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Emotional baggageFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Emotional baggage is an everyday expression that correlates with manyvaried but similar concepts within social sciences, self-help movements,and other fields: its general concern is with unresolved issues of anemotional nature, often with an implication that the emotional baggage isdetrimental.[1]

As a metaphorical image, it is that of carrying all the disappointments,wrongs, andtraumaof the past around with one in a heavy load.[2]

Contents [hide]1 Adult life

2 Childhood

3 Literary examples

4 See also

5 References

6 Further reading

7 External links

Adult life[edit source|editbeta]

In adult life, emotional baggage comes to the fore in relationships in twomain forms. There is firstly the (often negative) expectations created byprevious relationships, perhaps of anabusive nature- a kind of bondage tothe past that can contaminate new and potentially more positiveinteractions.[3]

This may be particularly apparent in a second marriage, where inVirginiaSatir's words, shadows from the past are very real and must be dealt withby the new marital pair.[4]

In the second place, however, there may be a recurrent bringing-up of thepast history of the currentrelationship, with the result that minor problemsin the present become overloaded by negative currents from earlier timeswhich cannot be resolved or set aside for good.[5]

Childhood[edit source|editbeta]

Behind adult problems, however, there may be deeper forms of emotionalbaggage rooted in the experiences of childhood, but continuing to troublepersonality and behaviour within the adult.[6]

Men and women may be unable to leave the pain of childhood behind, and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_traumahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_traumahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_traumahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_abusehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_abusehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_abusehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Satirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Satirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Satirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Satirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Satirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Satirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_abusehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&veaction=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emotional_baggage&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_trauma

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look to their partners to fix this, rather than to address more adultconcerns.[7]

Cultural and parental expectations, and patterns of behaviour drawn fromthe family of origin and stilll unconsciously carried around, will impact on anew marriage in ways neither partner may be aware of.[8]

Similarly, as parents, both sexes may find their own childhood pastshampering their efforts at more constructive child-rearing,[9] whether theyrepeat, or seek to overcompensate for, parental patterns of the past.[10]

Psychotherapyaddresses such emotional baggage of the client under therubric oftransference,[11] exploring how early development can create aninternalised 'working mode' through which all subsequent relationships areviewed;[12] while the concept ofcountertransferenceon the therapist's partacknowledges that they too can bring their own emotional baggage into theanalytic relationship.[13]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotherapyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotherapyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countertransferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countertransferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countertransferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countertransferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotherapy