How do we become alienated from ourselves? How do we act in ways that are not consistent with who we truly are? Why do we do this? How does it happen? It is much more than simple psychological explanations that focus on the individual and interpersonal problems. There is a much bigger picture we need to understand to really appreciate how we lose ourselves and become lost in the world, not knowing what it is we want to do with our lives and not knowing how to create satisfying relationships with others. In this episode, I talk to Tim Jennings, a family therapist, about how we become alienated from ourselves, how this is political as much as it is personal, how we need to understand the political to find our own freedom, and ultimately find a way back to who we really are.
In this episode, you will learn:
- What self-alienation is
- Why this is important and how common it is
- How this affects your daily experience of feeling lost, less than, conflicted, unsure and stuck in life
- How this is personal and political
- How to find ways back to yourself