“Define what you’re envious of. It’s telling you something”
Mind Garden psychotherapist Gail Collins-Webb was quoted in a Guardian feature this week about the psychology of envy.
Gail, a Jungian Analyst, told The Guardian: “Envy is one of the hardest emotions to talk about within analysis because it’s closely associated with the emotion of shame, and shame goes to the heart of human suffering.” She suggests that when experiencing envy, we should lean into it and allow it to instruct us: “Define what you’re envious of. It’s telling you something. For example, an introverted person may be very jealous of an extrovert’s capacity to have lots of friends and create a network in a way that they’re just not able to. When you’re feeling envy towards somebody, what you’re doing is projecting on to that person that they have this wonderful thing you want. And it’s worth questioning, isn’t it?”
