I am coming out of the closet
/My recent newsletter has been quite popular. I thus want to share it with you all here in case you missed it! Here it is:
At the workshop along with all of the wonderful participants!
I hope this email finds you well! On my end, we are wrapping up the final activities for the Binational Health Week (BHW) here in the Bay Area. BHW is the largest mobilization effort in the Americas to improve the health and well-being of the underserved Latino population in the United States. A series of health promotion and education activities are conducted, including workshops and medical screenings. Last year, an estimated 1.6K activities were held benefiting 300K people. I’m excited to find out what the results were this year! This year, I led a complete wellness workshop called “Beautiful, Inside and Out!” alongside a friend and nutrition advocate. We had a great time!
Brene Brown shares her research on shame being LETHAL
Now, what does this have to do with me coming out? Well, as I was preparing my workshop points, I was doing a bit of research and realized that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). Three themes remain a key focus of DVAM:
The types of people that do not derserve to hear your story according to Brene Brown
- Mourn those that have died because of domestic violence
- Celebrate those who have survived
- Connect those who work to end violence
As I stared at my computer I realized that it could be time for me to come out of the closet: as a survivor of Domestic Violence. I have always felt an incredible level of shame around it given these were many dark years for my mother, my sister, and myself. Culturally, there isn’t much support either. Thank goodness for Dr. Brene Brown and her research on shame! Her antidote to this toxic emotion: getting out of the secrecy, silence and judgement (with the right people). For a long time, I knew I needed to take these steps.
As I stared at my computer preparing a workshop about inner beauty, coincidentally during the month of October, I couldn’t help but feel a pull forward to heal this toxicity, which was getting in the way of living my life with purpose. And so at our workshop, and in honor of DVAM, I decided to take action on #2 above (Celebrate those who have survived), and share with participants of the workshop some of my truth. I have to say, none of my worst fears occurred! Below, see Brene talk about (a) shame being “lethal”, as well as (b) the types of people who do not deserve to hear your story. Brene says we all have shame and that it’s one of the most human primitive emotions we experience. I invite you take a look and see where this could be holding you back.
I hope this is of service! I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment. If you enjoyed this post, I would be honored if you share it with your friends, family, and community.
Lots of love,
Judith