Photo by Ian Espinosa on Unsplash
We live in a society that’s historically been emotionally and sexually repressed. The psychological mechanism by which we repress our socially unacceptable emotional and sexual impulses is unconscious shame.
Unconscious shame is a layer of invisible ‘emotional concrete’ that overlays the whole of society. It’s so widespread that its effects are considered totally normal and generally pass completely unnoticed.
Unconscious shame originates in our patriarchal past when the need to survive dictated that people maximised their masculine warrior abilities and minimised their feminine, nurturing aspects.
This created an overwhelming pressure for people to repress the aspects of themselves that conflicted with social standards—chiefly our emotions and our sexuality. They shamed others for exhibiting socially undesirable qualities and felt ashamed of themselves for sensing those qualities within themselves.
“The conflict that originally takes place between the child’s desires and the parents’ suppression of these desires later becomes the conflict between instinct and morality within the person.”
— Wilhelm Reich, The Mass Psychology of Fascism (1932)
Unconscious shame is transmitted both genetically and through social conditioning. It affects everyone to a lesser or greater degree.
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Testimonials
“Michael is obviously a deep thinker, and this combined with his rollicking writing style makes for an easy and entertaining read without losing the wonderful depth of meaning he offers us.”
— Joan Morgan McCarthy, Australia, author of Peace and Harmony: Re-envisioning Sexuality Education
“Michael has become a wonderful influence on my life. His guidance leads to a radically new but overwhelmingly true perspective.”
— JD, Iowa, USA
“Michael, you are a treasure. And I commend you on your bravery to tackle really sensitive topics for the empowerment of all.”
— Kate S, United States
Resources
Blogs
Free blogs about unconscious shame. Click on the image below.
Free courses
Useful background information on unconscious shame.
Paid courses
A low-cost introduction to recognising and releasing unconscious shame.
A low-cost course focusing on humanity’s core shame, our sexuality.
Books
A super-deep dive into the invisible prison of sexual shame.
1-2-1 Sessions
Are YOU ashamed? Give me a call.
I offer 30-, 45- and 60-minute 1-2-1 sessions over zoom. A 45-minute session costs £55.
To find out whether this might be helpful, schedule a free 15-minute call by clicking on the button below.
