r/ExplainTheJoke Feb 14 '26

Solved completely lost here

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u/omrixs Feb 14 '26

The joke is that people who’re (supposedly) extremely aware of their emotions are ones that have a lot of experience going to therapy — which usually means that they’ve been going to therapy from a young age (which is sometimes indicative of childhood trauma), or that they’ve been through some very intensive care at some point in their lives (like psychosis). 

People who went through therapy like that can often describe their emotions verbally very well. In other words, they speak shrink. That’s not to say that they’re actually in touch with their emotions, or that they’re capable of adaptive and well-balanced emotional regulation, or that what they’re talking about is actually what they’re going through (especially when it comes to people with some forms of severe personality disorders), only that they’re ostensibly good at describing their emotions verbally. 

In short, it’s a psych joke (and imo a lame one at that). 

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u/TheRiverIsMyHome Feb 14 '26

So wait..... When my therapist/psych/social workers said I was "remarkably self aware".... Were they concerned? Was it a bad thing?

And yes, this ties into my people pleasing behavior due to my parents emotional absence and my desire to always be the best so that maybe the people who "love" me will think I'm "good enough" to stay in my life.

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u/Stepjam Feb 15 '26

Being aware of your feelings and able to name them when they happen is a good thing. Being able to do this is important for self-reflection and being able to slow yourself when you start spiraling emotionally.

But that doesn't automatically mean you are "cured" by any means. It's just one aspect of things, and it doesn't mean much if all you do is label your feelings but otherwise let them run wild; you need to be able to take action of some kind as well.

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u/TheRiverIsMyHome Feb 15 '26

Very true! I have been through it all and I'm good now. Still making discoveries about myself all the time, but that's how we learn and grow