Shame: A Disowned Part of the Self

Abstract

The patterns of our default mechanisms are laid down by the age of 3. This is the place we will default to in times of crisis later in life and for most of us this is a mostly stable place. But what if it’s not, what if we are defaulting to a very unstable and frightening place every time we experience emotional stress/crisis in our adult lives? Trauma, especially early childhood trauma, would cause this and even if we do not consciously know the trauma the mnemic memory trace of it would be enough to cause a disturbance in our default mechanisms. The result is that we would exist in a hypervigilant state, always waiting for the next traumatic event and, as per Freud’s pleasure/pain principle, that pressure will build to an unsustainable level meaning we will either explode and act out on/with others or implode and act in on ourselves. This is the motivation behind my exploration of the themes in the movie Shame and in particular the perceived childhood trauma of Brandon and his relationship with his sister Sissy.

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Notes on contributors

Joanna Fortune

Joanna Fortune, M.A., is a psychotherapist and child attachment specialist. She is accredited with the Irish Council of Psychotherapy and is a certified therapist, trainer, and supervisor with the World Theraplay Institute. She is regularly published in the mainstream Irish media.