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Shame Quotes

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Shame Quotes

“Shame and guilt are noble emotions essential in the maintenance of civilized society, and vital for the development of some of the most refined and elegant qualities of human potential.”

Humans Emotion Quality Development Essentials Shame Guilt Noble Civilized Melancholy Elegant Refined Maintenance Human Potential Civilized Society Shame And Guilt

Author:Willard Gaylin

“I believe one of our souls' major purposes is to know, love, and express our authentic selves. To live the life and be the person we were created to be. However, our true selves only emerge when it's safe to do so. Self-condemnation, shame, and guilt send your true nature into hiding. It's only in the safety of gentle curiosity, encouragement, and self-love that your soul can bloom as it was created to do.”

“When guilt is in its blush of infancy, it trembles in a tenderness of shame; and the first eye that pierces through the veil that hides the secret brings it to the face”

Firsts Eye Faces Secret Shame Guilt Tenderness Veils Infancy Pierce

Book:The fate of Capua. The Spartan dame. Money the mistress. A letter from the Earl of Orrey to Thomas Southerne

Source: The fate of Capua. The Spartan dame. Money the mistress. A letter from the Earl of Orrey to Thomas Southerne

“I place us where we are a happy couple who are madly in love, and we are kissing the way people kiss on their wedding day. With joy and relief and love. Without guilt. Without Shame.”

People Way Joy Couple Kissing And Love Shame Guilt Relief Wedding Day Madly In Love Happy Couple

Author:A.S. King

“He ["the male"] is trapped in a twilight zone halfway between humans and apes, and is far worse off than apes, because he is, first of all, capable of a large array of negative feelings that the apes aren't - hate, jealousy, contempt, disgust, guilt, shame, disgrace, doubt - and, secondly, he is aware of what he is and isn't.”

Firsts Humans Feelings Hate Doubt Capable Negative Shame Guilt Males Zone Contempt Twilight Disgusting Trapped Halfway Disgrace Apes Twilight Zone Negative Feelings

Author:Valerie Solanas

“From the perspective of the one committing suicide, his or her act can be one of the most perverse forms of moral manipulation, as it abandons those left behind to their shame, guilt, and grief. Suicide is something like a metaphysical "I gotcha!" It is often an attempt to kill or wound others.”

Form Left Grief Behinds Moral Perspective Shame Suicide Guilt Wounds Abandon Manipulation Metaphysical Left Behind Committing Suicide

Book:The Hauerwas Reader

Source: The Hauerwas Reader

“It is the guilt, not the scaffold, which constitutes the shame.”

Author:Pierre Corneille

“There is seemingly no biological benefit to acting with conscience; if there were, only moral individuals would survive and procreate. Sadly, we know that's not true. The benefit of conscience is that you won't suffer guilt (private) or shame (public), and that by your own self-imposed definition, you are a moral human, a special kind of animal who takes unique pride in elevating him/herself above the termites.”

Source: How Could You Do That?!: Abdication of Character, Courage, Consci

“Guilt is one side of a nasty triangle; the other two are shame and stigma. This grim coalition combines to inculpate women themselves of the crimes committed against them.”

Two Sides Crime Shame Guilt Committed Nasty Grim Stigma Coalitions Triangles

Author:Germaine Greer

“Our life is so short that every time I see my children, I enjoy them as much as I can. Whenever I can, I enjoy my beloved, my family, my friends, my apprentices. But mainly I enjoy myself, because I am with myself all the time. Why should I spend my precious time with myself judging myself, rejecting myself, creating guilt and shame? Why should I push myself to be angry or jealous? If I don't feel good emotionally, I find out what is causing it and I fix it. Then I can recover my happiness and keep going with my story.”

“Why do we hold onto negativity? For some reason, we believe that others are affected by our experience of remaining upset, hurt or angry. Holding on to pain, anger, guilt or shame is the glue that binds us to the situation we want to escape.”

Want Believe Reason Pain Hurt Situation Experience Anger Shame Angry Guilt Upset Affected Negativity Holding On Glue

Author:Iyanla Vanzant

“Natural Giving: Anything we do in life which is not out of that energy, we pay for and everybody else pays for. Anything we do to avoid punishment, everybody pays for. Everything we do for a reward, everybody pays for. Everything we do to make people like us, everybody pays for. Everything we do out of guilt, shame, duty, or obligation, everybody pays for.”

People Giving Energy Natural Pay Duty Communication Shame Guilt Rewards Punishment Obligation Nonviolent Communication

Author:Marshall B. Rosenberg

“You can't look outside of yourself. You must look within yourself, and address all of the things that are going on within you, and clear out the things that are not useful. Whether it's fear or anger or shame or guilt or whatever it is - clean that stuff up.”

Looks Stuff Clear Shame Guilt Clean Addresses Within You

Author:Iyanla Vanzant

“The distinction between shame and guilt is very important, since these two emotions may tear a person in opposite directions. The wish to relieve guilt may motivate a confession, but the wish to avoid the humiliation of shame may prevent it.”

May Persons Two Important Wish Emotion Tears Opposites Shame Guilt Distinction Confession Humiliation Shame And Guilt

Author:Paul Ekman

“I am not racked with self-loathing. Some issues of guilt and shame, but I'm a pretty good guy.”

Self Guy Issues Shame Guilt Good Guy Loathing Self Loathing

Author:Marcus Brigstocke

“Guilt is feeling bad about what you have done; shame is feeling bad about who you are - all it is, is muddling up things you have done with who you are.”

Done Feelings Shame Who You Are Guilt Feeling Bad

Author:Marcus Brigstocke

“The difference between guilt and shame is very clear--in theory. We feel guilty for what we do. We feel shame for what we are. A person feels guilt because he did something wrong. A person feels shame because he is something wrong. We may feel guilty because we lied to our mother. We may feel shame because we are not the person our mother wanted us to be.”

People Want Feels May Persons Different Feelings Wanted Lying Mother Differences Clear Theory Shame Guilt Guilty Ashamed Wrong Lied

Author:Lewis B. Smedes

“Are we bereft of citizenship because we are mothers, wives and daughters of a mighty people? Have women no country--no interests staked in public weal--no liabilities in common peril--no partnership in a nation's guilt and shame?”

People Country Mother Nations Interest Common Wife Daughter Shame Guilt Partnership Citizenship Peril Liability Bereft Wife And Daughter

Book:On Slavery and Abolitionism: Essays and Letters

Source: On Slavery and Abolitionism: Essays and Letters

“Any guilt about food, shame about the body, or judgment about health are considered stressors by the brain and are immediately transduced into their electrochemical equivalents in the body. You could eat the healthiest meal on the planet, but if you’re thinking toxic thoughts the digestion of your food goes down and your fat storage metabolism can go up. Likewise, you could be eating a nutritionally challenged meal, but if your head and heart are in the right place, the nutritive power of your food will be increased.”

Ifs Thinking Heart Body Brain Planets Judgment Eating Shame Down And Guilt Fats Meals Toxic Right Place Storage Digestion Metabolism Head And Heart Stressors

Author:Marc David

“Saying "I feel guilty" is a mere form of words. Saying "I feel ashamed" is not.”

Feels Form Shame Guilt Mere Guilty Ashamed

Author:Mason Cooley

“An older child, one who possesses a conscience, will be troubled with self-reproaches and feelings of shame for his naughtiness, even if he is not discovered. But our two-year-olds and our three-year- olds experience guilt feelings only when they feel or anticipate disapproval from the outside. In doing this, they have taken the first steps toward the goal of conscience, but there is a long way ahead before the policeman outside becomes the policeman inside.”

“What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the guilt of this world rests.”

World Real Literature House This World Shame Foundation Guilt Property Broads Estates Real Property

Book:Complete Novels of Nathaniel Hawthorne (Illustrated Edition): Fanshawe, The Scarlet Letter with its Adaptation, The House of the Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, The Marble Faun, The Dolliver Romance, Septimius Felton, Grimshawe's Secret and Biography

Source: Complete Novels of Nathaniel Hawthorne (Illustrated Edition): Fanshawe, The Scarlet Letter with its Adaptation, The House of the Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, The Marble Faun, The Dolliver Romance, Septimius Felton, Grimshawe's Secret and Biography

“I'm not sure if the shame/guilt distinction resonates for me. I just know that shame is a debilitating emotion that is perpetuated by Church and State.”

Ifs Knows States Church Emotion Shame Guilt Not Sure Distinction Church And State

Author:Marilyn Dumont

“We live in a society where we're not taught how to deal with our weaknesses and frailties as human beings. We're not taught how to speak to our difficulties and challenges. We're taught the Pythagorean theorem and chemistry and biology and history. We're not taught anger management. We're not taught dissolution of fear and how to process shame and guilt. I've never in my life ever used the Pythagorean theorem!”

“Guilt simply says that you are a sinner. And the feeling of shame simply shows you that you need not be a sinner, that you are meant to be a saint. If you are a sinner it is only because of your unconsciousness; you are not a sinner because the society follows a certain morality and you are not following it.”

Ifs Needs Shows Feelings Certain Morality Shame Guilt Saint Following Sinner Meant To Be Unconsciousness

Author:Rajneesh

“The best definition I've heard is that guilt is about what you've done, shame is about who you are. If something's out of my control, I don't feel shame about it, because what could I have done? If you're guilty, you can at least try to atone for it or make it better or not do it again. If it's who you are, you can't do much about it except change yourself, and that's pretty hard.”

Ifs Feels Trying Hard Done Heard Shame Who You Are Guilt Definitions Guilty Change Yourself

Author:Mary Gaitskill

“There are so many more productive things to do than sit around feeling shame and guilt. Beyond touching on shame and guilt in a perfunctory manner, I wouldn't bother with that at all.”

Feelings Shame Guilt Bother Things To Do Productive Touching Shame And Guilt

Author:Antony Hegarty

“Guilt is ever at a loss, and confusion waits upon it; when innocence and bold truth are always ready for expression.”

Waiting Loss Ready Expression Shame Guilt Confusion Innocence

Book:The Works of Mr. Congreve in Two Volumes

Source: The Works of Mr. Congreve in Two Volumes

“I can't say anything other than the fact that I feel a range of emotions including guilt, shame, sadness, betrayal, freedom and appreciation for those who have stood by me, been tough on me, and have taken the time to understand that there is a deeper story and not to believe everything they read in the newspapers.”

Feels Believe I Can Facts Stories Emotion Taken Sadness Tough Shame Guilt Including Appreciation Deeper Betrayal Newspapers Range Say Anything Range Of Emotions

Author:Jayson Blair

“Rather than being able to have a healthy relationship with our own sexual imagination, we're driven into some dark corners by shame and embarrassment and guilt, and those dark corners breed all sorts of monsters.”

Able Imagination Dark Healthy Shame Guilt Corners Driven Monsters Embarrassment Healthy Relationship

Author:Alan Moore

“Being natural and matter-of-fact about nudity prevents your children from developing an attitude of shame and guilt about the human body.”

Humans Children Matter Facts Body Natural Attitude Shame Our Children Guilt Developing Your Children Human Body Matter Of Fact Nudity Being Natural Nudists Shame And Guilt

Author:Lee Salk

“There's an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. It's reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have.”

Should Humans Ideas Body Evil Sex Attitude Built Shame Guilt Ashamed Human Body Taboo Prohibition

Author:George Carlin

“Without a sense of the shame or guilt of his or her action, the child will only be hardened in rebellion by physical punishment. Shame (and praise) help the child to internalize the parent's judgment. It impresses upon the child that the parent is not only more powerful but also right. Like the Puritans, Locke (in 1690), wanted the child to adopt the parent's moral position, rather than simply bow to superior strength or social pressure.”

Children Helping Action Wanted Social Parent Powerful Moral Position Judgment Pressure Praise Shame Guilt Punishment Superiors Rebellion Bows Impress Puritan Hardened Social Pressure

Author:C. Sommerville

“I think there's a lot of shame in American race relations. There's a lot of suppressed guilt that lashes itself out still. I see that all the time, and whereas opposed to sort of trying to address the issue in an up-front way, they're attacking and thus perpetuating the problem thinking that they're being sophisticated and post-racial, when, in fact, they're being completely regressive.”

Thinking Way Trying Stills Facts Problem Race Issues Fronts Relation Shame Guilt Posts Addresses Sophisticated Attacking Race Relations Lashes Perpetuating

Author:Danny Strong

“I don't feel any 'white guilt,' because I had nothing to do with (slavery) whatsoever. I feel shame for my country that it happened and that's why I feel we need to deal with it.”

Needs Feels Country White Deals Happened Shame Slavery Guilt

Author:Quentin Tarantino

“Despite their differences, pride, shame, and guilt all activate similar neural circuits, including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, insula, and the nucleus accumbens. Interestingly, pride is the most powerful of these emotions at triggering activity in these regions - except in the nucleus accumbens, where guilt and shame win out. This explains why it can be so appealing to heap guilt and shame on ourselves - they're activating the brain's reward center.”

Winning Differences Powerful Emotion Brain Pride Activity Shame Guilt Rewards Including Despite Regions Most Powerful Circuits Activate Nucleus Shame And Guilt

Author:David D. Burns

“It is more dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape.”

Should Persons Form Law President Dangerous Shame Prison Guilt Guilty Shame And Guilt Guilty Person

Book:The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence, cont

Source: The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence, cont

“How vast the benefits divine which we in Christ possess! We are redeemed from guilt and shame and called to holiness. But not for works which we have done, or shall hereafter do, hath God decreed on sinful men salvation to bestow.”

Men Done Christ Divine Benefits Shame Salvation Guilt Holiness Hereafter Redeemed

Author:Augustus Toplady

“FAQ regarding my book were not about my use of commas or how the images went berserk, but about the political situation in Bosnia, about guilt and shame, about victims and perpetrators, about reasons, arguments and beliefs that led to the conflict in the first place, etc. All of this needed and still needs answering and ongoing discussions, but I mostly felt overwhelmed and unqualified to articulate anything worth more than personal experiences of the siege, of fear and refuge - all the things which I wrote about anyway.”

“Child abuse is one of those issues that's very difficult to talk about because it's surrounded by guilt and shame and so on, but us avoiding that issue doesn't help those kids in need out there who need support.”

Needs Children Helping Kids Difficult Support Issues Abuse Shame Guilt Child Abuse Avoiding

Author:Chris Hemsworth

“Work on psychological blocks like shame and guilt - they falsely color your reality.”

Reality Color Shame Guilt Block Psychological Shame And Guilt

Book:Super Brain: Unleashing the Explosive Power of Your Mind to Maximize Health, Happiness, andSpiritual Well-Being

Source: Super Brain: Unleashing the Explosive Power of Your Mind to Maximize Health, Happiness, andSpiritual Well-Being

“Guilt: I'm sorry. I made a mistake. Shame: I'm sorry. I am a mistake.”

Made Mistake Shame Guilt Made A Mistake I Made A Mistake

Author:Brené Brown

“That's part of what I touch on in my [UN] speech - when assaults happen on women and girls in these fragile countries, in these places of crisis, there isn't the psychosocial support. There aren't counseling services. It's not in a lot of cultures to explicitly talk about things that maybe have happened to the body. So, repression of emotion, and shame, and guilt is something that really needs to be handled in humanitarian crises.”

Needs Country Body Happens Culture Girl Emotion Support Happened Speech Shame Crisis Guilt Humanitarian Fragile Assault Repression Counseling Shame And Guilt

Author:Natalie Dormer

“It was a good script [Something New]. We have not seen an interracial issue dealt with from a black woman and white man's perspective in this way. And, usually, it's a black man, white woman. I loved the fact that it wasn't about the couple being against the world or the couple against the family. I loved the fact that it was her dealing with her own prejudices that came up, her own guilt, her own shame and embarrassment about what her peers thought.”

Men World Way Facts Black White Issues Perspective Couple Prejudice Shame Guilt Scripts Something New Peers White Man Black Women Embarrassment

Author:Sanaa Lathan

“I had a lot of guilt and shame when I was running from God, but nothing like when I was running for God. I was always looking for God's approval, and that's where the guilt and shame came out in a big way.”

Way Bigs Running Shame Guilt Approval

Author:Jud Wilhite

“When the Pleiadians speak of letting go, they transmit a letting go energy through our energetic field. As a human being, we've been holding on for lifetimes, really holding on to the illusion strongly, holding on to the shame, the guilt, the sadness, all the things we've lived through, all the experiences we have allowed ourselves to create for ourselves in order to learn. We've held on to the pieces of us - the anger, the frustration and the pain.”

Humans Pain Order Energy Speak Human Beings Pieces Sadness Fields Letting Go Illusion Shame Guilt Lifetime Frustration Holding On Energetic Transmit

Author:Christine McCormick Day

“Emotions like guilt and shame cut you off from web of existence and that causes inflammation in the body. I would recommend that you go to a level of awareness where you can be an observer of your thoughts and emotions and use mindfulness.”

Use Body Causes Levels Emotion Existence Cutting Awareness Mindfulness Shame Guilt Observers Thoughts And Emotions

Author:Deepak Chopra

“You let go of the past, and stop bringing the past into the present and replaying it into the future. You release guilt, shame, and you can create an entirely new pattern for yourself.”

Past Letting Go Shame Guilt Patterns Release

Author:Gabrielle Bernstein

“A false identity is any lie that contradicts our God-given identities through Scripture. These false identities can be created by ourselves because of sin in our lives, choices made, or wrong turns taken and the regret, guilt, and shame that follows. Other false identities are handed to us by outside sources, maybe a damaging word spoken to us by someone or a childhood of abuse. However, not all false identities are negative on the surface, such as successful, attractive, wealthy, athletic, or talented. But even those identities can become false when we place too much of our weight on them.”

Lying Choices Sin Successful Taken Childhood Identity Regret Negative Abuse Shame Guilt Scripture Attractive Wealthy Athletic Life Choices Wrong Turn

Author:Matthew West

“People grow up learning to be silent about their sexuality, so where are they going to learn to talk about it when they are in a relationship? Shame, guilt, ignorance, reservation, prudishness, all kinds of different cultural systems and social stereotypes shroud sexuality in secrecy and in silence. And there's the romantic notion. "If I say in the beginning, that I am missing something, you are instantly going to think that means you are not enough."”

People Thinking Kind Mean Different Enough Silence Growing Up Missing Ignorance Shame Guilt Silent Sexuality All Kinds Stereotype Secrecy

Author:Esther Perel