What is shame? Meaning of the word. Burn with shame Characterization of shame as an emotion

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Have you ever felt ashamed? This feeling can simply paralyze us and deprive us of our own will, but in some cases only it becomes that border within our personality, beyond which we are afraid to step. The feeling of shame has recently become the subject of close study by psychologists. For a long time it has been identified with guilt and embarrassment. Shame is now presented by psychologists in a completely different light than before. Let's try to analyze this interesting and not quite simple topic in detail in today's article.

What is shame?

If you do not delve into the psychology of this word, then, according to the dictionary, shame is a very strong feeling with a negative connotation, which is caused by some act or characteristic, and a person's awareness of himself as wrong and having defects. It is possible to experience this feeling only in the presence of another person; in loneliness, shame does not arise. The lexical meaning of the word "shame" does not reveal the complexity of the term itself and its multi-layered nature.

Indeed, different cultures have their own moral norms, which determine what actions a person should be ashamed of. It is surprising, but the definition of the word "shame" is the same in all languages, in contrast to the range of actions that cause this negative feeling. It is especially common to experience this emotion in cultures where there is a collective assessment of what is happening. Such cultures can be safely attributed to Russia and China.

How is shame manifested?

If we understand the definition of the word "shame", then how this feeling manifests itself often remains a mystery. Is it the same in all cultures and societies? Yes, shame is almost always the same. It causes heart palpitations, increased sweating, redness of the skin, and hunchback. Often people cover their faces with their hands, trying to fence themselves off from judgmental glances, even when they are not directed at them.

When was shame first classified?

Despite the fact that the study of this feeling was started only recently, already millennia ago, philosophers clearly understood what shame is. The meaning of the word was first encountered by scientists in the writings of Aristotle and Plato. They believed that this is a kind of fear of being subjected to someone else's condemnation, including undeserved.

Later, this emotion was reduced to manifestations of guilt and was not considered as a separate one.

Characterizing Shame as an Emotion

Psychologists have proven that babies do not experience the same feeling as shame. The meaning of this word is unfamiliar to children under seven years of age. From this we can conclude that we ourselves instill this feeling in the child, and it becomes a constant and most rigid censor of all his subsequent actions in life.

Initially, the child does not fully experience shame, he realizes that he should be ashamed and reproduces a certain algorithm of actions for the perfect bad deed. This protects him from unnecessary accusations from adults, the situation looks over. In the future, the baby, who is often ashamed, begins to involuntarily experience this feeling, accompanied by genuine feelings and emotions.

First of all, the person who is ashamed concentrates completely on himself. He feels different from all other people - much worse and more spoiled. The habit of feeling bashful every time there is a certain criticism from the outside, leads to the formation of a person who is extremely insecure. Such a person will always be slightly shy and embarrassed, he instantly withdraws into himself at any attempt to evaluate his actions.

Shame is a mechanism that can keep a person from actions that society puts outside the law. In some individuals, this feeling is especially acutely developed and allows them to clearly correlate their actions with internal sensations and attitudes. In addition, bashfulness does not allow a person to deteriorate morally in conditions of permissiveness. This has to do with people who suddenly become rich. Some of them continue to lead the right life, while others indulge in all serious and cannot pacify their desires.

The damaging effects of shame

In many cases, shame is a destructive factor that can completely transform a person. For example, many impressionable individuals have a false sense of shame. Most often, it does not arise as a result of actions and actions, but because of certain defects in appearance or imaginary negative character traits. Usually defects are also not real, but in the human mind they look exaggeratedly huge and insurmountable. In these cases, shame forces a person to enter a circle of false doubts and self-flagellation; it eats up the soul from the inside. The result of such behavior will be the destruction of the individual as a full-fledged member of society.

A person begins to cultivate and multiply his complexes, which can turn from imaginary into real ones, and finally bind the soul with a constant feeling of shame.

Shame and Guilt: What's the Difference?

An ordinary person often confuses guilt and shame between themselves, even psychologists for a long time did not draw a clear line between these two concepts. But in fact, they have rather obvious differences.

Guilt is a feeling that arises from wrong actions. It implies a punishment that completely expiates the guilt. That is, the cause of guilt is always an act. As an atonement, an apology, a fine, or a combination of other actions can be used.

Shame, having a certain action underneath, forces an individual to classify himself as defective. In this case, it is almost impossible to reduce the level of emotional tension until the person stops being ashamed. This may be in the near future or in a few years. In most cases, the degree of shame experienced is not commensurate with the offense committed. Shame is several times greater than the damage caused by an individual's actions.

Shame: the reasons for the appearance

Psychologists say that shame is very closely related to arousal. For example, a person wants something very much, he constantly thinks about it and dreams. A plan for getting what he wants has already formed in his head, but at this moment an understanding arises that, having received what is necessary, a person will commit an offense. It is then that shame manifests itself, it inhibits emotional excitement and does not allow to bring the plan to the end.

Quite often people feel ashamed when they are different from others. It is in the mind of a person to identify oneself with other members of society, therefore, any significant difference causes misunderstanding and self-flagellation. This can relate to appearance or internal characteristics associated with mental development or character traits.

Also, bashfulness often affects adults who were constantly censured in childhood. In this case, shame will arise for no reason and accompany the individual throughout his life. Criticism from loved ones is one of the most common causes of shame, and criticism should come from people who have an impact on a particular person.

The other side of shame

Psychologists who are actively studying the phenomenon of shame have come to the conclusion that excessive shyness is the cause of numerous problems in the human psyche. Such a term is known as "the reverse side of shame". It is used when shame, or rather its false manifestations, become the cause of complexes or the cultivation of certain character traits in an overly exaggerated form.

For example, a person dreams of achieving success and actively manifests himself in public, but he is told that this is a shame. As a result, contradictions arise between needs and pangs of conscience, a person begins to feel like a worthless person. He drives himself into a situation where any decision will be wrong - the pangs of conscience make him feel wrong, and the inability to realize himself leads to an even stronger feeling of uselessness. The body cannot withstand such pressure and turns on a defense mechanism - pride. This, in turn, leads to a different set of problems.

This example is just one of many; at the moment, psychotherapists are actively studying how shame affects the formation of the personality as a whole.

Phraseologisms about shame

The importance of shame in the development of society can be traced to the number of different sayings and phrases that reveal the essence of this feeling. In each culture, you can find several dozen phraseological units that fall under the topic of the article. We have collected some of the most popular of them and decided to reveal their meaning, which, perhaps, still remained a mystery to some.

Burn out with shame: the meaning of a phraseological unit

Almost all of us have heard this phrase, and at least once in our life have used it independently as an assessment of their own or other people's actions. Therefore, many people intuitively understand the meaning of this phrase. In the dictionaries of the Russian language, the well-known proverb is interpreted in this way: to burn out with shame - it means to be very ashamed of any deed done. Moreover, it is possible to burn out with shame only when other people discover an offense. This fact is required in this process.

The phrase sounds differently in different interpretations. What is the right way - "burn out with shame" or "burn out with shame"? The meaning of the phraseological unit does not change from this, and, according to the rules of the Russian language, both options are correct. Although the second belongs to the common colloquial genre, it does not contradict the rules.

The phrase has under it very real physical manifestations of shame. After all, a person convicted of something begins to sweat profusely and blushes. It is as if something burns him from the inside and he feels uncomfortable. To the symptoms already listed, suffocation and a desire to hide are added.

Shame is not smoke, eyes will not eat: what does this mean?

Have you heard this phrase: "Shame is not smoke, it won't eat up your eyes"? The meaning of this phraseological unit is quite understandable, it is appropriate to mention it when a person wants to tell someone something shameful, but is afraid of condemnation. Therefore, he is told this phrase, which means that it is necessary to discover the truth and endure shame, which will not bring significant harm to the human body.

It is worth noting that shyness and conscientiousness are highly valued in the culture of the Russian people. It is difficult to imagine what a shameless person is capable of, therefore the absence of shame was considered at the time the most severe deformity of the soul. If a person is able to feel ashamed of his actions, then he is able to grow spiritually and can overcome any situation, even created by himself.

Indeed, in fact, shame will not eat up the eye, the meaning and purpose of this feeling is a limitation and warning against bad deeds. And shame in this case is just an emotion designed to motivate and nurture a worthy human personality.

"Shame and Shame": When Does the Phrase Apply?

In Russian, the word "shame" has several meanings. In the first, it is used as a designation for intimate parts of the body, and in the second, bad deeds that are condemned by society are called shame. In some sources, the authors put the words "shame" and "shame" on the same level, speak of them as synonyms.

When is the phrase "shame and disgrace" used? The meaning of a phraseological unit is interpreted as censure, it is used when referring to a specific person or group of people, appealing to their conscience and giving an extremely negative assessment of their actions.

This phrase is often found in Russian literature and was often used in common speech. Now the intensity of the use of phraseological units is not monitored, but according to the data of linguists and sociologists, it can be concluded that the phrase is gradually losing its former frequency of use, even in everyday life.

The human psyche is still in many ways a mystery to scientists, therefore, great discoveries await us ahead, which can bring a lot of new information about feelings and emotions that have long been familiar to people.

Burn with shame burn / burn out of shame Spread. Have a strong sense of shame, ashamed. With noun with meaning persons: a young man, a passenger, a violator, a guilty person ... burns with shame.

Count Nulin was burned out of shame, having swallowed such an insult. (A. Pushkin.)

He understood that in another second, everyone would burst out laughing, and he would leave, burning with shame. (N. Teleshov.)

As you can see, I do not burn with shame for my backwardness. (D. Granin.)

(?) Feeling shame, the person blushes, his face seems to be on fire.

Educational phraseological dictionary. - M .: AST. E. A. Bystrova, A. P. Okuneva, N. M. Shansky. 1997 .

See what "burn with shame" is in other dictionaries:

burn out of shame- Cm … Synonym dictionary

burn out of shame- (footnote) blush with shame (a hint of blood that rushes into the face with shame, so that it burns) Cf. I'm afraid I might have to burn out with shame for his active role in the boyish comedy of finger-shaking. Saltykov. All year round. 1st February ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary

Burn / burn out of shame Razg. Have a strong sense of shame, ashamed. With noun with meaning persons: a young man, a passenger, a violator, a guilty person ... burns with shame. Count Nulin was burned out of shame, having swallowed such an insult. (A. Pushkin.) He understood that ... ... Educational phraseological dictionary

Burn out of shame- Burn out of shame (inosk.) To blush from shame (a hint of blood, from shame rushing into the face, so that it burns). Wed I'm afraid I might have to burn out with shame for his active role in the boyish comedy shaken by the finger. ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Burn / burn with shame- Spread. Feel intense shame. FSRYa, 463; DP, 306 ... A large dictionary of Russian sayings

BURN OUT- BURN, burn, burn, sover. (to burn out). 1. Perish, be destroyed by burning, fire. The house burned down. The candle has burned out. 2. To be consumed when burning (colloquial). The tree burned down during the winter of 5 fathoms. 3. Rot, resist, warmed up in dampness (special). "Bread … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Burn with (co) shame- BURN OUT FROM (CO) SHAME. BURN OUT OF (CO) SHAME. Spread. Express. Be very ashamed. The silence he had elicited with his shout now oppressed him. He understood that in a second and everyone would burst out laughing, and he would leave, burning with shame (Teleshov. Kramola) ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language

burn out- verb., sv., upotr. cf. often Morphology: I burn, you burn, he / she / it burns, we burn, you burn, they burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn; nsv. burn down 1. If something burned to the ground, then it ... ... Dmitriev's Explanatory Dictionary

burn out- ryu, rish; St. 1. (nsv. Also light up). Destroyed by fire. The hay was burnt to the ground. The dacha was burned down by lightning. The books burned down in a fire. Everything burned up with a blue flame // Burn. The pies are burnt. 2. To be consumed when burning ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

burn out- ryu /, ri / shb; St. see also. burn 1) a) (nsv., also, woe / f) Destroyed by fire. The hay was burnt to the ground. The dacha was burned down by lightning. The books burned down in a fire ... Dictionary of many expressions

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