I wanted to explain a bit about the concepts of projection, inhibition and compulsion, within the psychotherapeutic context. These concepts are some of the most essential tools in my work with clients, as signposts pointing towards some of the deeper issues we might be struggling with. They also underpin many of the frameworks we can use to dissect where we might be feeling stuck or tripping ourselves up in life.
If you’ve ever struggled with anxious/avoidant relationship dynamics, victim/perpetrator scenarios or self-belief issues, it’s likely that these concepts have played a role.
Inhibitions or compulsions show up when our unconscious programs fail to run normally as a result of contradictory information, or traumatic experiences that don’t make ‘sense’. In these situations, our systems are unable to reconcile the information, and distorted limiting beliefs form. Projection is a process by which we then might unconsciously attribute these unaccepted traits onto others.
How Limiting Beliefs and Psychological Distortions Form
Traumatic symptoms are not caused by the experienced event itself, rather they are the residue of frozen energetic and emotional impulses that were not able to resolve in the moment, and remain in the body.
In experiences where our authentic expression was dismissed, rejected, shamed, interrupted, violated, or in situations where the received response was contradictory, psychological distortions may form that inhibit our authentic behaviour.
For example, if I felt attacked and my instinct was to retaliate with rage, yet I feared it would make things worse, my authentic expression of anger might become inhibited.
These responses create energetic ‘guard rails’ in the subconscious as our psyche learns what actions and behaviours are acceptable, and those that are not. It then falls to our conscious mind to formulate a functional reason or narrative as to why, in an attempt to protect us from further rejection in the future.
These narratives crystallise the psychological distortions into limiting beliefs that define the boundaries of who we are, and can also be projected out onto the world around us. In this way, we often judge, or attack, the traits that have been denied in the self when we recognise them in others – because we developed the belief that they are not acceptable.
How these processes play out
Inhibition can be seen as a coping mechanism that reflects the self that cannot yet be expressed. For example, I might desperately want to go and start a conversation with that beautiful stranger, but the power of inhibited self belief might cause me to completely freeze.
Compulsion shows up as an unconscious defence that reflects the energy of the part trying, unsuccessfully, to break through. For example, if I have wounds around rejection and not feeling good enough, I might be unable to stop myself repeatedly messaging a partner I believe is losing interest, despite knowing the behaviour will likely push them further away.
In response, we may unconsciously develop narratives to judge and project upon the external world as a safety mechanism to avoid feeling the discomfort of our blocks. Going back to the above examples, the beautiful woman ‘was too full of herself’, or our partner is ‘to blame for not responding’.
Understanding how the mechanism of limiting beliefs and projection keeps us stuck in our energetic blocks can provide the opportunity to start softening our grip on them. If we can realise that the way we see the world might not be objectively true, instead filtered and distorted through our emotional state, limiting beliefs and life experiences, there becomes an opportunity to make room for alternative, more empowering perspectives.
How to work with these processes
Within this framework, inhibition alerts us to where the psyche is split and in need of integration. We know what we want to do but a conflicting belief is blocking us from doing so.
Compulsion can be seen as an invitation to embodiment, guiding us back to what we need to feel. This could be sitting with our fear of rejection and feelings of not good enough until they can be accepted – so that we don’t overcompensate in an attempt to stay safe from them in our relationship.
In a therapy session, we can work to create a safe space to witness, and hold attention on the fleeting emotional signature of these blocks, to help begin to develop a conscious awareness of them in action.
In this way, projection, inhibition and compulsion can be seen as signposts to the parts of ourselves we’re yet to fully accept. Healing becomes a process of becoming aware of the program by witnessing its symptoms, gently moving towards acceptance and integration of the disowned trait, aspect or behaviour.
By inviting embodied awareness and conscious witnessing – feeling the unexpressed emotions without assigning meaning, there may be opportunity for the projection to be withdrawn, the inhibition to soften, and the compulsion to be met with understanding rather than suppression.
Projection dissolves not through force, but through insight, safety, and compassionate awareness. Inhibition relaxes when the internalised judgement is witnessed and held differently. Compulsion fades when the unmet need or disowned energy is given permission to move consciously and without shame.
It is through these processes that a fragmented psyche can begin to find its way back to an integrated, centred sense of self.
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If you’re interested in working with me, I offer integration psychotherapy services in-person from my space in Kettering, Northants, as well as online over Zoom.
Drop me a DM to find out more, or visit embrace-everything.com
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Previously Published on Embrace Everything
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