Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by ANDREW EALES
WARNING: The following article discusses and includes accounts of humiliation which might trigger distressing memories or thoughts for some readers.
Louise Eales is an advanced practitioner in child and adolescent mental health, with more than 30 years of clinical experience. I am grateful for her insights and collaboration in the writing of this important article.
Humiliation is a deeply painful emotional state caused by public exposure of a person’s mistakes or weaknesses. Recognised by psychologists as one of the most potent of emotions, it can have a long-lasting impact on a person’s self-esteem, wellbeing, and mental health.
A mounting body of research shows the connection between humiliation and social anxiety disorder. Additionally, it is associated with episodes of clinical depression and linked to suicidal ideation or acts.
Humiliation is fundamentally done to us. In his Psychology Today article The Psychology of Humiliation, Neel Burton M.D. explains,
“Whereas shame and guilt are primarily the outcome of self-appraisal, embarrassment and humiliation are primarily the outcome of appraisal by one or several others, even if only in thought or imagination. One critical respect in which humiliation differs from embarrassment is that, whereas we bring embarrassment upon ourselves, humiliation is something that is brought upon us by others.”
Most piano educators, from local teachers to adjudicators, examiners, and conservatoire professors, would balk at the suggestion that we would ever humiliate a student. But realistically, many of us will have inadvertently done so, and will likely also have experienced humiliation ourselves.
We have fostered a culture around piano playing that leaves players of all ages and abilities precariously vulnerable. I find many adults returning to playing recount painful episodes in their piano journey where they have felt humiliated and debilitated.
Continue reading The Pianist’s Humiliation
