Most people don't realise it, but there is a silent, almost invisible behaviour that dominates a large part of modern human relationships. The compulsion to explain oneself all the time. It is a habit that seems harmless, even polite.
After all, justifying your choices, your emotions, your absences, or mood changes can sound like empathy, like consideration for others. But behind this constant need to justify oneself lies something much deeper and more disturbing. A poorly healed psychological wound.
Carl Gustav Jung, one of the greatest names in analytical psychology, identified this pattern as a clear symptom of disconnection from the self. For him, the repeated attempt to convince others about who you are, what you feel, and why you act in a certain way actually reveals a state of self-neglect. The person who constantly explains themselves is often seeking something they never received, permission to exist.
This behaviour often arises in environments marked by emotional invalidation. These are contexts, often familial, where the child's subjective experience is systematically disqualified. That's nonsense.
You're exaggerating. There's no reason to feel that way. The internalised message is brutal.
What I feel only has value if others understand, approve, or allow it. Over time, this belief transforms into an invisible prison, where the individual becomes dependent on others' understanding to affirm their own internal reality. When an adult compulsively explains themselves, they are unconsciously trying to avoid abandonment, judgement, or rejection.
They believe that if others understand their reasons, perhaps they won't criticise them, won't distance themselves, won't reject them. It is a desperate attempt to control others' perception to ensure belonging and emotional security. But this constant effort comes at a very high price—one's own psychological autonomy.
By focussing on external validation, the individual begins to neglect their internal authority. They no longer act because they believe in something, but because they need to justify themselves to avoid being misunderstood. They no longer feel freely, but rationalise their emotions to avoid the discomfort of being viewed negatively.
Gradually, they stop living for themselves and start acting for others—in an eternal theatre, where the audience has more power than the protagonist. Jung understood this phenomenon as a central obstacle on the path to individuation—the process by which a human being truly becomes who they are. And the truth is harsh.
As long as there is a constant need to explain oneself, there is no inner freedom. Because compulsive explanation is a sophisticated form of submission. It is as if, with each justification the individual says, I can only exist if you allow it.
This video is an invitation to dismantle this conditioning—a deep analysis of why so many people live trapped in the need to justify themselves, and what happens when they finally choose silence. When they decide to stop explaining themselves, something changes radically. The psyche, previously bent before external approval, begins to rise with a new posture—that of internal authority.
And this transforms absolutely everything. Behind the need to explain oneself, there is something much deeper than education, or the desire to be understood. It is a psychic wound, embedded at the core of identity.
Jung understood that this compulsion for self-explanation is not just a behavioural habit. It is a symptom—a reflection of something much older—the unconscious belief that one's existence only has value when validated by others. This wound forms early, often in childhood, in environments where the child's subjectivity is constantly delegitimised.
When a child expresses sadness and hears that they are being dramatic, when they show anger and are called difficult or disrespectful, when they reveal fear and receive disdain or irony in response, they begin to internalise a dangerous message. What I feel is wrong. I can only trust the responses of others.
Over time, the child develops a defence mechanism, trying to be understood to feel safe. They learn that if they explain well what they feel, they may not be punished, ignored, or ridiculed. And thus, a pattern is born that will be carried into adulthood, justifying every emotion, every decision, every attitude, as if a convincing argument were needed to have the right to feel and to be.
At the root of this wound is the loss of internal authority. The person no longer sees themselves as someone whose experience is valid in itself. They come to depend on the external gaze to confirm whether what they live has legitimacy or not.
This creates a psychological state of submission, where self-esteem is not built from within, but from the reflection in the eyes of others. It is important to understand that this dynamic does not happen consciously. Often, those trapped in this pattern do not even realise that they are constantly trying to convince others that their emotions are reasonable, that their decisions have logic, that their behaviour has a motive.
But behind every explanation, there is a hidden fear, the fear of being rejected for simply being who they are. Jung asserted that every individual needs, at some point in life, to confront this inherited internal structure. Until they do, they remain operating according to the values, judgments, and expectations of others, often internalised from authority figures in childhood, such as parents, teachers, or religious leaders.
The individual becomes a reflection of what others would approve of, not of who they truly are. This compulsive self-explanation, therefore, is a form of self-abandonment. It is the act of betraying one's own truth to make it more palatable to others.
And it is precisely at this point that the healing process begins, recognising that you no longer need to ask for permission to exist, that your emotions, no matter how intense, contradictory, or strange they may seem, do not need to be justified to deserve space. But this awakening does not happen without pain. When the individual begins to silence themselves in the face of the need to justify, the silence that arises is disconcerting, because it reveals the emptiness left by the absence of a consolidated internal authority.
And it is precisely about this that Jung speaks when introducing one of the pillars of his psychology, the construction of internal authority. In the next part, we will explore how this concept, central to the Jungian process of individuation, can radically transform the way someone positions themselves in the world. What does it mean to develop internal authority?
And why is this the key to breaking the cycle of self-explanation? If this content is making sense to you, click the subscribe button and subscribe to the channel. Thank you for your support.
Compulsive self-explanation is not just a defence mechanism. It is a continuous act of self-betrayal. A silent betrayal, often imperceptible, but deeply corrosive.
Carl Jung understood that every time an individual shapes their words to avoid displeasing, hides their emotions to harmony, or suppresses their decisions to avoid judgement, they are distancing themselves from themselves. They are, in fact, abandoning their own truth. This internal betrayal does not happen explosively, like a violent break with the self.
On the contrary, it is gradual, subtle, every day. It occurs when you laugh at something you don't find funny to seem sociable, when you say yes while meaning no to avoid being seen as selfish, when you explain your sadness as tiredness because you don't want to be a burden, when you feel anger but disguise it as rationality, fearing to seem immature. With each small concession made in the name of acceptance, a part of the soul is left behind.
Jung identified that this type of behaviour is a direct reflection of the ego, disconnected from the self. The ego, which should be merely the functional centre of consciousness, becomes a servant of external acceptance. It reconfigures itself to become what others want to see.
And in this constant adaptation, the individual loses touch with themselves. They stop listening to their own intuition, disbelieve their own feelings, and question their most authentic motivations. Doubt takes the place of inner confidence.
This process of self-abandonment is insidious because it is socially valued. People who adjust well, who know how to explain themselves, who avoid conflicts, who are easy to get along with, are often praised. But behind this false harmony often lies a deep emotional exhaustion.
An exhaustion of those who live for others but can no longer hear themselves. Jung asserted that this type of internal fragmentation is one of the main causes of neuroses. When the ego distances itself too much from the self, the symbolic centre of psychic wholeness, symptoms arise, chronic anxiety, existential crises, feelings of emptiness, difficulty in making decisions, low self-esteem.
And why? Because the soul is screaming to be heard but has been silenced in the name of social adaptation. Deep down, what is at stake here is a crucial question.
Whose life is it? As long as you are constantly seeking approval to feel, think, or act, your existence will be merely a performance, an edited version of your truth. You will always be a character in someone else's narrative, never the author of your own story.
The only way to break this cycle of self-betrayal is to reclaim internal authority. It is to develop the capacity to uphold your truth even when it is not understood, even when it causes discomfort, even when it challenges expectations. This is the beginning of true individuation, becoming whole, even if it means disappointing others.
But how to cultivate this internal authority? How to stop depending on external understanding to affirm who you are? How to maintain silence in the face of pressure for explanations?
This is precisely what Jung proposes with his concept of individuation, and this is what we will explore in depth in the next part, because only when this authority is does silence cease to be absence and becomes affirmation. For Carl Jung, true psychological freedom does not arise from social acceptance or external understanding. It emerges from the development of internal authority.
This concept, central to his theory of individuation, represents the individual's ability to validate their own subjective experience without relying on the approval of others. It is the moment when you stop asking yourself, will they understand what I feel, and start asserting, it doesn't matter if they understand, this is true for me. Internal authority is the opposite of compulsive self -explanation.
While the latter is anchored in insecurity in the need to justify every step to be accepted, internal authority arises from the deep conviction that your truth does not need to be negotiated, and this shift is not merely intellectual, it is existential, it is a change of axis. The centre of gravity of the psyche shifts, it moves from the periphery of external approval back to the centre of the self, where the totality of being resides. But this transition is not simple, it requires courage, because by ceasing to explain yourself, the individual directly confronts the fear of abandonment, the fear of judgement, the fear of exclusion.
Jung said that individuation requires traversing the desert of inner solitude, the moment when, for the first time, you hold a no without guilt, when you do not justify yourself for changing your mind, when you end a conversation without explaining why, not out of arrogance, but simply because you owe nothing to anyone to exist. Developing this authority does not mean becoming insensitive or closed to dialogue, on the contrary, it means that you no longer need to beg for understanding, you offer your truth as a gift, not as a plea for acceptance. Communication ceases to be a performance and becomes an authentic expression, it is the difference between speaking to be approved and speaking to be true.
In practise, internal authority manifests in small daily gestures, in silence, in the face of provocation, in the firmness of saying that does not resonate with me without needing to explain why, in the refusal to participate in an emotional game where you always have to justify your position, and above all in the ability to endure the discomfort of not being understood, and still remain whole. Jung believed that this is one of the most important moments of the psychological journey, the instant when the individual stops outsourcing their self -esteem and begins to recognise it as something that arises from within. This transition is symbolic and powerful, as it marks the break with the old conditioned self, the one that lives to please, and the birth of a new self, rooted, autonomous, whole.
But this new stance is not well received by everyone, on the contrary, the silence that arises from internal authority often disturbs. People who previously benefited from your insecurity begin to lose control. Manipulators feel threatened.
Relationships based on power dynamics start to crumble. And that is precisely why, when you stop explaining yourself, everything changes. In the next part, we will dive into this transformative turning point.
Why does silence hold so much power? What happens to your relationships when you refuse to continue justifying who you are? Get ready, because what comes next may radically change your perception of the ties you maintain today.
If what you're hearing resonates with you, you'll find real value in my e-books. Beyond the Shadow breaks down Jung's core ideas, while Dialogues with the Unconscious gives you a 30-day path to apply them in your life. Both are linked in the pinned comment.
Silence, when it arises from integrity and not from omission, is one of the most transformative forces of the human psyche. Jung understood this with brutal clarity. He saw silence not as an absence of response, but as a presence of authority.
When someone stops justifying themselves compulsively, they are not only avoiding conflicts or cutting conversations, they are deactivating an entire system of psychological control that fed on their insecurity. This type of silence is unsettling. Because for those who have always expected you to bow, to explain yourself, to correct yourself, the absence of justification is interpreted as rebellion.
And, in a sense, it is. But not an immature rebellion, the kind that screams to be heard. It is a silent revolution, an implicit declaration, I owe no explanations to be who I am.
Manipulative people who feed on others' doubt begin to lose the game. Because emotional manipulation only works when there is perceptible vulnerability, when there is fear of being misunderstood, fear of being abandoned, fear of disappointing. Manipulation needs reactivity.
But the secure silence, which comes from internal authority, is a stone wall. It does not respond, does not justify itself, does not dance to the music. It simply is.
And this destabilises any attempt at control. Moreover, relationships that have always depended on your submission, emotional, intellectual or behavioural, begin to reveal themselves for what they are, fragile, one-sided, based on imbalance. When you stop explaining yourself, you break the implicit pact of inferiority.
You cease to position yourself as someone who needs to be accepted and begin to occupy the space of someone who already accepts themselves. And this changes absolutely everything. Some people will distance themselves.
And this is not a sign of error, but of realignment. Because your silence begins to function as a filter. It reveals who was by your side out of genuine affinity.
And who was only there because you were easy to control. Jung said that the process of individuation often requires ruptures. And this distancing is not punishment.
It is liberation. When you stop justifying your presence, your boundaries, your choices, you start attracting relationships based on mutual respect, not on fear or dependence. But you need to be prepared.
Because by stopping to explain yourself, you will also have to deal with your own anxiety. The part of you that learned for decades that you needed to be understood to have value will resist. It will want to go back to justifying itself.
It will beg you to reconsider, to explain just this once. It is at this moment that silence becomes a spiritual exercise. A conscious act of remaining whole, even in the face of discomfort.
Silence, therefore, is not just the absence of words. It is the affirmation of being. It is the refusal to put your identity on trial.
And the more you sustain this silence, the more it transforms into presence. A presence that emanates authority. That commands respect without raising its voice.
That establishes boundaries without needing confrontation. A presence that does not need approval to exist. But the impact of silence goes beyond relationships with others.
It initiates a profound process within the psyche. Integration. When you stop justifying yourself, you begin to listen to yourself.
When you stop rationalising your emotions, you start to feel them fully. And that is where true transformation begins. Because external silence opens space for internal listening.
In the next part, we will explore this essential turning point. How the authority you gain in front of the world actually begins with an internal movement. The return to your own psychological integrity.
You will understand why integrated people do not convince. They communicate. And why, when you adopt this posture, the world begins to treat you completely differently.
There is something magnetic about a person who feels no need to explain themselves. Something that cannot be faked or forced. It is about psychological integrity.
The state of someone who no longer negotiates their own essence to fit external expectations. Jung understood this integrity as one of the most mature expressions of individuation. When the individual not only knows their truth, but upholds it, without hesitation, without guilt, and above all, without the need for validation.
An integrated person does not beg to be understood. They communicate. They express.
But they do not convince. Because they do not start from the premise that they need to justify their existence. Their words come from a solid centre, not from a hidden lack.
This changes everything in the way they are perceived. The world treats with more respect those who treat themselves with respect. And self-respect begins when you refuse to negotiate what is essential in you.
Psychological integrity does not mean inflexibility. It means coherence. It is the ability to maintain an internal line of truth, even in the face of external pressure.
It is when you feel something uncomfortable in a situation, and even without being able to explain it rationally, you trust your feelings. You do not need to present evidence or build elaborate arguments. You simply say, this does not resonate with me.
And that is enough. This stance, which seems simple, is revolutionary in a world where most live disconnected from themselves, where decisions are made based on the opinions of others, where feelings are ignored for fear of seeming too sensitive, and where boundaries are violated with forced smiles so as not to seem difficult. Integrity is the opposite of that.
It is the art of being whole, of not fragmenting to please, of not hiding to avoid conflict. Jung knew that true transformation does not happen when you learn more theories, but when you embody a new stance towards life. And this stance begins with the refusal to justify oneself.
Because every compulsive justification carries a camouflaged insecurity. Am I enough? The integrated person no longer asks this question.
They know they are. Even when the world insists on saying otherwise. And here lies the paradox.
The less you seek approval, the more respect you evoke. Because integrity has weight. It has density.
It has presence. That is why, without saying a word, a centred person can alter the dynamics of an environment. They do not need to prove anything.
Their internal coherence already communicates everything. People like this do not beg for space. They occupy it.
They do not react out of insecurity. They act out of alignment. But there is an essential detail.
This integrity is only possible when you stop betraying yourself, when you stop moulding yourself to be accepted, when you give yourself permission to feel, choose, act, even if no one understands. This requires practise, requires presence, requires self-knowledge. But above all, it requires the courage to take responsibility for your own existence, without blaming others, without outsourcing your value.
And when this integrity settles in, the effects are profound. Relationships change. The way you position yourself professionally changes.
Your self-perception becomes clearer. Anxiety decreases. The need to control what others think disappears.
Because you stop living to be understood, and start living to be true. But there is something even deeper. Something that happens not only in the way you relate to the world, but in what you begin to emanate.
When you stop justifying yourself, you start to emanate a new energy, that of someone who is in control of themselves. And this energy is unconsciously perceived by everyone around. This is where the invisible shift occurs.
The world begins to treat you as someone who does not negotiate. In the next and final part, we will explore how this psychological integrity transforms your relationship with the external world. How, without saying a word, you come to be respected in ways that once seemed unattainable.
And why, when you stop explaining yourself, the entire world changes the way it responds to your presence. When a person stops explaining themselves, everything changes. Not just inside, but around them.
It's as if a new frequency begins to be emitted. You no longer say, please understand me. You emanate, I know who I am, and I don't need your permission.
And the world inevitably responds. Jung knew that the human psyche is guided by energy, by presence, by internal structure, and not by rational justifications. The person who constantly tries to be understood emits a vibration of submission, of doubt.
The one who no longer explains themselves emits strength, clarity, authority. And this is not about becoming arrogant. It's about finally becoming whole.
People start to listen to you differently. Unbalanced relationships cease to make sense. Dynamics where you were submissive, predictable, easily controlled, simply collapse.
Not because you fought, but because you are no longer available to play the same role. Silence changes the configuration of your relationships, because it communicates what you once begged for. It says, I am not here to be shaped, I am here to be.
And from there, you begin to attract a different kind of connection. Deeper, more honest, more aligned with who you have become. Respect starts from the inside out.
And the first step is precisely to stop justifying your own existence. But this journey requires presence. Because in moments of doubt, the impulse to explain yourself will return.
It will seem safer to please. It will seem easier to yield. And it is in those moments that you must remember.
Every time you silence an explanation, you reaffirm yourself. You consolidate your integrity. You take your place in the world and not as someone who begs for space, but as someone who already knows they belong.
So now, tell me in the comments, what is the explanation you repeat the most and that, deep down, you already know you don't want to give anymore? Maybe it's about your emotions, your boundaries, your way of being. Write it down.
This is more than just a vent. It's a turning point. And if this message confronted or inspired you, don't keep it to yourself.
Like the video, share it with those who explain themselves too much and subscribe to the channel. The next video is also essential on this journey. Watch it now.
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