Quote by Anais Nin

For so many of the folks I work with in therapy shame is an overwhelming part of their lives, and shame is toxic to the soul. Guilt is feeling bad for something you have done whereas shame is feeling bad about who you are.

When kids grow up in environments that are abusive or neglectful or toxic, they learn to believe that they are bad, not because of what they do but because of who they are. The same thing can be said for kids who identify as LGBTQIA+, depending on the environment they grow up in. Regardless of where it comes from, for those I work with, shame is not about anything they have truly done, it is the lie that their families or society has told them about themselves. And a lie it is. No one should feel shame for who or what they are, and this is some of the core work of therapy. That shame they are carrying around with them is not theirs, its someone else’s and my goal is to help them lay down that shame and see themselves for the beautiful soul that they are.