What would happen to a human that lacks the psychological defense mechanisms that normal people have?

Answer 1

Death, insanity, a failure to breed.

We have psychological defense mechanisms for a very good reason. For example falling from a great height is often fatal, in the society of cavemen when broken bones can't be set even a simple fall can be fatal. So a fear of heights is not such a bad reflex to have.

Most of our fears and other psychological defenses have a similar founding. Sometimes they become too large or too dominant, but most people have a proper balance and only part of the fear. Those that didn't would take stupid chances and probably die. Dead people don't pass on their genes very well so people who have absolutely no fear of heights probably died out a long time ago.

Some of our psychological defenses are there to protect our sanity. We don't like crowded places because there is a higher chance of passing on disease in a crowd and more of a chance of offending someone and getting into a fight. So people have a zone of personal space and don't like to let people inside that zone of personal space. If you confront someone and try to grab them then you are invading that personal space and your are more likely to make that person angry. This is where the phrase "getting into your face" came from. If you do that then you are sure to make the person angry. Part of the reason for having this is because it has become a good survival tactic.

If we didn't have our psychological defenses we would have problems. Most fears are valid, at least in part. If we didn't have a fear of snakes, knives, heights or tight spaces then people would frequently die from snake bites, being cut, falling or being caught in a cave in. Of course if the fear is too great then it can cause problems and that becomes a threat to your sanity.

Some psychological defenses are there to keep us sane, others are there to keep us available for breeding and passing on our genes. For example if a man smells bad then few women are going to want to breed with them. There is a smaller chance of them passing on their genes so they die out and that trait disappears from society. This is the normal process of evolution in action.

Without our mental defense systems we could die from stupid mistakes, lose our sanity from taking too many chances or chances that aren’t worth it and finally those instances reduce a person’s chance to breed and pass on their genes. The “Nerd Gene,” if there is such a thing, is a recent survival tactic developed by previously poor breeding options. Now day’s nerds have a higher income earning potential so more of them are getting married and breeding; thereby passing on the gene(s) that made them nerds: Another case of evolution in action.

Answer 2

They would become trolls on Yahoo Q&A. (jk)
They would probably develop problems with
reality and perhaps become sucidal. But I have a question for you. What is normal?

Answer 3

He would probably have a nervous breakdown.