It was Chris Germer who publicly spoke about finding out, that his public speaking anxiety turned out not to be an anxiety disorder. After long years of suffering with nothing that helped to improve, he found out that at the root of the phenomenon it was not anxiety but shame. Working with shame made the symptoms disappear fast and sustainable.
It was also Chris, if I remember it right, who said that we will be hearing a lot about shame in the scientific world in the coming years. There is so much we do not know yet about shame. Working with it, I more and more see how much it is woven into my own biography and even family history and in that of others.
And even more so: It does not seem to be only anxiety. Whenever there are strong unpleasant emotions that stick with us and that keep coming back, there is often a vein of shame running through them. Shame makes suffering sticky. I have seen it making guilt stick with people and also grief. If we take care of the shame, the rest of the felt sense can more easily flow through us and eventually change or dissolve.
Have you ever worked with shame before? What is your experience with shame?
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