self-disclosure

heidegger (1927/ 1962) considered self-disclosure essential to our understanding of our own existence and as an inevitable part of being human; indeed, talk is the way we disclose our primordial, primitive conditions of being-in-the-world. laing (1962), on the other hand, viewed self-disclosure as a person's "making patent" his or her "true self". he argued that the possibility of "going forward" exists only when self-disclosing, when a person "puts himself into his actions"·. more important than serving as a way to "go forward," self-disclosure also serves as a way to create and understand our personal selves as well as our interpersonal selves: "the act I do is felt to be me, and I become 'me' in and through such action".
jourard (1971b), more than anyone else, has influenced the way we currently think about research on self-disclosure. considering self-disclosure from an interpersonal perspective, he saw it as the way for people to express and to create intimacy, closeness, and love - as the way to be less mysterious to one another.
self-disclosure is a scary notion! It can explain our existence, reveal who we are to ourselves and others as we disclose and engage in an act of "becoming," and, more fundamentally, allow us to exist in the world. It can help us to "heal" ourselves and, simultaneously, serve as an indication of the intimacy of our relationships. paraphrasing jourard (1971b), self-disclosure requires courage, not only the courage to be,but the courage to be known and to be perceived by others as one actually is.
self-disclosure refers to times when you share very private, intimate secrets about yourself with another person. typically in a counseling setting, self-disclosure is necessary to make significant progress. not only is this important in counseling settings, but it is crucial for successful, loving relationships.