I really digging Brene Brown in I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t)
Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing we are flawed and therefore unworthy of acceptance and belonging. Women often experience shame when they are entangled in a web of layered, conflicting and competing social-community expectations. Shame creates feelings of fear, blame and disconnection.
How do we overcome shame? What can we do to avoid getting trapped in the shame web? The bad news is that there’s no way to permanently rid ourselves of shame. As long as connection is critical, the threat of disconnection that leads to shame will also be a part of our lives.
The good news, however is that we are all capable of developing shame resilience. Again, by resilience, I mean that ability to recognize shame when we experience it, and move through it in a constructive way that allows us to maintain our authenticity and grow from our experiences. And in this process of consciously moving through our shame, we can build stronger and more meaningful connections with the people in our lives.