Other Psychology Commons^™

The Secret Thoughts Of Man Run Over All Things Holy, Alan A. Mackenzie

Alan A MacKENZIE

Addiction to lust is common in many men today. This lust is often rooted in our yearning for emotional intimacy– yet finding ourselves unprepared, unequipped and fearful of that intimacy. Shame pathology results from our wanting relationships and genuine equality and mutuality with women, yet finding ourselves crippled by centuries of male sexism and by our emotional dependencies on the opposite sex. ‘Shame wounding’ continues to fuel this pathology by promoting both compulsivity and a fierce sense of self-loathing. This paper explores ‘shame’ as a concept; and considers some major causes of shame-based addiction. Some sound therapeutic approaches for treatment …