I have been reading Brene Brown’s book, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. i am currently working my way through a chapter on shame.
as i parsed my way through the list on why people feel shame, i read the line, “because we are stereotyped or labeled.” with that, i had a new found understanding about my journey with my mental disorder, why i felt “”unclean”. i came to recognize with that one little line, through that one little label, that one little stereotype, i had been thrown into a shame induced stupor.
and from my newly imparted wisdom from the chapter, my actions/reactions come into focus. one bit of wisdom is shame causes a disconnect. a second bit of wisdom is all humans desire connection.
that explains the crappy feeling i am experiencing right now. that explains why i feel unlovable. it all comes back to shame. all from one little label, one little stereotype.
that one little label, one little stereotype, has caused a disconnect. that disconnect has driven me further away from my primal desire to be connected. then to top it all off, the shame compounds itself because i feel bad and wrong for being further from the state of connectedness that i so desire. what a horrible place to be.
through this sharing, through this sign of vulnerability, i take a small step in rejecting the shame. i move closer to the connectedness i so desire.
it is now clear to me, i am on a journey back to a state of connectedness. this journey back will be long; i recognize the low state i am in, how shame has intertwined it’s way into my life. but as the saying goes, any thing worthwhile is worth working for. and through this journey, i hope to ignore the desire to pick up every hitch–hiker that sticks their thumb out to me, hoping for an easy ride, leaving shame along side the road a little more often.
facing off with the big d 
Wonder fully stated. I love Brene Brown. John Bradshaw, The people who say the “s” word. What I have learned on this journey is that when you say the “s” word, people’s defense mechanisms kick in. That is why I wont say that word on my blog. I would rather talk about all of the feelings that create it.
What a great insight!!
Thanks my friend.
Keep on keeping on. Or as we used to say “Keep on Truckin.”
oh, and can you envision the keep on truckin’ logo with the elongated perspective that made the leading leg look reeeeeally long. :^)
I tried to add it here as a pic, but it wouldnt let me. Look at the bottom of my blog about suicide rates i just posted. Thats the one I remember from “those” days.
I’m just about to start on the same book. Hope I get as much from it as you seem to be!
that’s just one thing i’ve written about. i see four or five things i could write about per chapter.