110 Quotes by John Bradshaw

Perhaps nothing so accurately characterizes dysfunctional families as denial.

Condemning others as bad or sinful is a way to feel righteous. Such a feeling is a powerful mood alteration and can become highly addictive.

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 these are bound by shame, you are shamed to the core.

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 and the pathetic.

The shared secret and the shared denial are the most horrible aspects of incest.

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.

It's okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers -- they help us to learn.

Children are natural Zen masters; their world is brand new in each and every moment.

I know from my own clinical work that when people are beaten and hurt, they numb out so that they cant feel anymore.