The Power of Shame

Curt Thompson, M.D. writes:

 “The shame in our head is like a locomotive. And to stop that locomotive, I need a bigger locomotive. And that is where community comes in.” 

With trauma the disconnection of fear and shame fracture your sense of “tend and befriend.” Those two words are crucial to tend to what happened. To lock arms with people that regulate your emotions and help you befriend reality. That is the community we need. Not an abrasive community. If you had a wreck on a bicycle and wrecked your knee with a burn and gravel scrape, you would not put stiff sandpaper between the wound and the bandage. You would be discerning and choose an ointment and a bandage that is soft and pliable to match the healing transitions of the wound.