Passion, Shame, and the Freedom to Become: Seizing the Vital Moment in Psychoanalysis

This book examines how humans can overcome feelings of shame through self-acceptance and regain their innate passion and freedom to grow.

Peter Shabad examines in detail how self-shaming and passivity are intertwined with the fatalism of self-pity, envy, resentment, and ultimately, regret for not ＂seizing the vital moments＂ in life. From birth on, children attempt to contribute to the human endeavour through their innate passion. Parental receptivity enables a child to plant seeds of belonging, inspiring the generative passion necessary for furthering development. Exposed vulnerability due to the lack of receptivity leads to feelings of shame and self-consciousness; as human beings, we interpret our misfortunes and limitations as punishments and reverse our passion into an inhibited passivity. Shabad envisions psychotherapy as a pathway through which individuals learn to inclusively accept all aspects of their inner lives in order to embark on their journey of self-acceptance. He emphasizes the need for therapists to view patients as active agents in this process.

This book is a must read for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and anyone interested in developing a deeper understanding of the dynamics of shame and passion in our lives.

Peter Shabad, Ph.D. is on the faculties of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute, Chicago Center of Psychoanalysis and Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis. He is co-editor of The Problem of Loss and Mourning: Psychoanalytic Perspectives (IUP, 1989) and author of Despair and The Return of Hope (Jason Aronson, 2001)