Why We Hold On to Shame
Have you ever wondered why shame is so incredibly sticky? Why does a voice inside us sometimes whisper not just “I messed up,” but “I am flawed, unworthy, or fundamentally broken”? It seems bizarre that our minds would cling to such a painful emotion. But deep beneath our conscious thoughts, shame is actually doing a secret job; it is serving as a survival shield against a much deeper, terrifying concept: The fear of total non-existence . Here is a breakdown of how this hidden emotional mechanism works, and why understanding it can change how you view your deepest insecurities. The Ultimate Fear: Feeling Non-Existent At a spiritual and psychological level, human beings are designed to feel connected to something larger than themselves. However, living in the day-to-day physical world often leaves us feeling isolated, small, and cut off from that bigger picture. Because we don’t constantly feel our underlying connection to the universe, our ego (the part of us that creates o...
