 Psychologist Carl Jung said, the most dangerous psychological mistake is the projection of the shadow onto others. This is the root of almost all conflicts. According to Psych Central, projection happens when someone places their own beliefs or emotions onto someone else. It often happens unconsciously and sometimes people project their own insecurities onto others. When someone projects, you might internalize their hurtful comments and believe them to be true. But if you can easily recognize when someone is projecting, it can help you become more resilient and take their negative comments less personally. Let's talk about three signs someone is projecting their insecurities onto you. Let's go. Repression. Science has had a huge impact in revealing the significant role repression plays in projection. In 1997, Leonard Newman and colleagues conducted a study where they asked people which negative traits they found most threatening, then observed how participants reacted to these traits in themselves and others. They found that people who repressed their emotions were more likely to deny having the threatening trait themselves. But they were quick to say someone else had the trait. Repressors also avoided talking about the traits they found most threatening. Interesting. So how can you tell whether someone is raising a legitimate concern or projecting a repressed insecurity onto you? The next time you think someone might be projecting, ask yourself, do they have this trait themselves and try hard to deny or repress it? Have they talked about how much they hate this trait before or have a strong reaction to it? If you answered yes, this might be a projection rather than a legitimate concern. Reaction. Have you ever had a crush on someone and didn't want anyone to know? If anyone ever asked you if you had a crush on the person, what do you do? Do you overreact? Do you pretend this person is so annoying and disgusting that you couldn't possibly like them? Well, projection kind of works the same way. According to national certified counselor, Tanya Peterson, overreaction is a major sign of projection. If someone is projecting their insecurities onto you, you might notice that they get extremely angry or upset with you even when there's no conflict and you don't understand why. Like all psychological defense mechanisms, projection is a response to uncomfortable emotions. These feelings can cause someone to blow up at something that might seem minor to you. If someone has an emotional reaction that is disproportionate to the situation, they may be projecting this insecurity onto you. It may also be a good idea to remove yourself from the situation too. The blame game. Imagine your partner accuses you of cheating even though they have no evidence and you've never even thought of being unfaithful to them. Why would they do this? Psychology today states that this is a common example of projection. In romantic relationships, we might falsely blame our partner for cheating when we have the desire to cheat ourselves. According to my therapist, people often project blame onto others in order to feel better about their own problems. Have you ever been in a situation where someone starts blaming you out of nowhere for something that you didn't do? This could be a sign that they're projecting an insecurity onto you. When you realize that someone is projecting, you recognize that what they're saying has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. Knowing this can help these outbursts staying a bit less and help you navigate this type of interaction. Now we wanna hear from you, Psych2Goers. Has anyone ever projected onto you? Be honest. Have you projected onto someone else before? We hope that after watching this video, you'll be able to identify the signs that someone is projecting their insecurities onto you. Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below and don't forget to like and subscribe. Until next time.