Shame & Minority Stress
Shame has a way of becoming background noise that’s so constant and familiar that you stop noticing it. In our work together we bring it into the foreground and name minority stress explicitly, because you deserve a space where the full weight of what you carry is actually acknowledged.
What shows up in therapy?
You shrink yourself in certain spaces by becoming quieter, less visible, and less queer
You’re neurodivergent and feel exhausted from masking all of the time
You struggle with perfectionism and feel the need to prove that you are “enough” after coming out
You constantly have this underlying feeling of stress or anxiety but can’t pinpoint why
You drink alcohol or use other substances to cope with the constant anxiety you feel about the state of the world
You’re stuck in a cycle of people-pleasing to avoid rejection or conflict
The current political climate has you feeling depressed and wondering if things will ever get better
You have a harsh inner critic that you’ve lived with so long that you’ve mistaken if for your own voice
How can therapy help?
Get more comfortable taking up space without shrinking or editing yourself for the sake of other people
Take a break from masking all the time and figure out who you are underneath it and who you want to be
Explore where the stress and anxiety that’s always hiding underneath the surface is coming from
Develop coping strategies and skills for navigating dysregulation that aren’t substance use
Break the cycle of people pleasing and get more comfortable with asserting your needs and managing conflict
Leave the shame that isn’t yours to carry in the therapy room
Allow yourself to feel the scary feelings in a supportive environment
Explore where your inner critic comes from and whether it deserves to take up so much space in your mind