Home Coming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child

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Bradshaw was born in Houston, Texas, into a troubled family and was abandoned by an alcoholic father, who himself was also abandoned by his own father. Bradshaw won scholarships to study for the Roman Catholic priesthood. He earned a B.A. degree in Sacred Theology and an M.A. degree in philosophy from the University of Toronto in Canada. He graduated in 1963 and then returned to academia six years later at Rice University in Houston, Texas, for three years of graduate work in psychology and religion. Bradshaw said alcohol addiction and other problems led to his decision to end his plans for the priesthood. [ citation needed] Career [ edit ]

He is currently presenting material on Developing Emotional and Social Literacy detailing the developmental stages of emotional and social intelligence. In this lecture series John introduces techniques for teaching social and emotional literacy and why it is necessary for us to thrive in our love life, family and workplace. I'd say a lot of the exercises in the second part are reminiscent of things I can imagine seeing in a lot of other self-help books. Not to say they can't be helpful, though I can't truly attest to that because I haven't tried any yet. I plan to, if only to be open, so perhaps I will update this review with my opinions of them and whether they seem to be helpful.The author sounds still obsessed with his own demons: this makes for a heartfelt sharing, but not for an objective viewpoint. And he wants to explain everything with shame, every ill and every neurosis: I distrust any unique explanation, especially when it's about complex phenomena - you know the saying, "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail". Example of either/or thinking: Either a person is perfect, or the person is worthless. Counter: “About 5 percent of the time I’m selfish, but the rest of the time I’m loving and generous.” After reading some other self-help books and this one, I really feel that their authors go against common sense in one thing: trying to blame everything bad on your parents. They say that saying anything against parents is a taboo, and blame society for keeping it. When you start making claims like this, you know you are going too far. And yet they continue, like they are drunk, to develop conspiracy theories and stuff. "Oh, you don't remember because this memory has been suppressed by your consciousness for too long". Very scientific. In 1991, John was nominated for an Emmyfor Outstanding Talk Show Host for his series Bradshaw On: Homecoming. In 1996, John was the host of the nationally syndicated talk show, The Bradshaw Differencewith MGM Studios. John is widely sought as a public speaker and continues to tour the world giving lectures and workshops. Are you outwardly successful but inwardly do you feel like a big kid? Do you aspire to be a loving parent but all too often “lose it” in hurtful ways? Do you crave intimacy but sometimes wonder if it’s worth the struggle? Or are you plagued by constant vague feelings of anxiety or depression?

One cause of adult anxiety is being overexposed as a child before you were able to develop any boundaries to protect yourself. An example would be a parent who is overly judgmental in criticizing developmentally normal childhood behavior. Toxic shame is often manifested in dreams of being naked in inappropriate places or in not being prepared, as in suddenly having to take your final exam without having prepared for it. Besides, too much religious interpretations - for me, at least. And the need to "redeem" what he calls "healthy shame"... something that smells like Church, and I don't really think it's as healthy as he says it is. This book gave me a lot to think about. I don't doubt that it is true that a lot of behavior that is "off" is caused by shame, but I can't believe that all of it is. For example, isn't some addiction just caused by the addictive nature of the substances? Anyway, here are some ideas from this book that I thought were interesting.

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Our emotional boundaries tell us where our emotions end and another's begin. They tell us when our feelings are about ourselves and when they are about others." Do you aspire to be a loving parent but all too often ‘lose it’ in hurtful ways? Do you crave intimacy but wonder if it’s worth the struggle? Are you consumed at times by anxiety or depression? Coming home to your true self may help. the wonder child is the pre-wounded inner child - our truest form where creativity, safety, play comes from, however it isn’t to be idealized or exist w/o the actualization of ourselves as a mature adult This book talks at length about ‘toxic shame’, but what it’s fumbling towards is a basic understanding of cPTSD as a result of childhood trauma. It was written in 1988, at a time when these things were barely understood, so this book represents an early attempt to make sense of the effects of cPTSD on victims’ lives. Unfortunately, it doesn’t manage to get there and ends up feeling vague, overlong and rather repetitive.

tap your chest by alternating the movement of your hands — tapping with your left hand, then your right hand Example of overgeneralization: when one thing about the relationship is a problem, you think that the entire relationship is a problem. What is the evidence that supports your conclusion, and what is the evidence that does not support your conclusion?Healthy shame is the psychoilogical foundation of humility. It is the source of spirituality. - p. vii