[mountainstream]

I feel that I’ve been traumatised by neglect.
It’s hard to say more.

[Bill3]

((((((((((mountainstream)))))))))

[smmath]

Shame, trauma, and neglect are all incredibly painful and heavy things to live with. It's okay to not be able to say more. Shame makes us want to hide and keep everything a secret. I am so sorry that you are struggling with them. I know that an apology doesn't take away the hurt, but I just wanted you to know that I feel for you and believe you are cared for by someone or something.

I don't know your story, but I do know shame. I hope I don't come off as making this about me, but I want you to know you're not alone with bearing that burden. Shame and traumatic experiences can paralyze us and make us think we've done something wrong and should be punished or secluded. A therapist of mine refers to those thoughts as coming from the "voices". The voices are lying to us. They just want us to keep us down to prevent us from healing and making an impact on the world. My hope is you can try to talk back to those voices that just want to hurt you.

Please know that you did not deserve whatever bad thing that happened. No one does. You also do deserve to heal and be free from the chains of shame. I know I'm not offering solutions, and I wish I had them.

One more thing, whatever you feel ashamed about, you don't need to be. It may be painful and it's okay to choose not to talk about it, but it should be your choice, not the voices of shame.

You are in my thoughts. Much love to you.