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Being Human

Being Human

By: Dr. Gregory Bottaro
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Summary

 At the CatholicPsych Institute, we're doing something new when it comes to therapy. In the Being Human podcast, Dr. Greg Bottaro, Founder and Director of the CatholicPsych Institute, shares with you his vision for Catholic therapy and a revolutionary approach that is focused, finally, on what it means to be human. Christianity Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Spirituality
Episodes
  • Episode 277: Boring Is Healing: Embracing Hiddenness and Alleviating Histrionic Patterns

    Episode 277: Boring Is Healing: Embracing Hiddenness and Alleviating Histrionic Patterns
    May 5 2026
    Healing isn't about changing your personality. It's about being freed from the compulsions that drive it. In this final episode of the histrionic series, Dr. Greg explores what the path from performance to presence actually looks like — why hiddenness feels terrifying but works like medicine, and why the deepest fear underneath this pattern can only be answered by God. Key Topics: Why healing doesn't mean losing what makes you magnetic — and what actually does need to changeHow a room falling silent can feel like ceasing to exist — and why that's the wound, not the cureWhy hiddenness feels like punishment but acts like medicineWhat it means when provoking a reaction feels more real than having a real conversationWhy no amount of being seen by other people ever quite reaches the thing underneathWhy real connection becomes possible only when you stop needing to be the most interesting person in the room Learn More: Need help? Schedule a free CatholicPsych consultationBeing Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns: Ep. #276: Back to Eden: Overcoming the Fear of Being Alone Through Divine LoveEp. #275: Hiding the Real You: The Histrionic Battle for IntimacyEp. #274: To Be Loved Is to Perform: Inside the Histrionic Compulsion for Attention and Validation Previous episode on attachment theory: Ep. #63: Attachment Theory: What It Is, What It Isn't, and How It Affects Your Relationships Previous episodes on parts work (IFS): Ep. #34: A New Theory! w/ a Catholic LensEp. #35: Why Do I Feel Like I Have Conflicting Thoughts? w/ Dr. Peter Malinoski The Jeweler's Shop by Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) — the play Dr. Greg references on the theater of the word and the freedom of love God Is Love: St. Teresa Margaret — Her Life — the book Dr. Greg discovered in college about the Carmelite mystic whose life of radical hiddenness is a model for this healing path Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity: The Complete Works, Volume One — the Carmelite mystic Dr. Greg credits with introducing him to St. Teresa Margaret Summit of Integration 2026 — Coming to Dallas this October, celebrating the Year of John Paul IIStart of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: BORDERLINE: The Push-Pull Between a Fear of Abandonment and Annihilation Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Jerry Maguire, Gollum, and the Fear of Not Existing Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: Narcissism and the Terror of Being Ordinary Want to help? Learn more about our Certification in Professional Accompaniment Follow Us on Socials: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter (X) | LinkedIn
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    43 mins
  • Episode 276: Back to Eden: Overcoming the Fear of Being Alone Through Divine Love

    Episode 276: Back to Eden: Overcoming the Fear of Being Alone Through Divine Love
    Apr 28 2026

    Being seen is not the same as being known. The life of the party can be the most isolated person in the room — filling every silence, commanding every gaze, and going home to an emptiness no audience has ever touched. In this episode, Dr. Greg goes into the loneliest part of the histrionic pattern: why the most socially active person in the room can also be the most profoundly alone, and why only God can reach what no human mirror ever could.

    Key Topics:

    • Why being the most social person in the room can also leave you the most alone
    • What it reveals when provoking a reaction starts to feel more real than having a real conversation
    • How early wounds teach you that your existence depends on other people's responses
    • Why heat is not warmth — and reaction is not connection
    • What Henri Nouwen's I-Thou relationship reveals about why an audience never actually fills you
    • Why no parent was ever meant to give you what you most deeply need
    • Why God is not just the answer to this wound — but the only one it makes sense to bring it to

    Learn More:

    • Need help? Schedule a free CatholicPsych consultation
    • Being Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns:
      • Ep. #275: Hiding the Real You: The Histrionic Battle for Intimacy
      • Ep. #274: To Be Loved Is to Perform: Inside the Histrionic Compulsion for Attention and Validation
    • Gaudium et Spes — See paragraph 22 for the full quote of "Christ reveals man to himself and makes his supreme calling clear"
    • Henri Nouwen Society — explore Henri Nouwen's writings on the I-Thou relationship
    • Start of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns:
      • Ep. #269: BORDERLINE: The Push-Pull Between a Fear of Abandonment and Annihilation
    • Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns:
      • Ep. #265: Jerry Maguire, Gollum, and the Fear of Not Existing: A Deep Dive into the Dependent Defense Pattern
    • Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns:
      • Ep. #261: Narcissism and the Terror of Being Ordinary: Why Real Change Happens through Love not Willpower
    • Want to help? Learn more about our Certification in Professional Accompaniment


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    45 mins
  • Episode 275: Hiding the Real You: The Histrionic Battle for Intimacy

    Episode 275: Hiding the Real You: The Histrionic Battle for Intimacy
    Apr 21 2026
    What if the person who lights up every room is actually living in fear and darkness? The humor, the charisma, the ease with which they hold attention - beneath the surface, there's often a fragile system always scanning for the next signal that they're still seen. In this episode, Dr. Greg explores how anxious attachment shapes the histrionic pattern - why performance becomes protection, why real closeness can feel threatening even when intimacy is desperately wanted, and how this plays out in relationships and in the spiritual life. Key Topics: Why you can light up every room and still feel completely aloneHow charm can be a defense, not a personality traitWhy real closeness can feel more threatening than rejectionHow anxiety, not vanity, drives the need to be seenWhy any reaction, even a negative one, feels better than being ignoredWhy boredom feels existentially threatening, not just uncomfortableHow intensity gets mistaken for intimacy, and what keeps real closeness out of reach Learn More: Need help? Schedule a free CatholicPsych consultation.Previous episode in this series - Histrionic Part 1: Ep. #274: To Be Loved Is to Perform: Inside the Histrionic Compulsion for Attention and Validation Home of the Being Human podcast – Easily search 250+ episodes on topics of interest. Amoris Laetitia – Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation by Pope Francis on Love and the Family Summit of Integration 2026 – Sign up to learn more about this year's event! The Personalist Cure – Upcoming new book by Dr. Greg Bottaro Don't Be Afraid of Screwing Up Your Kids - Because You Already Are – Dr. Greg's guest appearance on the Messy Family PodcastStart of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: BORDERLINE: The Push-Pull Between a Fear of Abandonment and Annihilation Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Jerry Maguire, Gollum, and the Fear of Not Existing Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: Narcissism and the Terror of Being Ordinary Previous episodes on parts work: Ep. #34: A New Theory! w/a Catholic LensEp. #35: Why Do I Feel Like I Have Conflicting Thoughts? w/ Dr. Peter Malinoski Previous episode on attachment theory: Ep. #63: Attachment Theory: What It Is, What It Isn't, and How It Affects Your Relationships Want to help? Learn more about our Certification in Professional Accompaniment Follow Us on Socials: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter (X) | LinkedIn
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    50 mins
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