Freedom From Shame
When we can't stand the fear, the shame, and the self-reproach that we feel, we obliterate it with an addiction.
Steven Pressfield • Turning Pro
The prosocial shame cycle goes like this: Overconsumption leads to shame, which demands radical honesty and leads not to shunning, as we saw with destructive shame, but to acceptance and empathy, coupled with a set of required actions to make amends. The result is increased belonging and decreased consumption.
Anna Lembke • Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence
alcoholism is fundamentally a result of attempting to exert a level of control over your emotions that you can’t ever attain.
Oliver Burkeman • Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
This moment mattered greatly in my life and affected me for months, even years. But it wasn’t my first run-in with shame, nor would it be my last. Shame always makes me wonder, What is wrong with me? It whispers, “Be anywhere but here. Be anybody but me. Hide!”
Michael Thompson • The Heart of a Warrior
When people do not want to see something, they get mad at the one who shows them. They kill the messenger. A child from an alcoholic home gets into trouble scholastically or sexually. The family is flagged as being troubled. The child is made to feel shame for bringing shame to the family. But did the child bring shame? No. The child brought shamef
... See moreJulia Cameron • The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
I am convinced that some people are driven to addictions to quiet their constant inner critic, but it only gives them another thing to hate about themselves. What a vicious cycle! Moral scrutiny is not to discover how good or bad we are and regain some moral high ground, but to begin some honest “shadowboxing” which is at the heart of all spiritual... See more