Betsy GuerraBilingual Keynote Speaker, Psychotherapist/Coach, Author, Leadership Training and Life Coach Certification

Denial Is Healthy! #podcast #purposefilledlife

28 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment of her podcast, Betsy Guerra explains that denial serves as the first stage of grief because the brain needs time to process painful realities. She frames denial not as a failure but as a healthy, protective response that allows individuals to gradually become aware of a difficult truth. By resisting reality initially, a person gives their brain space to adjust, which later facilitates the transition toward acceptance. Guerra shares a personal anecdote about experiencing denial herself, emphasizing that this period helps the mind get used to the possibility of the loss before moving forward.

Chapters

The reason denial is the first stage of grief is because some things are too hard to accept. So the brain literally needs time for you to come to terms with like, okay, this is really happening. It's the opposite of acceptance, but that's healthy. When I was in my denial, resisting reality, I was giving time to my brain to process that this was really happening. It helps us like get used to the possibility so that then we can work on acceptance.