It takes a great deal of conscious thinking or mindfulness to even bring the habit of judging into our awareness. It did make me realize, though, that to have true empathy with someone you need to realize you aren't there to fix or better them. To be able to overcome shame, you must first understand what causes it, regardless of how it manifests itself. To do that, you need to possess the ability to put yourself in the shoes of the other person and see things from their perspective.

I Thought It Was Just Me Summary - Four Minute Books I Thought It Was Just Me Summary - Four Minute Books

An affirming, revealing examination of the painful effects of shame—with new, powerful strategies that promise to transform a woman’s ability to love, parent, work, and build relationships. It took a minute for me to become engaged (though when I got there, I was THERE) and the end became fairly repetitive.We spend so much precious time and energy managing perception and creating carefully edited versions of ourselves to show to the world. Other than that, I love Browns work, I love the message that she conveys, always a fan and always looking forward to more of her content! That being said, when the author interviewed over 300 people about how they experience shame, she discovered a theme; shame is a negative feeling connected to a sense of rejection and the exposure of aspects of ourselves that we tend to hide.

I Thought It Was Just Me Reading Guide - Brené Brown

There are plenty of uncomfortable topics of conversation that most of us will try to steer clear of, but one subject that people particularly loathe discussing is the emotion of shame.

Listening to all the different subtleties of Shame as well really bring into light how much of a Shame Web we actually can find ourselves in without even realising it. It’s shame – a complex blend of embarrassment, pain and a sense of isolation that makes you suspect your mistake somehow marks you as a mediocre or deeply fallible person. Women often experience shame when they are entangled in a web of layered, conflicting and competing social-community expectations. Have you ever totally lost it on someone just so you didn’t have to be honest about how hurt, ashamed or embarrassed you were feeling? She went on to explain that she knew they only had a short lunch break and that the pizza was a major incentive for them to be there at all.