Rogers suggested that the incongruent individual, who is always on the defensive and cannot be open to all experiences, is not functioning ideally and may even be malfunctioning. They work hard at maintaining and protecting their self-concept. Because their lives are not authentic this is a difficult task and they are under constant threat. They deploy "defense mechanisms" to achieve this. He describes two mechanisms: "distortion" and "denial". Distortion occurs when the individual perceives a threat to their self-concept. They distort the perception until it fits their self-concept.