From the author: The article was published on my website We learn not to feel what we feel. We forget how to hear ourselves, understand ourselves, we stop recognizing ourselves. What's the point of this stupid game of hide and seek with yourself? There is a beautiful version that we stop perceiving our needs since childhood. But not from early childhood, when we are still simple and wise, but a little later, around the age of three or four, when with our timid childish steps we enter the adult world and try to build our relationships with it. Often parents and close people respond a child’s request for one portion or “addition” of love, warmth, care, affection, attention is answered with a refusal, due to various reasons - eternal lack of time, fatigue, simple inability to express these feelings, because they themselves were not taught in childhood... This is not a reproach against their parents, because if this happens, then this is a sure sign that they cannot take care of themselves either. They get annoyed when they hear these requests - to play with the baby, read, sing a song, draw or do something together, they get angry, in a word, they are very worried, over and over again reproaching the baby more and more for what he does not see and does not appreciate their adult work. When faced with refusals, reproaches and irritation, the baby is offended, does not understand and tries to drive the pain into the farthest corner of his soul, each time finding another excuse for the parent. We learn not to feel the need for love, for care - this way there is less pain in life and it is easier to cope with it. We learn not to notice our feelings, our needs, we survive. We move away and distance ourselves from ourselves, over time we cease to remember who we really are, forgetting what we want, what brings us our real joy and pleasure. And one day, our plan to survive without feelings achieves its goal, we turn into just such a person. And the consumer society instills in us the idea that joy and happiness can be bought through owning something - a beautiful car, an apartment, a prestigious job, jewelry ...you never know, advertising of goods and services has become a part of our lives. And in the pursuit of happiness, we exchange some things for others, because owning a thing gives only momentary joy. But here advertising comes to the rescue again, offering us a different product so that we don’t turn away from this path of consumption, don’t start thinking and remembering what we really want? Not everyone stops, because... It’s difficult to see another person in yourself, it’s painful to accept the fact that we once betrayed and abandoned ourselves, it’s bitter and offensive to understand that so much time was wasted almost in vain when we were achieving “our” goals. I really like one phrase: “ We are vulnerable, but not weak. Many people don't understand the difference».