Abstract (may include machine translation)
Research suggests that self-connection (i.e., an awareness of oneself, acceptance of that self, and alignment between oneself and one’s behaviors) is an important part of well-being, yetthere is scarce research on the experience of self-disconnection. The aim of this study was tounderstand the emotional experience of self-disconnection and the ways in which disconnectionemerges in people’s lives. We performed 20 semi-structured interviews of peoplewho self-identified as self-connected, using thematic analysis to analyze the data. Analysesrevealed that disconnection emerged consistent with the three components of self-connection.Additionally, participants described the experience of disconnection as resulting in severalnegative affective states, including sadness, fear, stress, confusion, anger, and darkness. Thisstudy revealed that even those who are self-connected identify and experience selfdisconnection.It highlights that disconnecting from the self manifests in specific ways thatrelate to self-connection and often brings about experiences of negative affect. In all, thesefindings highlight the importance of understanding self-disconnection and indicate potentialpathways for interventions aimed at improving people’s self-connection.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 555-572 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Humanistic Psychologist |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Disconnection
- Dissociation
- Emotions
- Self-connection
- Well-being