Ahhh defenses, I just did some work on mine over this summer. They are buggers. Have you tried reading about defenses? This is what helped me with mine. They are put there to help you cope (at one time). But yeah, then they can get in the way later. Have you tried to think about why you have them and when you acquired them? When you got them you were trying to survive. This is a good thing to do.

Did you ever read the article that I put here about defenses a few months ago?