The more we know about how we lost our spontaneous wonder and creativity, the more we can find ways to get them… — John Bradshaw Creativity Copy Share Image
Children aren't fooled. They know we give time to the things we love. — John Bradshaw Child Copy Share Image
There are plenty of quacks in the field. Fewer than you'd expect, though still plenty (in alternative medicine). — John Bradshaw Age Copy Share Image
As a child I was not allowed to express my feelings, so I had to go back through therapy and express the… — John Bradshaw Allowed Copy Share Image
“Perhaps nothing so accurately characterizes dysfunctional families as denial.” — John Bradshaw Abuse-survivors Copy Share Image
I know from my own clinical work that when people are beaten and hurt, they numb out so that they cant feel… — John Bradshaw Beaten Copy Share Image
“When we are exposed without any way to protect ourselves, we feel the pain of shame. If we are continually overexposed, shame… — John Bradshaw Shame Copy Share Image
“When our instinctual life is shamed, the natural core of our life is bound up. It’s like an acorn going through excruciating… — John Bradshaw Life Copy Share Image
The figure of Satan and the fires of hell have been demythologized by modern Christian biblical scholars, theologians and philosophers. — John Bradshaw Been Copy Share Image
“the male cat’s penis is equipped with 120 to 150 sharp spines, designed to trigger her ovulation (cats, unlike humans, do not… — John Bradshaw Cat Penis Copy Share Image
“One is free from depression,” writes Alice Miller in The Drama of the Gifted Child, “when self-esteem is based on the authenticity… — John Bradshaw Children Copy Share Image
Recovery begins with embracing our pain and taking the risk to share it with others. We do this by joining a group… — John Bradshaw Groups Copy Share Image
“In fact, the most paradoxical aspect of neurotic shame is that it is the core motivator of the superachieved and the underachieved,… — John Bradshaw Aspect Copy Share Image
“Unfortunately, accomplishments do not reduce internalized shame. In fact, the more one achieves, the more one has to achieve. Toxic shame is… — John Bradshaw Guilt Copy Share Image
“If a cat falls out of a high-rise building or a tall tree, it has another trick available: forming a “parachute” by… — John Bradshaw Cats Copy Share Image
To be shame-bound means that whenever you feel any feeling, need or drive, you immediately feel ashamed. The dynamic core of your… — John Bradshaw Ashamed Copy Share Image
“In Bradshaw On: The Family, society itself is seen as a sick family system built on the rules of the poisonous pedagogy.… — John Bradshaw Addiction Copy Share Image
“I agree with John Holt that the true test of intelligence is not what you know or can regurgitate from memory on… — John Bradshaw Intelligence Copy Share Image
“Perhaps nothing so accurately characterizes dysfunctional families as denial. The denial forces members to keep believing the myths and vital lies in… — John Bradshaw Addiction Copy Share Image
Arrogance is a way for a person to cover up shame. After years of arrogance, the arrogant person is so out of… — John Bradshaw Arrogance Copy Share Image
“Toxically shamed people tend to become more and more stagnant as life goes on. They live in a guarded, secretive and defensive… — John Bradshaw Interest in life Copy Share Image
“When our e-motions are not mirrored and named, we lose contact with one of our vital human powers. Parents who are out… — John Bradshaw Children Copy Share Image
“THE DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY RULES 1. Control or Chaos. One must be in control of all interactions, feelings and personal behavior at all… — John Bradshaw Children Copy Share Image
“In the past, when dogs’ functions were mostly rural, it was accepted that they were intrinsically messy and needed to be managed… — John Bradshaw Animal Copy Share Image
“Unconditional love and acceptance of self seems to be the hardest task for all humankind. Refusing to accept our “real selves,” we… — John Bradshaw Human suffering Copy Share Image
“The ego defense of conversion transforms developmental needs into the need for something else. This could be food, money or excessive attention.… — John Bradshaw Communication Copy Share Image
“(b) Boundary Violation. This involves children witnessing parents in sexual behavior. They may walk in on it because parents don’t provide closed… — John Bradshaw Children Copy Share Image
“EMOTIONAL SHAME BINDS Our emotions are the core of our basic power. Two of the major functions they serve in our psychic… — John Bradshaw Emotional energy Copy Share Image
“Children have an amazing ability to perceive this need in the parent(s). The true self of the child seems to know it… — John Bradshaw Children Copy Share Image
“Toxic shame, the shame that binds us, is experienced as the all-pervasive sense that “I am flawed and defective as a human… — John Bradshaw Inner self Copy Share Image
“5. The “No Talk” Rule. This rule prohibits the full expression of any feeling, need or want. In shame-based families, the members… — John Bradshaw Communication Copy Share Image
“THE INTERCONNECTION OF MEMORY IMPRINTS THAT FORM COLLAGES OF SHAME As shaming experiences accrue and are defended against, the images created by… — John Bradshaw Grief Copy Share Image
“Kaufman terms the “internal shame spiral.” He describes it as follows: A triggering event occurs. Perhaps it is trying to get close… — John Bradshaw Guilt Copy Share Image
“INTERCONNECTION OF IMAGERY Another way that internalization occurs is by internalizing images. These internal images can be of a shaming person, place… — John Bradshaw Shame Copy Share Image
“Love-that which biologists, nervous about being misunderstood call "attachment"-fuels the bond between dog and master or mistress.” — John Bradshaw Animal Copy Share Image
In a sense, all of my books have been about a 'poisonous pedagogy,' which engenders a culture of obedience, this underlying theme… — John Bradshaw About Copy Share Image
In 'Reclaiming Virtue,' I argue that we have had an element missing in moral education. That element is 'affect.' Affect is simply… — John Bradshaw Affect Copy Share Image
“A toxically shamed person is divided within himself and must create a false-self cover-up to hide his sense of being flawed and… — John Bradshaw Shamed Copy Share Image
“A covert kind of sexual abuse occurs when Dad or Mom talk about sex in front of the children when the age… — John Bradshaw Children Copy Share Image
