self-alienation
Losing oneself internally
Self-alienation is estrangement from one's own feelings, desires, or sense of identity.
The term appears in philosophy and psychology to describe a state where someone feels disconnected from their authentic self—going through motions without genuine engagement, or living according to external expectations rather than inner values.
Years of suppressing her ambitions led to profound self-alienation.
The concept suggests that what should be most intimate—one's own inner life—has become foreign or inaccessible.
Emotional separation between people
- disconnectionState of being severed
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
- fragmentationBreaking into smaller pieces
derealization · disembodiment · splitting · depersonalized · dissociative
Lack of genuineness
- SartreFrench existentialist philosopher
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- absurdityWildly illogical quality
angst · unfreedom · objectification · nothingness · despair · Kierkegaard · groundlessness
Treating abstracts as concrete
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- capitalismPrivate profit-based economy
- objectificationReducing humans to things
- dehumanizationDenying personhood to others
Adherence to norms
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
- code-switchingAlternating between linguistic varieties
- maskingConcealing by covering
- passingMoving by or temporary
estrangement
Emotional separation between people
- disconnectionState of being severed
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
fragmentation · derealization · disembodiment · splitting · depersonalized · dissociative
inauthenticity
Lack of genuineness
- SartreFrench existentialist philosopher
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
absurdity · angst · unfreedom · objectification · nothingness · despair · Kierkegaard · groundlessness
reification
Treating abstracts as concrete
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- capitalismPrivate profit-based economy
- objectificationReducing humans to things
conformity
Adherence to norms
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
- code-switchingAlternating between linguistic varieties
- maskingConcealing by covering
passing · belonging · performance · otherness · marginalization
self-alienationself-acceptance
Approval of oneself
self-awareness · self-understanding · self-knowledge · self-love · self-compassion
self-alienationself-integration
Psychological becoming whole
authenticity · wholeness · inner harmony · self-actualization · self-realization
self-alienationself-awareness
Insight into one's psyche
self-understanding · self-knowledge · self-consciousness · self-recognition · mindfulness
self, selves, selfish, selfless, selfhood, selfishness, selflessness, alien, aliens