Professional Documents
Culture Documents
An Approach To Vulnerability
An Approach To Vulnerability
An Approach to Vulnerability
Student Name
March, 2021
2
An Approach to Vulnerability
The notion of vulnerability regarding human development has been what researchers and
scholars are studying for a very long history. IFRC (n. d.) defines vulnerability as “the
diminished capacity of an individual or group to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from
the impact of a natural or man-made hazard” (para. 1). According to DICTIONAY.COM (n. d.),
vulnerability refers to: “1) openness to attack or hurt, either physical or in other ways; 2)
willingness to show emotion or to allow one’s weakness to be seen or known and willingness to
This paper will focus on examining vulnerability in the aspect of human connections and
social relationships, exploring the cultural constraints of vulnerability and the benefits of being
What gets in the way of people being vulnerable? When we are talking about vulnerable
people, we tend to connect it to groups of people that are “weak”, like the old, the weak, the sick,
the pregnant and even the female. But vulnerability is actually the driving force of human
connections, rather than the “weakness” leads to disconnection (Young, 2015). According to
BrenéBrown (2010), people who have a capacity for human empathy or connection always feel
about vulnerability and experience shame of “excruciating vulnerability” that “I’m not good enough.
I'm not blank enough. I'm not thin enough, rich enough, beautiful enough, smart enough,
promoted enough” (4: 40). Underlined this is the sense of love and belonging and thereby the
sense of worthiness as what Ms Brown stated. For those who lack of the sense of worthiness, they
have a poor sense of love and belonging and are always wondering if they are good enough. They are
3
the very vulnerable but they do not want to show their weakness and vulnerability and they arm
themselves and try to prove that they are strong and good enough through solving problems alone.
All this discourages them to make connections and build relationships with others and separate them
As explained by BrenéBrown (2010), people with a strong sense of love and belonging
believe that vulnerability is a necessity and is not a shame. Vulnerability can be the key to human
connections and relationships because it empowers people with the courage to become open to others,
which can enable them to get closer with other and build positive relationships and satisfy them with
“Vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears
that it's also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love” (BrenéBrown, 2010, 12:18).
The more we are afraid of, the more vulnerable we are, and the more we are afraid of (BrenéBrown,
2010). But when people accept and embrace vulnerability, they believe that “what made them
vulnerable made them beautiful” and they believe they are worthy of connection and they’re more
likely to make connections and establish relationships with others, and they will be open to the love,
affection and influence of others and be willing to ask for help, to invest in a relationship and to do
things where there are no guarantees , and thereby they will be grateful and be connected (Brené
Brown, 2010, 9:28). They are more willing to be open and vulnerable in relationships and are less
likely to blame themselves and their own ‘unworthiness’ for the disconnection, allowing themselves
to be vulnerable to the uncertainty and they make it safe for others to do the same (Young 2015).
Therefore, we should accept and embrace vulnerability and live wholeheartedly, which will
4
empower us to encounter possibilities and challenges, daring to take risks and make connections and
References
https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability/transcript
https://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-management/about-disasters/what-is-a-disaster/
what-is-vulnerability/
https://www.heysigmund.com/vulnerability-the-key-to-close-relationships/