Guru Please
Free From Shame: The Journey with Michelle Anhang
Episode Summary
We all carry shame and fear. We hide from it. We may even trick ourselves because of it. Let Michelle’s story inspire the courage within you to face yourself. Let her journey shine a light on how deserving of love you are.
Episode Notes
We all carry shame and fear. We hide from it. We may even trick ourselves because of it. Let Michelle’s story inspire the courage within you to face yourself. Let her journey shine a light on how deserving of love you are.
Michelle lost her husband to suicide 14 years ago. She hid the truth about his death for over 10 years out of shame and fear of stigma. Now she has turned her pain into purpose by speaking publicly about her journey through healing and coaching others who live with mental health challenges and loss.
Quotes to remember:
“Carrying a lie that big has an impact on us.”
“I had to grieve all the things I didn’t give myself permission to grieve.”
“When we are shame-driven, we just keep doing things that we’re ashamed of.”
“Fear is a liar.”
Takeaways:
- Shame and deceit grow over time
- Trauma is stored in the body; talk therapy only takes us so far
- Our self-worth is tied up into the stories we have been telling ourselves of who we are
- You can’t stop anyone from dying; you are playing god if you act otherwise
- Some people spend their whole lives trying to make other people happy
- You don’t need to accept anything as “the way it is”—it’s your choice to
- Confronting our shadow is at once painful and liberating
- You have permission to say, “I don’t want to live in this old story anymore”
- Your community are people who support you and want you to be happy and free
- There is no timeline for grieving; grief is the truest form of surrender; the tears will end
- Treat yourself as a loving parent treats a child
What you’ll learn:
- How Michelle found herself lying about her husband’s death
- What compelled her to tell the truth and face the shame
- How an unhealthy relationship manifested due to her lack of self-worth
- What it takes to develop self-love when you don’t have much
- What happened when Michelle broke the news to her teenage children, a decade later
- Why so many of us play small and play the martyr
- Her process of forgiving her family
- The hidden opportunity in grief
- How to quickly tell when you are not living aligned with your values and are betraying yourself
- How to be discerning in relationships, and more importantly why
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