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Free psychological test · Transactional Analysis (TA)
The Injunctions Test — The 12 “Don’ts” That Hold You Back
The 12 “Don’t” messages you received in childhood
Why do I always hesitate in front of a good opportunity? Why do I quietly pull back when someone gets close? Why, after achieving it all, do I bring it down myself at the very end? If there is a repetition like this, underneath it there may be a “Don’t” message (an injunction) carved into the body in childhood. It is not something the parents taught in words. It is closer to a conclusion the child reached on their own, through faces, mood and repeated experience.
This test finds, among the 12 injunctions described in Transactional Analysis (TA), the message you took in most strongly as a child. 48 questions and about 6 minutes are enough. It does not pass judgment on your character as it is now. It is a mirror that shows where today’s repeating pattern began.
An injunction is not a charge against you. Once, it was the child’s best effort to survive in that environment. But if the same rule is still running automatically now that you are an adult, simply naming it and noticing it gives you room to choose differently.
Quick sign-up, then start right away · About 6 minutes · 48 questions
The theory behind this test
The concept of the injunction was systematized by Bob and Mary Goulding (Goulding & Goulding, 1979), who led the redecision school of Transactional Analysis. In a great many psychotherapy cases, the two observed that the early decisions clients made in childhood, in response to their parents’ verbal and non-verbal messages, led to repeating patterns in adult life, and they organized those messages into 12 injunctions.
The Gouldings’ central insight is that an injunction is less something the parents “gave” than something the child “decided to accept.” Because it was a decision made in childhood, it can also be decided again now (redecision). That is the hope this theory offers.
The types you will meet in your result
Don’t exist
This is the message of the deepest layer: “It might have been better if I weren’t here.” It comes from being an unwanted birth, from frequent experiences of rejection and the like, and it can show up as not taking care of yourself or as taking unreasonable risks with your life. Noticing this injunction is itself the first step in recovering your existence.
Don’t be you
This is the message that you are not welcome just as you were born — your sex, your temperament, the way you are. It often arises when the parents wanted a child of the other sex or constantly compared you with a sibling. In adult life it leads to an anxiety that you will not be loved if you show “the real me.”
Don’t be a child
This is the injunction of a person who had to grow up early. It is often taken in by an eldest child or by a child who had to look after a parent. It shows up as a pattern in which play, fun and leaning on others feel awkward, and you feel guilty even while resting.
Don’t grow up
This is the message “Don’t leave my side and become an adult.” It tends to arise when you were the youngest, or when the parents were afraid of the child’s independence. It can lead to handing decisions over to others, or to your feet growing heavy for no reason when you face independence and responsibility.
Don’t succeed
This is the message behind the pattern of slipping every time at the threshold of achievement. It forms when you got attention only when you failed, or when you grew up in an atmosphere in which success threatened someone. It is not that you lack ability. The brake comes on automatically just before success.
Don’t (do anything)
This is the message “It is dangerous to move. Stay still.” It arises when the child’s actions were always met with worry and restraint. It shows up as a pattern of putting off decisions and beginnings without end, and of a vague anxiety coming up every time you try to do something.
Don’t be important
This is the message “Don’t step forward. Don’t be noticed.” It is taken in when the child’s needs and opinions were ignored every time. It leads to declining the front seat even when you have the ability, and to feeling unusually uncomfortable in situations where you are recognized.
Don’t belong
This is the message “You are different from us. You can never fully fit in anywhere.” It arises when the family was isolated, or when you were told again and again, “You’re odd.” It shows up as the feeling of being on the outside in whatever group you join, and as a pattern of choosing the outsider’s place yourself.
Don’t be close
This is the injunction about intimacy and trust. It comes from a home without expressions of affection, or from an experience of sudden loss or betrayal. It can lead to pulling back first just as a relationship is about to deepen, or to ending the relationship just before you open your heart.
Don’t be well
This is the message that arises from the experience of getting care and attention only when you were sick. It can show up as feeling that you only earn the right to rest when your body is suffering, or as a pattern in which your body gets sick first at every important time. It sometimes extends to “Don’t be sane.”
Don’t think
This is the message “Your judgment cannot be trusted.” It forms when the child’s thinking was ignored or ridiculed. It leads to your mind going blank at the moment you have to judge for yourself, and to being swept along by emotion or simply following someone else’s conclusion.
Don’t feel
This is the message of a home in which expressing feelings was forbidden. When you hear “Don’t cry” and “There’s nothing to be scared of” again and again, you learn to shut feelings off altogether. When asked how you feel, the answer gets stuck, and the feeling sometimes shows up as a signal from the body instead, such as a headache or fatigue.
Who this test is for
- People who have more than enough ability but seem to put the brake on themselves at every important moment
- People who become uncomfortable for no reason when someone gets close, and pull back first
- People who feel somehow guilty when they are resting or enjoying themselves
- People whose mind goes blank and who cannot find words when asked about their feelings or thoughts
- People who have long carried the question, “Why does it always repeat for me at this point?”
Frequently asked questions
Is the test free? Do I need to log in?
Yes, it is free. When you take the test after a quick sign-up, your result is saved, and it is also used automatically in later AI script analysis and counseling, so you can get a deeper interpretation.
Is the result a medical diagnosis?
No. This test is not a medical diagnostic tool for identifying disease. It is a self-understanding tool for looking at where your repeating pattern began. If your psychological difficulties feel severe, we recommend professional counseling or medical care as well.
If an injunction comes up, should I blame my parents?
No. The Gouldings saw an injunction less as something the parents gave than as a decision the child accepted on their own in order to survive in that environment. What matters is not blame. It is that the decision made in childhood can be chosen again now, as an adult (redecision).