The Paradox of Shame

According to Gerald Fishkin, a California-based psychologist and author of The Science of Shame, the experience of shame is connected with the limbic system. That’s the part of the brain that influences the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for the fight-or-flight response.  Scientific research also links shame with the physiological urge for self-protection: The experience of shame recruits the same brain circuits that prompt people to hide from physical danger. “Shame isn’t associated with cognition at all. At the precise moment shame is triggered, we are emotionally hijacked, and there’s no prefrontal activity,” Fishkin says. “We automatically want to be anonymous and invisible.” So we end up staying in fight-or-flight mode as a way to protect ourselves, and the cycle continues. Today coach KA is going to share with us the 3 paradox of Shame according to the book “The Science of Shame” and see what solutions we have that we can use to overcome the grip of shame.