Claim OwnershipThe Fractured Self Podcast
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Who are you when you drop the mask? Join Rich as he explores the intersection of depth psychology, existential philosophy, and authentic identity. This isn't self-help or motivation, it's a step into the unconscious patterns, shadow work, and existential questions that shape who we really are. Drawing from Jungian psychology, existentialist thought, and raw personal reflection, each episode examines the fractured spaces where our authentic selves hide beneath societal conditioning. For those ready to question not just what they believe, but why they exist at all.
11 Episodes
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We keep circling back to one terrifyingly accurate idea from philosopher Byung-Chul Han: the disciplinary society of Foucault has given way to the "achievement society". We are no longer prisoners watched by guards in a tower; we have built our own panopticon. We punish ourselves for resting, reward ourselves for burning out, and genuinely believe this is what freedom and choice look like. In this episode of Fractured Self, we aren't just looking at the theory, we're looking at what it feels ...
In this deep-dive episode, we explore one of the most counter-intuitive and uncomfortable theories in the history of psychology: Kazimierz Dąbrowski's theory of Positive Disintegration. While mainstream mental health models prioritize "adjustment" and view anxiety, depression, and existential inner turmoil as symptoms to be eliminated, Dąbrowski argued the opposite. He suggested that for a select percentage of the population, these crises are necessary developmental mechanisms, violent intern...
The feeling is specific. It is not just tiredness. It is a low-level frequency humming in the base of your skull. In this episode, we perform an autopsy on "Digital Exhaustion." We look beyond social media addiction to diagnose the deeper mechanism: The Achievement Society. Why does taking a break feel like a threat to your survival? Why have we turned our personalities into brands? And is there any way to escape the "digital panopticon"? We explore the works of: Byung-Chul Han: The violence ...
There is a modern assumption that overthinking is a cognitive error, a "glitch," or a failure of efficiency. We are told to stop ruminating, make faster decisions, and get out of our heads. But what if overthinking isn't a flaw, what if it's a vital function? In this episode, we explore the idea that the problem isn’t that you think too much, but that you live in a world that has forgotten how to think at all. We move past the "self-help hacks" to examine the philosophical and psychological r...
There is a loneliness that has nothing to do with isolation. You can be connected to hundreds of people, immersed in communities that span the globe, and still feel profoundly homeless, not quite belonging anywhere, always partially elsewhere, inhabiting every space provisionally. This is not about being locked out. This is about being let in everywhere, partially, with the understanding that leaving is always an option. Connection as buffet. Sampling without settling. The self as carry-on lu...
In an age of AI displacement, we confront a terrifying realisation: the algorithm isn't just taking our jobs, it’s holding up a mirror. This episode dives beneath the surface-level anxieties of economic disruption and career change to explore a deeper identity crisis. For generations, we’ve confused human worth with economic output and defined our sense of self by productivity and job titles. Artificial Intelligence is dismantling the "identity system" of Capitalism, forcing us to question t...
Episode Description In an age of endless information and algorithmic connection, many find themselves intellectually isolated. This episode of The Fractured Self podcast gets into the concept of epistemic loneliness, a profound form of alienation that cuts deeper than mere social disconnection. It is the isolation of the thinking mind, a profound yearning for genuine intellectual companionship in a world that often provides only superficial validation. We explore how this phenomenon aris...
Surrounded by people yet feeling utterly alone. Messages flooding in but none truly reaching you. More connected than any generation before us, yet drowning in isolation. This is the loneliness paradox of our time. In this episode, we excavate the difference between contact and connection, between being reached and being known. Drawing from Martin Buber's profound distinction between "I-Thou" and "I-It" relationships, we explore why our hyperconnected world leaves us more isolated than ever....
In a world where every scroll is a stage, how much of "you" is truly you, and how much is a meticulously crafted performance? Join us on this episode of Fractured Self podcast as we get into the unsettling reality of performing authenticity in the age of social media. From the curated aesthetics of Instagram to the strategic vulnerability of LinkedIn, we've become masters of presenting different selves. But what's the psychological cost when "being real" becomes a brand, and "genuine" a...
That peculiar weight between your ribs that arrives uninvited, not quite anxiety, not quite grief, but something that remembers you're alive when you'd rather forget. This episode sits inside existential angst without trying to cure it, exploring how this fundamental human disquiet shows up in fluorescent-lit grocery stores and middle of the night moments alike. We examine the quiet rebellion of consciousness against its own containers, the cost of staying awake to your own life, and why tha...
What if the "self" you think you know is actually a collection of ancient psychological patterns moving through you like weather systems? In this journey into Carl Jung's archetypal psychology, we explore how transpersonal forces older than memory shape our thoughts, behaviors, and choices before we're even consciously aware of them. We examine the major archetypes, persona, shadow, anima/animus, mother, father, lover, sage, and trickster, not as abstract concepts, but as living energies that...
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