self-deceptions
Lies to oneself
Self-deceptions are the lies we tell ourselves—beliefs we maintain despite evidence to the contrary, often to protect our ego or avoid uncomfortable truths.
The plural emphasizes specific instances: His self-deceptions about his drinking finally caught up with him.
We speak of self-deceptions when cataloging the ways someone has fooled themselves, each a separate failure to see clearly.
Inventing acceptable motives afterward
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- disavowalRejection of connection
- blindnessAbsence of vision
evasion · escapism · numbing · dismissal · nonacceptance · obliviousness · compartmentalization · suppression
Inventing acceptable motives afterward
- excusesExplanations offered for faults
- defensivenessResistance to perceived attack
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
distortion · hypocrisy · spin · reframing
Imaginative mental wandering
- confabulationInvented memories believed true
- unrealityQuality of being imaginary
- make-believeImaginative play or fantasy
- grandiosityExaggerated sense of importance
mythomania · fabrication · illusion · mirage · chimera · figment · pretense · daydreaming
Erroneous belief or understanding
- fallacyError in reasoning
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- overestimationJudging something too high
State of being insufficient
- inferiorityLower status or quality
- undervaluingJudging below true worth
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
vulnerability · overthinking · defensiveness · overcompensation · masking
rationalization
Inventing acceptable motives afterward
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- disavowalRejection of connection
blindness · evasion · escapism · numbing · dismissal · nonacceptance · obliviousness · compartmentalization · suppression · deflection
rationalization
Inventing acceptable motives afterward
- excusesExplanations offered for faults
- defensivenessResistance to perceived attack
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
equivocation · distortion · hypocrisy · spin · reframing
fantasy
Imaginative mental wandering
- confabulationInvented memories believed true
- unrealityQuality of being imaginary
- make-believeImaginative play or fantasy
grandiosity · mythomania · fabrication · illusion · mirage · chimera · figment · pretense · daydreaming
misconception
Erroneous belief or understanding
overestimation · underestimation · misjudgment · projection · misattribution
inadequacy
State of being insufficient
- inferiorityLower status or quality
- undervaluingJudging below true worth
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
anxiety · vulnerability · overthinking · defensiveness · overcompensation · masking
- thinking errorsad hominem, straw man, slippery slope, confirmation bias, sunk cost fallacy
self-deceptionstruthfulness
Habit of not lying
confession · self-awareness · self-knowledge · self-examination · brutal honesty
self-deceptionsinsight
Deep perceptive understanding
lucidity · clear-sightedness · clarity · discernment · enlightenment
self-deceptionsbrutal honesty
Unsparing directness in speech
hard truths · reckoning · coming to terms · acceptance · acknowledgment
self, deception, deceive, selfless, deceptive, selfhood, deceptively, undeceive, deceptions