Although I do not suffer from the same things you mentioned, I definitely have things in my life that lead me to feel shame. Deep shame in fact. So I can definitely identify with you.

I don't know if this will help you, but I think it is important sometimes to try to put our lives in perspective.

There are all kinds of things human beings feel shame or guilt about. But shamefulness is a range of values. Think of people like Hitler and Stalin who caused the destruction of tens of millions of men, women and children through their desire for genocide.

Now to me, that is something truly shameful.

Most of us do not have situations or habits that result in the loss of tens of millions of lives, or millions of lives, or hundreds of thousands of lives, or thousands or hundreds of lives.

So sometimes, perhaps, we feel a level of shame that is inappropriate.

I think we maybe should try to keep our feelings of shame in perspective.

You don't have any habits that result in the destruction of tens of millions of men, women and children so I hope you will not be too hard on yourself and cause yourself needless distress.

I hope you will try to keep things in perspective. It might help you.

Most of us, I think can say with truthfulness: "There are a lot of worse things I could be! And I am not those worse things, thank goodness!"

We each have a little three-pound brain. And each one is formed by genetics and environmental influences.

Often our brains seem to have minds of their own. The ideas that pop into our consciousness from our brain don't always conform to ideals that society values.

But what is the use of beating up our brains, metaphorically speaking, for their oddities. Our brains do not deserve that. They work tirelessly, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to try to keep us alive and healthy.

So I think, that perhaps we often should be more compassionate to our own brains and not focus too much on one or two things and thus lose perspective.

Some things we are ashamed of, we shouldn't be. And some things we are ashamed of, we are too ashamed of because we have lost our perspective.

What do you think?