Our Whole Childhood with Patrick Teahan How to Rebuild a Lost Sense of Self
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Aug 23, 2024 
Patrick Teahan, an expert on childhood trauma and its impacts on personality, joins to explore the journey of reclaiming identity after trauma. He discusses the crucial role of self-acceptance and inner love in personal growth. Teahan shares practical strategies like journaling and community engagement to help reconnect with one’s true self. The conversation also highlights the importance of intrinsic worth over external validation, navigating through societal expectations, and cultivating a healthy self-image.
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Life Vest Identity: Drums As False Self
- Patrick Teahan describes arriving in therapy at 20 with almost no sense of self and extreme people-pleasing.
- He used drumming as a makeshift identity that gave fleeting value and security.
Goodness Plus Power Forms Self
- Teahan defines sense of self as built from both goodness (worth) and power (agency).
- He ties missing goodness to childhood shame that makes self-defense feel impossible.
Self Is Actionable Capacities
- A healthy sense of self shows up as the ability to belong, disagree, decide, and tolerate solitude.
- These are action-oriented capacities, not effortless states, and still can feel uncomfortable.