Psychoanalyze me: Why in the world does this embarrass me?

[Anonymous]

In the warmer months, occasionally an ice cream truck comes through my neighborhood. It’s a classic Good Humor looking truck complete with music. For no discernible reason, whenever it passes by, I get that familiar feeling of embarrassment. It makes absolutely no sense but I’m like Pavlov’s dog with the bell, only instead of hunger, I feel embarrassed. What in the world could cause this?

[Anonymous]

Ask your therapist.

[Anonymous]

Were you too get get ice cream when you were a child?

[Anonymous]

I was psychology minor at a party school;

- repressed trauma

-blocked childhood memories

- projection

- and just for fun, Gestalt theory

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Were you too get get ice cream when you were a child?

I’m assuming you meant “too fat to get ice cream” and the answer is no, I was on the thinner end of normal.

[Anonymous]

Not sure but the only way to fix it is to go get an ice cream every single time until you develop positive associations. I suggest the chocolate eclair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were you too get get ice cream when you were a child?

I’m assuming you meant “too fat to get ice cream” and the answer is no, I was on the thinner end of normal.

Sorry, I meant to poor

[Anonymous]

Maybe it’s related to the type of vicarious embarrassment one gets when someone sings showily in social situations ( like Andy Bernard in the office) or a politician (painful to even write this) awkwardly dances along to the music at an event.

Those are sort of flamboyant and attention seeking and maybe your mind puts ice cream trucks in the same category.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was psychology minor at a party school;

- repressed trauma

-blocked childhood memories

- projection

- and just for fun, Gestalt theory

What sort of trauma would be related to this? As is said above, I wasn’t “fat” or anything like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure but the only way to fix it is to go get an ice cream every single time until you develop positive associations. I suggest the chocolate eclair.

I like your way of thinking

[Anonymous]

Do you like ice cream from ice cream trucks? What do you think of people who buy ice cream from ice cream trucks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were you too get get ice cream when you were a child?

I’m assuming you meant “too fat to get ice cream” and the answer is no, I was on the thinner end of normal.

Sorry, I meant to poor

We weren’t poor, but my parents probably wouldn’t have splurged on this, and if they did, we would have had to share one treat (we often shared one ice cream cone, for example) But I was never embarrassed by it. To this day I sometimes share a cone with DH if we take the kids out for ice cream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure but the only way to fix it is to go get an ice cream every single time until you develop positive associations. I suggest the chocolate eclair.

I like this idea!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it’s related to the type of vicarious embarrassment one gets when someone sings showily in social situations ( like Andy Bernard in the office) or a politician (painful to even write this) awkwardly dances along to the music at an event.

Those are sort of flamboyant and attention seeking and maybe your mind puts ice cream trucks in the same category.

You might be on to something, because it’s the MUSIC, not the truck, not the idea of ice cream. Like, I wouldn’t feel embarrassed if the same truck was sitting silently at the park like a food truck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you like ice cream from ice cream trucks? What do you think of people who buy ice cream from ice cream trucks?

Sure! I think it must be fun for them to have a spontaneous treat delivered to them right at their house.