Repeatedly, I discover and rediscover, how toxic shame is at the root of so much of our suffering, so much of our difficulties in realizing ourselves, and so much of our negative cycle interactions with others. By toxic shame, I here mean, those situations where we don’t just feel shame over a regretted action or failure, which is simply an aspect of being human, but where we feel a self-hating sense of shame over who we are, our very being.
When we carry around this internal sense of toxic shame, we either remain at constant war with ourselves inside consciously, or we become avoidant of ourselves unconsciously. One expression of this situation can be great inhibition in accomplishing our goals for ourselves. This can be accompanied by common low grade depression and sense of defeat.
Another expression of interior toxic shame can be a sense of vagueness and ill-definition of our sense of self in the world. (to be continued)
