Denial is like when you’re playing outside and it starts to rain, but you pretend it’s not raining because you really want to keep playing. Denial is when you don’t want to believe something is happening, even if it really is. It’s like putting your hands over your ears and saying ‘La la la, I can’t hear you!’ because you don’t want to hear something you don’t like.
Think of denial as a big, invisible shield you hold up to keep away things you don’t want to see or feel. Sometimes, this shield helps us feel safe for a little while, but it doesn’t make the rain stop or the things we don’t like go away. It’s like when you cover your eyes during a scary part of a movie. You might not see the scary part, but it’s still there.
Denial can also be like when you spill juice on the floor and try to walk around it, hoping no one notices. Eventually, someone will see the spill, and it needs to be cleaned up. Denial might make things feel better for a moment, but facing the truth helps us fix things and feel better in the long run.