Quotes by John Bradshaw

“Shame is internalized when one is abandoned. Abandonment is the precise term to describe how one loses ones authentic self and ceases to exist psychologically.”

“The feeling of righteousness is the core mood alteration among religious addicts. Religious addiction is a massive problem in our society. It may be the most pernicious of all addictions because it...”

“Playing roles and acting are forms of lying. If a person acts like they really feel and it rocks the boat, they are ostracized. We promote pretense and lying as a cultural way of life. Living this ...”

“DENIAL OF EMOTIONSOur culture does not handle emotions well. We like folks to be happy and fine. We learn rituals of acting happy and fine at an early age. I can remember many times telling people ...”

“THE MYTH OF THE GOOD OL BOY AND THE NICE GAL The good of boy myth and the nice gal are a kind of social conformity myth. They create a real paradox when put together with the "rugged individual" pa...”

“True love heals and affects spiritual growth. If we do not grow because of someone elses love, its generally because it is a counterfeit form of love.”

“The disowned part of self is an energy - an emotion or desire or need, that has been shamed every time it emerged. These energy patterns are repressed but not destroyed. They are alive in our uncon...”

“Hell, in my opinion, is never finding your true self and never living your own life or knowing who you are.”

“Science has so far been unable to tell us how self-aware dogs are, much less whether they have anything like our conscious thoughts. This is not surprising, since neither scientists nor philosopher...”

“The capacity for love that makes dogs such rewarding companions has a flip-side: They find it difficult to cope without us. Since we humans programmed this vulnerability, it's our responsibility to...”

“To be shame-bound means that whenever you feel any feeling, need or drive, you immediately feel ashamed. The dynamic core of your human life is grounded in your feelings, needs and drives. When the...”

“The most paradoxical aspect of neurotic shame is that it is the core motivator of the superachieved and the underachieved, the star and the scapegoat, the righteous and the wretched, the powerful a...”

“Virtue is an inner strength. It expands your nature.”

“Evil is a source of moral intelligence in the sense that we need to learn from our shadow, from our dark side, in order to be good.”

“I define a 'good person' as somebody who is fully conscious of their own limitations. They know their strengths, but they also know their 'shadow' - they know their weaknesses. In other words, they...”

“It's essential to tell the truth at all times. This will reduce life's pain. Lying distorts reality. All forms of distorted thinking must be corrected.”

“Perhaps nothing so accurately characterizes dysfunctional families as denial.”

“I believe that this neglected wounded inner child of the past is the major source of human misery.”

“I believe that this neglected wounded inner child of the past is the major source of human misery.”

“Perhaps nothing so accurately characterizes dysfunctional families as denial. The denial forces members to keep believing the myths and vital lies in spite of the facts, or to keep expecting that t...”