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Shame Is The Enemy of Joy

Shame blocks your love, crushes your optimism, weighs down your spirit. How do you address it? How do you let it go?

Heather Havrilesky
Aug 12, 2025
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The Thousand and One Nights (1954), Jane Graverol

Shame presents one of the trickiest obstacles to becoming emotionally exuberant and fully alive. Even though the word shame bounces through our everyday conversations, most people don’t understand what it means or what a powerful force it is in their lives.

Shame is that persistent voice that tells you tha…

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