"One day you will tell your story of how you overcame and what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide." - Brene Brown

This quote from Brene Brown has empowered me as I follow my personal journey of uplifting and helping women heal from their pasts. I admire her work as a PhD psychologist and her studies of shame in human behavior for the past decade. 

Research has shown that we frequently deal with shame in three unhealthy ways:

• We distance ourselves from other people by hiding our true selves, withdrawing from our relationships, and keeping secrets.

• We try to please those around us so that we can “earn back” our worthiness. 

• We feel depressed and anxious. Shame can be a contributing factor to depression, anxiety, and codependency. 

Often our personal stories are kept in the dark to hide the shame or fear of being judged. Shame can be a devastating emotion that leads to depression and can lead to...