Shame is like a vampire

by Richard Harkness
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Shame can only have power over us if we let it. Shame we aren’t good enough, shame people will judge us, shame over the way we dealt with someone and so on. The author Brene Brown suggests we all deal with shame in different ways which often falls into three approaches.

1) Moving towards it - we appease people or aim to please so people will forgive us or move past it.

2) Move against it - we try to gain power over others or become aggressive.

3) Move away from it - we withdraw or hide away from others and maybe our own inner voice too.

Can you recognise how you deal with shame in the above? We’ve all felt it at some point but it has power over us because most of us won’t speak of it.

You can take away that power by shining a light on it. Thinking about it, recognising it, accepting we all feel it and most importantly sharing it with someone we trust. It takes courage but you have it in you.