Shame – an emotionally complex condition with social connotation and psychosomatic implications in pathology

Abstract

Shame is a complex emotional state, a universal experience, whose influence can be extensive. Elusive by its nature, shame can escape the attention of specialists. Discussions on shame as a separate and distinct emotion are rare, most often being denied, hidden or concealed by more socially acceptable emotions. Offspring of a disappointed Ideal Self, shame reflects on Self Respect and Self Image, both important and influential components of the psyche, with major implications in personality. Being a strong negative emotion, shame can have an important and quite extensive influence on mental health through its numerous somatic correlates intensely and widely expressed at different organic level on somato-visceral activity – thus, resulting in the appearance of numerous disorders and psychosomatic diseases – among them obesity, which was chosen by the author as the subject of a future research.

Keywords

• shame
• moral emotions
• social-self
• pathology