This article focuses on the repercussions of shame on the perpetrator. It also offers some strategies for resolving this issue and moving forward. You can use art, lyrics, journaling, playwriting, and verbal expression to symbolically give back the shame that you have felt.
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Reconciliation
Reconciliation and the purpose of shame bridges the disciplines of theology and psychology and attempts to reconcile the different views of shame. Specifically, it tries to understand the historical development of confession, penance, and reconciliation and how these ideas relate to modern society. It also explores the relationship between shame and social problems.
Reunion
Emotional therapists assert that the purpose of shame is reunion or reconciliation. They argue that the emotional experience of shame is much more powerful than guilt that comes from lack of approval from others. Shame can motivate us to apologize for our behavior to our loved ones and to the person we have hurt. This connection between guilt and shame will be discussed in more detail in the next section.
Wisdom
Shame serves an important function in human social interactions, reducing harmful behaviour and encouraging prosocial behavior. For example, in human society, shame is frequently used by parents to instill acceptable behavior in their children. It can also serve to socialize them into a tribe, forming good habits early on. It can also be used to teach toddlers to share, give thanks, and greet others.
Integrity
Shame serves an important prosocial function: it motivates people to do the right thing. It protects us from doing things that will cause us to suffer rejection or loss of social acceptance. It may occur even when the behavior that triggered the shame is entirely unwarranted and the fears of rejection are unfounded.
Fear
Shame is a powerful emotional response and it has evolved in human societies for evolutionary purposes. It confers an evolutionary advantage by encouraging us to follow social norms and to stay in other people's good graces. It has been found that fear and shame are tied together.
Overt shame
Most of the psychology literature describes shame as a negative emotion that motivates social withdrawal or avoidance. However, some recent evidence suggests that shame can be interpreted in more positive ways. For instance, recent findings suggest that shame can motivate people to approach others and to form social bonds. However, there is little research testing these alternative interpretations of shame. In the present paper, we investigate the function of shame and whether it motivates people to withdraw, approach others, or engage in social activities.
Unacknowledged shame
Unacknowledged shame is a powerful emotion that can have adverse consequences on a person's health. Research has shown that people who feel shame often exhibit behaviors such as withdrawal or verbal aggression. It can also influence a person's treatment, leading to a variety of undesirable consequences.
Reprogramming our emotional responses to the purpose of shame
Despite its many negative associations, shame has a function: it regulates our urges, acts as a social regulator, and encourages us to maintain a balance between our urges and others' needs. This is the reason we feel shame, and it can lead to physical symptoms like heart palpitations, sweating, and difficulty focusing. Fortunately, there is a way to retrain our emotional responses to the purpose of shame.