Shame is one of the most difficult feelings to handle and talk about because it brings up something that the person would rather forget. However, breaking through shame in therapy is a liberating experience that also helps improve couple and family relationships.

There is a kind of continuous shame formed in childhood that children internalize traumatically. Of course, not every stressful situation in childhood is traumatic, but some impress as traumatic continuous shame on some children, and we are still unsure how this works. When such shame is formed under the duress of stressful pressing circumstances, it makes itself apparent later in life in situations reminiscent of the original situation. It also surfaces in adult relationships. Let’s see how this occurs and how we can recognize and deal with this shame.

Being used is often the basis of a traumatic experience, especially but not limited to the trauma of sexual exploitation. A child who survives a traumatic experience where something was done to them against their will (violence, bullying, physical or emotional exploitation) may feel powerless. They might retrospectively develop shame of not being able to react adequately or fight back. In a relationship, this can manifest as shame in any situation where they feel........

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