The past is not your fault. The circumstances, the desolate loneliness. It is not something you have to clean up quickly. Or be ashamed of. The shame of how lonely you were. The shame of feeling so neglected. So invisible. So manipulated. The shame of not having any tools to deal with whatever was coming at you. All this was not your fault. Not an indication that you were wrong. Defective. Unloveable. Unworthy. None of it.
The desperation of trying to fit in somewhere, anywhere – and not being able to – is not proof of inherent unworthiness. Being on the outs is not a badge of shame.
No one has power over you.
This is an illusion.
Not a denial of the “harsh reality of the world”.
Powerlessness, helplessness, despair want to be felt, included, loved.
Not made wrong.
But made right.