© HBOCersei Lanister of 'Game Of Thrones'
Shame evokes a series of physiological responses that are universal and include activation of the sympathetic nervous system and stress response. According to psychoanalytic theory, chronic feelings of shame are coupled with a sense of inferiority, are incredibly agonizing and evoke the construction of narcissistic defenses. This makes sense, as when a person feels shame and insecurity at the inner self, s/he seeks constant emotional support, fortification and justification from the outside.
Alongside guilt, shame guides and regulates human behaviors within a society to promote equilibrium. Accordingly, shaming has been used as a threat, punishment and means of control.A fictional, though representative version of shaming is epitomized in Cersei Lannister's walk of shame from George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones.
When feelings of shame are overbearing, people with narcissistic defenses typically run and hide, blame others for their predicament and lash out in rage regardless of personal or societal costs. Back in Game of Thrones' Casterly Rock, Cersei perfectly demonstrates the destructiveness and desperation of narcissistic defenses in an epic fashion. In response to her shaming, she successfully plots to burn her antagonists while remaining oblivious and indifferent to the consequences her actions have on her son, King Tommen, who kills himself in grief.
It stands to reason that the percent of narcissists who are politicians within a corrupt and immoral system is larger than that found within the general population. Instead of what would be an agonizing, though mature process of coming to terms with shameful acts of corruption, war and general inadequacy, many politicians initially deny all accusations and when irrevocable proof of their perversions is presented, they blame others in hysterical and destructive raging fits.
Sound familiar?
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