Tag: depression
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Why Loneliness Can Exist Even When You Are Not Alone
Loneliness is often understood too simply. When somebody says, “I feel lonely,” the immediate assumption may be that they live alone, have few friends or spend very little time with other people. In reality, loneliness does not work in such a straightforward way.
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Why Some People Find It Difficult to Express Anger in Psychotherapy
Anger is one of the most complex emotions encountered in psychotherapy. Some patients express it openly and forcefully from the beginning of treatment. Others appear quiet, restrained or emotionally depleted, even though considerable anger may be operating beneath the surface.
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Understanding Shame and Its Emotional Effects in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life – Part 6
Patients often enter psychotherapy hoping that shame can be removed completely. They may want to forget what happened, stop thinking about how they behaved or reach a point at which the memory no longer produces any emotional reaction.
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Understanding Shame and Its Emotional Effects in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life – Part 5
Shame is not only an experience that patients describe from outside psychotherapy. It frequently enters the treatment itself and begins influencing what the patient says, what remains unspoken and how the relationship with the psychotherapist develops. A patient may enter psychotherapy because they feel depressed, anxious, socially isolated or unable to sustain relationships. They may…
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Understanding Shame and Its Emotional Effects in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life – Part 4
Pathological shame does not affect people only when the emotion is fully present. In some patients, the fear that shame might return becomes almost as powerful and destructive as the shame itself. The person may remember how overwhelming the feeling was on an earlier occasion. They remember the sense of exposure, worthlessness or internal collapse…
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Understanding Shame and Its Emotional Effects in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life – Part 3
Shame does not remain contained within one memory or one difficult situation. When it becomes established, it begins influencing how the person behaves, how they relate to others and what they believe they are capable of doing. The person may not always say that they feel ashamed. They may describe themselves as anxious, depressed, unmotivated,…
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Understanding Shame and Its Emotional Effects in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life – Part 2
Many patients who struggle with shame in adult life eventually return, through recollection, to experiences from childhood. They may begin psychotherapy by describing difficulties that appear to belong entirely to the present. They feel incapable at work, inadequate in relationships, uncomfortable in social situations or deeply anxious whenever somebody criticises them. They may constantly compare…
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Understanding Shame and Its Emotional Effects in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life – Part 1
Shame is one of the most painful emotions people bring into psychotherapy. It can affect how a person sees themselves, how they imagine they are seen by others and how confidently they participate in everyday life.
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Why Guilt Can Be So Difficult to Let Go Of in Psychotherapy – Part 6
Guilt does not usually disappear in psychotherapy through one explanation, one interpretation or one moment of insight. Even when the patient understands intellectually that their responsibility has been exaggerated, the emotional experience may continue. This is because persistent guilt is rarely held only as an idea. It is often woven into the patient’s personality, relationships…
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Why Guilt Can Be So Difficult to Let Go Of in Psychotherapy – Part 5
Working with guilt in psychotherapy is rarely a matter of deciding whether the patient should or should not feel guilty. The experience is usually much more complicated than that. Sometimes the patient has done something they genuinely regret. Sometimes the responsibility has been greatly exaggerated. Sometimes the event itself is unclear, but the patient still…