Your brain’s habit of handing out its own baggage like party favours.

Projection is what happens when your brain takes something uncomfortable inside you — a thought, a fear, a bit of unflattering emotional gunk — and flings it onto someone else like it’s their problem.

It’s your mind trying to protect itself from doing the hard work of self-awareness.

How it works

You feel something you don’t want to admit (jealousy, fear, insecurity, rage).

That feeling doesn’t fit with how you see yourself (“I’m calm,” “I’m kind,” “I’m not petty”).

So instead of dealing with it, your brain quietly shuffles it into someone else’s file.

“I’m not angry — you are.”
“I’m not judging you — you’re judging me.”
“I’m not being weird — they’re acting off.”

No reflection. No ownership. Just instant outsourcing of emotional rubbish.

Where it shows up in real life:

You accuse someone of lying because you’re hiding something.

You assume your partner is pulling away — when you’re the one emotionally unavailable.

You roll your eyes at someone’s need for validation — while fishing for compliments yourself.

You find someone annoying without a clear reason — probably because they’re doing something that reminds you of you.

Projection is one of the brain’s most common and sneakiest defence mechanisms.
It lets you avoid discomfort by pretending the problem lives elsewhere.

But it also makes you misread people, create false narratives, and start arguments based on your own nonsense.

And here’s the kicker: the more certain you are that you’re right about someone else, the more likely projection is at play.

Because people rarely project what they know about themselves — they project what they’re avoiding.

So if someone’s behaviour is really winding you up…
…there’s a decent chance you’re staring at a trait your own brain doesn’t want to own.

That’s projection.
A psychological mirror — turned sharply outward.