“Shame destroys our interiors, causing our bones to melt and our faces to hide from the gaze of others. We escape its oppressive force not through self-talk or self-willing, but from the outside-in. …”
Hi Matt, I really love that whole paragraph you wrote. I love it because it speaks to the neurobiological experience of shame. The neurobiological experience of shame is also put into words by many phrases in Biblical Hebrew. For example, the ancient Hebrews thought that the kidneys were the seat of the conscience.
I’m going to quote and cite that paragraph of your in a post I’m writing about facing, digesting and metabolising shame. My post will be a deep dive into Luke 16:9 — Jesus’s teaching on the parable of the unrighteous steward.
I mostly write about abuse in a Christian context. When considering the feeling of shame, it is vital to first discern whether the person is feeling shame because they have been unjustly accused, blamed and stigmatised by others, or whether the person is feeling shame because they have actually done wrong.
Your article does not seem to have distinguished justly-merited shame from the feeling of guilt and shame which we can get when other people have falsely accused us of wrongdoing. I’m wondering whether you have any thoughts on distinguishing those two things.
“Shame destroys our interiors, causing our bones to melt and our faces to hide from the gaze of others. We escape its oppressive force not through self-talk or self-willing, but from the outside-in. …”
Hi Matt, I really love that whole paragraph you wrote. I love it because it speaks to the neurobiological experience of shame. The neurobiological experience of shame is also put into words by many phrases in Biblical Hebrew. For example, the ancient Hebrews thought that the kidneys were the seat of the conscience.
I’m going to quote and cite that paragraph of your in a post I’m writing about facing, digesting and metabolising shame. My post will be a deep dive into Luke 16:9 — Jesus’s teaching on the parable of the unrighteous steward.
I mostly write about abuse in a Christian context. When considering the feeling of shame, it is vital to first discern whether the person is feeling shame because they have been unjustly accused, blamed and stigmatised by others, or whether the person is feeling shame because they have actually done wrong.
Your article does not seem to have distinguished justly-merited shame from the feeling of guilt and shame which we can get when other people have falsely accused us of wrongdoing. I’m wondering whether you have any thoughts on distinguishing those two things.