“Music allowed him to enter another universe, free from words and more suited to his personal needs” (Ostwald, 1997, p. 31). “The Ecstasy And Tragedy Of Genius” by Peter Ostwald describes Glenn Gould's life experience as a pianist and child star. Glenn's musical abilities and eccentric behavior led him to become one of the most famous and controversial musicians to date. Glenn was greatly influenced by his mother, who was “musically gifted” (Ostwald, 1997, p. 37), and quickly developed a love for the piano. However, this love for the piano continued to grow until it began to consume every aspect of his life. Throughout his life, Glenn faced many challenges and stressors and dealt with them in questionable ways. Glenn's overuse and reliance on defense mechanisms have negatively affected his life and his ability to deal with stress adequately. At this point, his defense mechanisms began to affect his emotions, relationships, personality, and behavior. Glenn commonly used hypochondriasis as a defense mechanism, and it negatively affected his relationships, personality, and health. Not only did Glenn use the piano as a source of entertainment and income, but he eventually began using it as another coping mechanism to escape reality. Glenn also overused regression and repression as defense mechanisms. The defense mechanism, hypochondria, will be considered to understand how it has affected Glenn's relationships and life experience. Defense mechanisms are the ways in which individuals protect themselves emotionally and cope with reality; they can protect people from dealing with unwanted or unacceptable feelings. However, once an individual becomes dependent on defense mechanisms, it can negatively imprint itself during childhood, so when they experience these feelings later in life, they will try to avoid feeling and expressing them; because he thought they were unacceptable. As a result of the inability to adequately express emotions, he has developed repression and suppression as defense mechanisms; he was unable to learn proper resilience and how to manage his emotions. In conclusion, Glenn depended on many different coping mechanisms to manage his anxiety and these shaped his life experience. Glenn became a hypochondriac, and this defense mechanism negatively affected his relationships, health, and personality. Throughout his life Glenn continued to use the piano as a defense mechanism; this led to isolation and social withdrawal. Glenn's excessive use of suppression and repression has affected his ability to adequately manage his emotions and stress.