Recovery and The Four Lies of Shame

Steve Austin shares how healthy self care helped him to let go of shame

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Steve Austin is not who you think he is. No, he’s not a wrestler. He has come to learn that his life is not together and that is okay. Despite being a pastor in his church, he openly admits that he also needs medication and counseling.

Four years ago, his life came crashing down in a heap of lies, secrecy and unhealthy coping. Steve has learned how to practice self care in a way that has slowly transformed him.

The four lies that shame will tell you

Shame can erode your confidence and self-worth, your desire to connect meaningfully with your friends and family. It will set up a destructive cycle of comparison, competition and unhealthy coping.

1.You are not okay – Who you are is not adequate, not enough and not worthy. You just don’t measure up to the next person.

2.Your life will always be this way – There is nothing you can do to change yourself or your life. Your past, your family, your mistakes are so big that they have set the direction for your life.

3.Your life will never get better – Give up on hope because your life will never improve and there is little that you can do about it.

4.You and your life will only get worse – You do not deserve good things in your life, to be happy or to enjoy your life.

If you feel that shame is holding you back, you can learn to breathe again. Join Steve and his 7 Day Self-Care Challenge. There is no quick fix, but you can learn to exhale your past. Intentionally practicing self-care for one week can help to change your perspective. Steve will share his tips and ideas to better care for yourself and to learn to take control of your life. If you don’t take good care of yourself, no one else will!

You can learn more about Steve and his story in the video below.


Shame can erode your confidence and self-worth, your desire to connect meaningfully with your friends and family. It will set up a destructive cycle of comparison, competition and unhealthy coping. Steve has authored a Self-Care Bill of Rights that he would like to share with you:

self-care-bor-page-0

If you want to learn more about shame and healing, you will want to see some of my other work:

Why is Emotional Healing So Much More Difficult for Men?

10 Ways that You Protect Yourself from Pain and What You Can Do About it

The Risks of Being a Rational, Sensible and Distant Man

I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the latest and best of my writing. If you like what I have to say, please share my work with your friends.

Lastly, if you like my writing, you can click here to vote for my page on Psych Central’s list of mental health blogs.

Keep it Real

Photo courtesy of Patheos.com


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