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Matías Muñoz, psychologist: 'Our identity is also imperfect: it is composed of demanding and perfectionist aspects and o
🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Matías Muñoz, psychologist: 'Our identity is also imperfect: it is composed of demanding and perfectionist aspects and others that are more realistic and empathetic'

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • Psychologist Matías Muñoz discusses his new book, "Tras las huellas del amor" (In the Footsteps of Love).
  • The book explores how individuals can understand and transform their learned patterns of love from their upbringing.
  • Muñoz emphasizes the importance of accepting and honoring ancestral legacies, including both positive and negative aspects, to foster healthier relationships.

Psychologist Matías Muñoz encourages readers to delve into their personal histories and reconcile with the love they received from their ancestors in his latest book, "Tras las huellas del amor." Muñoz, known for his practical and reflective approach, guides readers through introspection to understand their origins and make peace with their past.

Our identity is also imperfect: it is composed of demanding and perfectionist aspects and others that are more realistic and empathetic.

— Matías MuñozDescribing the multifaceted nature of human identity, as discussed in his book.

The book aims to help adults, not just parents, examine and heal their relationship histories. Muñoz invites them to value and honor what they received, while also encouraging them to change learned behaviors that hinder their ability to love freely and fully in the present. The core message is to transition from the love one learned to the love one chooses to live.

I wanted to connect with the reader.

— Matías MuñozExplaining his intention behind including activities and introspection exercises in his book.

Muñoz stresses the crucial importance of honoring and thanking those who came before us. He explains that while questioning or angering parents is a natural part of adolescence, adult life requires valuing and respecting the love they offered, regardless of circumstances. This involves looking beyond pain to recognize the resources our parents and ancestors utilized to reach the present.

It is crucial. Our parents gave us life, without them we would not exist, and although in adolescence it is healthy to question them or get angry with them, in adulthood it is essential to be able to value and respect that love as it was.

— Matías MuñozHighlighting the significance of accepting parental love in adulthood.

He advocates for a profound acceptance, urging readers to acknowledge and validate loving gestures from their predecessors. Muñoz suggests that even in dysfunctional family dynamics, such as parental abandonment, there are often overlooked moments of love and care, like daily school runs or birthday celebrations, that deserve recognition. He cautions that memory can distort experiences, often recalling pain more vividly than joy, and advises readers to maintain distance from suffering without dislodging their ancestors' rightful place in their personal history.

Preserving oneself is being able to distance oneself from suffering, but with care, that is, without snatching their place from parents.

— Matías MuñozAdvising on how to process past suffering without disrespecting one's parents.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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