Netflix’s House of Guinness isn’t really about a pint of stout. It’s about family secrets, the weight of expectations, and people trying to figure out who they are while living under someone else’s rules.
And honestly, that hits close to home.
Because most of us, in some way, carry roles, silences, or pressures that don’t feel fully ours.
Family Expectations: Arthur & Edward
Early in the series, Arthur and Edward Guinness are pushed into running the brewery after their father’s death. Their path is laid out before they even get to choose it.
That can feel familiar when your life starts to look like something other people decided for you.
Maybe you were always “the responsible one,” “the quiet one,” or “the one who holds it all together.”
But somewhere along the way, you start to wonder… what if I’m more than the role I was given?
In counselling, you finally get a space to explore that without having to keep playing the same part.
Hiding Parts of Ourselves: Arthur
Arthur’s secret relationship is full of fear and longing. He wants to be honest, but hides it weighed down by shame and expectation.
We do this too, even if it’s not about who we love. We hide our anger, our sadness, our doubts the parts we worry might not be “acceptable.”
It takes energy to keep all that hidden. It’s lonely, too.
Counselling can be the first place you let those parts breathe and instead of judgment, you’re met with understanding.
Living Within Limits: Anne in Cloonboo
Anne’s story is heartbreaking shaped by illness, grief after her miscarriage, and the pressure to be the “good woman” in her family. Cloonboo feels like a cage, both physically and emotionally.
Many of us know that feeling: smiling on the outside, shrinking on the inside.
Trying to hold it together for everyone else while quietly disappearing from ourselves.
Sometimes, talking things through helps you see that the door you thought was locked… might actually open.
Fear of Exposure: Secrets and Blackmail
Much of House of Guinness revolves around people being exposed secrets hanging in the air, the constant fear of shame.
That fear is deeply human.
Most of us have, at some point, wondered: If people really knew me, would they still want me around?
In counselling, you get to find out that the answer is often yes.
When you stop hiding, what you usually meet isn’t rejection it’s relief.
Building Your Own House
Everyone in the show is trapped inside the Guinness “house” a legacy built by someone else. They spend their lives trying to fit within its walls.
But life doesn’t have to look like that.
Step by step, you can start building your own house not just inheriting a story, but shaping one.
Not just living in rooms that were assigned to you, but designing new ones that feel like home.
It doesn’t happen overnight. But little by little, you start to feel less defined by what others expect and more connected to who you actually are.
Final Thoughts
Watching House of Guinness, you can feel how heavy legacy and silence can be. But you also see the cracks the moments when truth tries to break through.
That’s what counselling can be like too: noticing the cracks in the old house, and starting to build something new, piece by piece.
If you’d like a safe space to explore your own story, you can book a free consultation with us