Several readers responding to my recent post about a client who felt invisible have asked me to discuss the opposite experience — the person who fears being seen and desperately wants to remain invisible. It’s a very different issue, with roots in profound shame.
Tag: Basic shame
The Invisible Child
I’ve always struggled with the term attachment, used in my profession to denote the relationship that is supposed to develop between mother and infant during the earliest months of life. I may be too concrete, but it makes me think of those poor monkeys in Harlow’s experiment, clinging to that cloth-covered metal skeleton; it seems… Continue reading The Invisible Child
Performance Anxiety and Shame
When artists use their medium as an attempt to escape from internal “ugliness”, performance anxiety may reflect the fear of being exposed, their true damaged self becoming visible to the audience.
Shame and How It Produces Envy
Envy is a normal human emotion; when coupled with a basic and profound sense of personal shame, it becomes toxic.
Coping with that Savage Inner Voice
Some thoughts about how to silence the savage inner critic so that you can learn something from your experience, rather than simply beating yourself up.