Anxiety and Shame - Assessment and Reflection

So what is interesting about shame and why does it apply to anxiety?

Shame can be a crippling emotion. The Evolutionary Biopsychosocial model says that if we are to raise wariness towards our social attractiveness, threats to group belonging and social rank then shame can foster survival and welfare as noted (Gilbert, 2003, 2007).

Baumann et al 2021 sought to explore cultural differences in shame categories; internalized shame (This involves attributing oneself as less than, unworthy of love or attention, different defective and alone), externalized shame (This category can make oneself feel they are the butt of jokes. The individual can feel inferior and flawed in the eyes of others).

Please find below the External and Internal Shame Scale used in the research:
Findings: Japan showed significantly higher external shame levels than all other countries whilst Portugal showed significantly lower external shame and internal shame.
Looking into research has been an exciting experience for me. I’ve recently been interested in the association with anxiety and shame, so I’ve been having a brainstorming question on what questions could be relevant to explore 🙂
Questioning prompts anxiety and shame:
Feelings orientation subscale: *I am ashamed to chat about my feelings (scale from 0-7)
* I am not ashamed to chat about my feelings (scale 0-7)
*I make decisions based on my emotions (scale 0-7)
*I do not make decisions based on my emotions (scale 0-7)
Rational orientation subscale: * I make decisions based on my thoughts (scale 0-7)
*I do not make decisions based on my thoughts (scale 0-7)
Comments scale: * I feel uncomfortable when others give me constructive feedback (scale 0-7)
*I feel comfortable when others give me constructive feedback (scale 0-7)
*My confidence is boosted when others give me praise (scale 0-7)
*My confidence is not boosted when others give me praise (scale 0-7)
Jealousy scale: *I find it hard to be happy for others (scale 0-7)
* I do not find it hard to be happy for others (scale 0-7)
Interpersonal Power scale: * I like to call the shots in my friendships (scale 0-7)
*I do not like to call the shots in my friendships (scale 0-7)
* I feel betrayed when others do not reciprocate any good gestures I’ve shown (scale 0-7)
* I do not feel betrayed when others do not reciprocate any good gestures I’ve shown (scale 0-7)
*If a friend did not like my outfit I would change it: True or False
*People consider me to be dependent in my relationships: True or false
*People do not consider me dependent in my relationships: True or False
*People consider me to be independent in my relationships: True or False
*People consider me to not be independent in my relationship: True or False

What reflections do you take from this? You may want to apply it to your personal, professional life or voluntary work at cups. No need to share here as I get this can bring up certain emotions within others. Stay safe! 🙂

Credits to:
Matos, M., Galhardo, A., Moura-Ramos, M., Steindl, S. R., Bortolon, C., Hiramatsu, Y., Baumann, T., Yiu, R. X. Q., & Ferreira, C. (2021). Measuring shame across five countries: dimensionality and measurement invariance of the external and internal shame scale. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02019-5