[Workshop Replay] what would happen if I let myself want?

well I'd spontaneously combust, of course!

Hi!! You’ve found yourself at dialoguing, a newsletter where I talk about life sometimes through the lens of my day job (I’m a psychotherapist) in the least clinical way possible. As the name of this newsletter suggests, I’m conscious of how we talk. to oneself, to each other, in and about pop culture.

Today’s newsletter is all about a workshop I ran with some readers earlier this month: part peek inside the experience and part debrief.

One thing before we jump in, I show up very much as myself here. Myself first, and all my other labels are secondary. If a therapist speaking candidly feels like too much to your system, that is absolutely is OK and this may not be the best particular newsletter for you. ¹ There are affiliate links on this page.

Feeling want toward something, to me, is inarguably a part of life. Sometimes a thrilling part. Other times, consuming. But it’s something we all know is a part of the deal.

Right?

What about feeling esteem toward yourself self? Respecting yourself? Holding yourself with high regard? Isn’t that sort of the thing we are all working toward?

AND YET…

these two crucial states of being a human—otherwise known as envy and pride—are steeped in shame for many of us.

Most of us?

Almost all of us?

that’s all the good stuff just being doused in shame—fuckkkk that.

If you can’t tell where I’m going here, these two feelings were the sins we covered in July for our book club + workshop series on Elise Loehnen’s On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good.

You can learn more about the series here (video) and the remaining meetings here.

What lies ahead:

• A workshop + book club video replay

• PDF summary on the chapters and standout moments (of which there were MANY)

• Over a dozen journal prompts—they are all pretty juicy and evocative

• AMA #4—various questions about therapy and being a therapist including, “What do you think about talking to AI about topics one might discuss with a therapist?”

• say more #28: notes from another week in *living*—convincing my shame rollercoaster to drop me off somewhere I wanna be🎢, the best movie I’ve seen in awhile and decoupling pain from identity. boop boop.

• 🪄 here is to every space that had some magic to it 🪄—saying goodbye to my office

• say more #27: notes on the past few weeks in *living*—Zendaya, introversion and how I’m dealing with rumination RN.

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Upgrade your subscription to be able to watch this workshop replay and get free admission to ALL future meetings in this series.

Each time we meet, you will be able to attend live, receive a PDF summary with journal prompts and view the replay here.

This access is in addition to dialoguing’s entire archive, ~2-3x/month round-ups, and exclusive In Session with Pop Culture editions about current TV shows—we will start “Ted Lasso” next month.