There is no doubt in my mind that shame and invisibility are closely linked. When I read books that explore the issue of shame, the words hide, hiding, hidden, invisible, avoid, avoidance, and conceal routinely surface.

For example, in his 1989 psychoanalytical tome on shame, Andrew P. Morrison, M.D. writes:

“We have all felt shame. We have all suffered feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, incompetence, known a sense of defect and flaw, of failure; been scorned by others – such feelings are among the most painful we can experience. We hide them from ourselves and others.” (page 1, Shame)

And, on page 2, he writes:

“…shame frequently causes one to hide, to avoid interpersonal contact as a protection against rejection, and to conceal the affective experience from one’s own awareness.” (page 2, Shame)

What I notice first is the idea of hiding shame from others AND ourselves. That idea, alone, points to the insidiousness and isolation that shame can create. It seems like a clear link to invisibility.

Consider the following questions:

• How does shame show up in your life?
• How does shame undermine your ability to be visible?
• What have you done to overcome the ravages of shame?

I will continue to explore the relationship between shame and invisibility in future posts.

www.invisiblelives.com

Write a comment