Vulnerability. It is a term that that for many sparks intense dread. Being vulnerable requires transparency and reveling hidden desires that are difficult to let come to the surface. In a culture that is constructed upon creating a “brand” for one’s self, and fabricating an illusion of power and strength that gives the perception of never struggling, never experiencing devastating emotions, and never failing, it makes it extremely difficult to manifest vulnerability. Geraldine Piorkowski, says that the reason people fear intimacy and vulnerability is because individuals fear having their deepest desires trampled upon, rejected, or unfulfilled (Piorkowski). Because of this fear, vulnerability is often pushed away and humans choose to shove …show more content…
There are entire books that echo the idea that people need to mask their true self in order to be desired by other humans. Sally Planalp, author of Communicating Emotion: Social, Moral, and Cultural Processes, says “Managing feelings for the sake of presenting oneself in a particular light or for the sake of the occasion is a well-known fact of social life” (72.) Over and over by researchers and even by peers it is either directly told to us, or indirectly communicated, that vulnerability should not be a part of day to day life. This idea has been around for decades, as seen by author Dale Carnegie in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, which was originally published in 1936. His book gives practical ways for “everyone to like you,” but the biggest flaw found in his work is that when boiled down, it is a handbook that teaches humans to only interact in positive ways and never show true emotions, especially if they are uncomfortable or difficult to share (Carnegie). Both Planalp and Carnegie see the value in relationships, but they do not see the value in vulnerability, and I would argue that the lack of emotional display in both the books, and all of society, is affecting human …show more content…
As Brene Brown continued her research on the topic of vulnerability, she discovered that when looking at individuals who have an overall high self-worth or sense of love and belonging, she came to find that along with a few other points, the key to gaining this was vulnerability (Brown, Ted Talk, 2010). These individuals believed that what made them vulnerable made them beautiful (Brown, Ted Talk, 2010). When people feel as though they have the freedom to mess up, to express openly their hardships or bad days, and can see their flaws as perfectly imperfect, then a new sense of self love develops. Vulnerability is practical in accomplishing tasks such as building relationships or working your way up on the career ladder, but on a more personal level, it encourages a more positive outlook on one’s emotional, physical, and intellectual makeup. When vulnerability is not displayed outwardly, it affects the inside of a person by creating this idea that a humans most intimate part, his or her thoughts and emotions, are not important enough to be shared. By callousing this idea into our society’s brain, it is hurting every single human, and affects individuals from the second they wake up to the second they go to
6). However, Spiers’s (2000) view indicates that vulnerability is based on how “objective assessment views person as she/he actually is while subjective assessment derives from the self-concept” (pp. 716-717). Carel (2009) supports this indicating “subjective vulnerability plays a role in patient’s experience of illness, as they may perceive themselves as (as well as actually be) susceptible to external threats, pressures, and harm” (p. 217). It is crucial to evaluate both vulnerabilities. For example, this patient expressed the feeling of being afraid and scared of the pain that comes with this malignant disease during admission. However, the patient’s subjective perspective showed awareness of vulnerability, acceptance of life and death, and motivating strength to prosper in battle this cruel illness. Then from an objective viewpoint, this patient would be vulnerable to psychosocial complications and impairment of everyday
Brene Brown main point about her speech is vulnerability. Her main point of this is to understand or know what he feel and to embrace that in us. We shouldn't brig ourselves down thinking that are emotions how we feel about things makes us weak. It makes us stronger and we realize how when we feel vulnerable we need to take action and defeat it. We also need to be aware that when people see that your vulnerability they can easily target you to bring you down making you feel less confident.
In her NYTIMES bestseller, "Daring Greatly", Dr. Brown contends, "We equate vulnerability with weakness and poison. Whereas vulnerability is actually the birthplace of joy, love, and empathy". In order to live a full, "wholehearted" life, we need to gain a better understanding of the true nature of vulnerability. Millions of children have been exposed to vulnerability by author J. D. Salinger. Salinger was vulnerable to rejection, criticism, and failing.
Humans live constantly in flux between vulnerability and invincibility. The change in the state of being is so fluid that it has blurred together into the medium of the human experience. The fact that the feeling self-consciousness is what develops the character of people has become lost on the masses. However, Michael Chabon’s “The Lost World”, uncovers this deeply buried secret. “The Lost World” directly supports the fact that vulnerability is the key to the human condition and a more perfect life. Life is about tradeoffs- with all disappointments come surprise and with all joys come disappointments.
Masks are a way an individual expresses themselves with various types of people. We are given different occasions and have to act a certain way to do so. Gergen states that the cause of having a mask is “When an individual seeks approval from this diverse range of personalities,he or she adopts a wholly different mask or public identities.” (197) Each person has a different personality when they are with certain people, based on actions and reactions. For instance, when having a guest visiting for the first time, we tend to look our best and choose the best way to make them feel welcome. We tend to hide things that don 't seem “appropriate” and take out things that seem new. We probably don’t notice, but we create a mask based on appearance since we are hiding the reality based on their first
...le knowing their identity, so that they do not have to face the judgments of others. "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person! Give him a mask and he'll tell you the truth!" (Velvet Goldmine).
Through a lifespan, people will endure many stressful events and experiences. The severity of these events easily overwhelm them and as a result they will let their emotions overshadow sensible decisions. When in such an emotional state, it is common that people make impulsive decisions based off their feelings, but, this could lead to permanent consequences. Of the numerous emotions, fear predominantly is seen in times of crisis. Fear can be defined as, “An emotion of uneasiness that arises as a normal response to perceived threat that may be real or imagined” (Adamec). Fear may arise from a confrontation or from avoiding a threat, or it may come in the form of a discovery. Fear is often a direct result of one being scared due to a crisis
Many people act out of fear, an example is the Germans during World War ll, whether
in our Society often have a fear of being victimized by others, such as the
In other words, to produce this ambition, we must take into account the affects that connections provide us. That being said, Butler voices that the ability to let ourselves become vulnerable, helps clarify our purpose of humanity, and while accepting the uncertainties, we abolish the isolation of ourselves while releasing our true, individual characteristics of what constitutes us as human.
It is a multidimensional human condition and constant human experience with the reduced ability to protect oneself (Cousley, Martin, & Hoy, 2014). Bailey (2010) describes vulnerability as an internal conflict which brings feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and lack of control. Vulnerability as defined by Scanlon & Lee (2006) can be broken into three dimensions, physical, social, and psychological aspects. Physical vulnerability can be identified by the potential risk of harm in the environment. Social vulnerability include age, sex, and ethnicity. Psychological vulnerability refers to the feelings associated with the loss of control and can be manifested by stress and anxiety. Vulnerability can be measured by the potential harm and the capacity to overcome it, as stated by Spiers (2000). Only the person experiencing vulnerability can truly understand its implications as it is a unique and individualized experience. (Thorup, Rundqvist, Roberts & Delmar, 2012). Vulnerability can be better understood by examining the external and internal risk factors that increase an individual’s
Brene Brown’s TED Talk brought the audience through her realization that vulnerability is a necessity. Her talk was a perfect reminder of why vulnerability even exists and how it is incorporated differently in everyone’s life. The ability to access vulnerability is difficult as it a test of one’s eagerness to put themselves out their in the world. While it may seem impossible at the moment to expose themselves to the truth, it is even more rewarding than one expects. During a Skype session with Jeanine Minge she expressed that people’s lack of vulnerability, specifically during ethnography, there might be an attempt to hide from the world. Vulnerability, as Brene Brown says, is the key to joy, creativity, and love. If so, what are people so
Lloyd and Heller (2012) discuss how vulnerability relates to people, who for a period, may need help from health and social care services because they are unable to take care of themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally. Mary’s post stroke symptoms include right sided...
performance or fear of getting close to anyone. “The enormous rise in the number of
Vulnerability is the ability to be open to hurt, pain, and suffering or appear as you are. I believe the scariest thing about being vulnerable is that once you are vulnerable with someone you do not know what they will do. People are uncomfortable not knowing the future, we strive to know every little detail. However, being vulnerable leaves one at a state of not knowing what will happen. This is why people hate and even fear being vulnerable. After having watched Brene Brown’s Ted talk, I learned it is okay to be vulnerable. This is because being open to pain may not always lead to suffering, but happiness instead. It is not just vulnerability people fear. Many people also fear unworthiness. Unworthy of being loved, to be anything other than