-awareness which may not be pretty; also times of rest and incubation of these hard-to-take truths about myself and my parentingl; also times of regression and denial.This book is clear and simple about our ego defences. It requires a degree of self acceptance and understanding of one’s deficits, to appreciate its insights.Amazon 5 star review wrote:I would recommend this book to for both personal and professionals, easy to read and understand. Great book for anyone looking to improve their self awareness.Amazon 5 star review wrote:I found this book as close to a mirror as one could make a book. You get to see the warts and all, but I found it very freeing.May you find the LIFE and LOVE,Aeon