So often our focus here is on things that we can do as individuals to improve our lives and those of people around us, but there are some things that cannot be fixed by the individual.

Regardless, society tells us that we are responsible for massive global crises like climate change, marginalised people are responsible for their own oppression and people living in poverty just need to work harder.

Whilst many of us rationally know these things are not true, we struggle to let go of systemic shame.

Social psychologist Dr Devon Price is on a mission to help us with this very unhelpful feeling & he’s the author of Unlearning Shame: How We Can Reject Self-Blame Culture and Reclaim Our Power. Want to become a podcast sponsor, got some feedback for me or just fancy a chat? Email me - thatshelpful@edstott.com

CONNECT WITH US Connect with ⁠That's Helpful on Instagram. Find Devon on Instagram⁠ & via his Substack.

BOOKS Unlearning Shame: How We Can Reject Self-Blame Culture and Reclaim Our Power

TIMESTAMPS

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:00 - Devon’s own experience with shame

00:03:32 - Personal shame Vs. Systemic shame 00:06:00 - How systemic shame manifests

00:08:15 - Signs that we might be dealing with systemic shame

00:10:21 - The behaviours we display when we’re dealing with this shame

00:13:11 - How did we get here?

00:16:15 - How guilt fuels this sense of shame

00:18:00 - Shame as a distraction

00:19:15 - Systemic shame is not an effective tool for change

00:23:48 - The alternative to systemic shame

00:26:58 - How to ease shame on a personal level

00:30:46 - Letting go of perfectionism