I’m ashamed, I don’t compete, I am not: adolescence inside and outside of school, between escapes and inhibitions

Abstract

Shame is a visibly expressed emotion that triggers a game of self-reflection and comparison between oneself and others, resulting in paralysis, inhibitions, and avoidance. It plays a role in the identity redefinition process that overwhelms adolescents, constantly seeking reflection, approval, and identification. It involves a confrontation with the models imposed by today's competitive society, which in many cases are impossible to approach. This leads to a sense of defeat and inadequacy in relationships with others and with oneself, a disaffection with the ability to think about the near and distant future, pursuing plans and desires. This leads to difficulties in coming to terms with one's own fragilities. Shame paralyzes and alienates, but it allows adolescents to express their requests for help, in the more subtle forms of silence and concealment.