12/10/2025
Shame is such a driving force in so many of us, and because it keeps us going and functioning, it can be terrifying to think of what might happen if we let it go.
Itâs what drives every coping mechanism, because a coping mechanism is an adaption you acquired when your authentic self was rejected in your early life. You learned that you couldnât just be you, so you figured out what you needed to do to get love.
Hello perfectionism, over-functioning, people-pleasing, self-abandonment, etc.
Or if you werenât getting love, you found mechanisms to help you distract, numb, or detach so that the pain didnât feel so overwhelming.
Hi addiction, adrenaline thrill seeking, over-developed left-brain intellectualization, etc.
The coping mechanism helped us adapt to an environment that didnât allow us to exist in healthy relationship to our caregivers. We werenât allowed the space to explore our feelings and relationship to the world and others still be loved, connected, held, and cared for in the ways that WE needed.
But the adaptation isnât who you are.
You contain multitudes.
Youâre beautiful.
And youâre messy.
And youâre supposed to be.
Itâs the shame that says you are not lovable or acceptable if you arenât perfect.
Itâs the shame of how youâre âsupposedâ to be that stops you from exploring other ways of existing in the world.
Itâs the shame that tells you that feelings are âbadâ and you âshouldâ be happy that stops you from feeling the legitimate pain from the lack of love you deserved but did not get.
Shame tells us so many stories that arenât true. And if we want to access that beautiful, whole, bright and loving person at our core, we have to be willing to look at the shame so we can see that itâs not actually who we are.
If you're working to soften your self-judgment and meet yourself safely, then the Cycle Breakers program beginning in January is for you.
This is a year long program for those committed to intentionally meeting themselves with more safety, generosity, compassion, and accountability as they begin to break old cycles and patterns of relating to themselves, others and the world.
And itâs done in small, supportive, heart-centered community.
Register before December 9 to get the early bird discount!
The next 3 registrants also get a free 1:1 with me to use in January.
https://theeqschool.co/cycle-breakers