Guilt and shame are two of the most powerful emotions in our culture. They can be extremely negatively valenced in the mind and body, and I observe that they affect people’s mental health to a great degree. In this post I will describe why people can tend to get caught up in unhealthy patterns of feeling excessive shame and guilt, and give you some pointers on how you can overcome these patterns.
Overcoming Patterns of Guilt and Shame Read More »
We are all different. No one disputes that. We come in different colors, shapes, and sizes. We express ourselves in different ways as well. Some people love to talk, others enjoy painting, some like to write, and others love to sit alone. One of the biggest things we express as humans are emotions. In our
Different Expressions of Emotion: Neurodiversity Read More »
It is easy to get wrapped up in our identity, and the story of our life. Identity cuts to the core of who we are, so naturally we are extra concerned about it. In reality, our identity is more of a social construct than we think. Lisa Feldman Barrett, a leading psychologist studying emotion, has
Constructing Identity: We Make Ourselves Read More »
In school, we are taught math, history, science, literature, and so on. This is all useful information but when it comes to knowing more about ourselves, our education system is lacking. We are not taught about our emotions. Popular culture and the classical view of emotions would have you believe that emotional intelligence is about
Get Smart: Emotional Intelligence Read More »
Life is an Art Gallery : How Slow Looking Can Improve Your Life and Relationships Nothing can make a person feel dense and inferior like a room full of fine art. It’s a silent source of shame for many. Let’s set the scene. You’re in an art gallery. To your left, a man with a
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As humans, we feel things deeply. It sometimes seems as if our emotions take on a life of their own. We can experience both immense joy and crushing sadness in a matter of minutes. Typically, we think of emotions as innate and universal expressions, and that we are born with the ability to feel these various emotions. New research in neuroscience is challenging this classical view of emotion. We are now learning that emotions may be psychologically constructed rather than biologically present.
How Are Emotions Made? Read More »
Something stuns you. The last breath you took is held prisoner in your chest. Concerns you’ve grown accustomed to fade like shadows at dusk, and you stare down the barrel of truths you’ve never seen before. You are suspended in this moment like a dust particle in a beam of light: void of opinion, untethered from knowledge.
CONTINUITY AND BREAKUPS Read More »
“Personality” is a common term that gets thrown around in everyday life. You might hear your roommate say “I am a big procrastinator. My mom says it’s just a part of my personality.” Your best friend might tell you, “I love how much of an outgoing personality you have.” As a society, we seem to
The Truth About Personality Read More »
