Psychoeducation · Trauma reactions
Feeling like something's wrong with me (trauma-related shame)
Shame can make someone feel that what happened says something bad about who they are.
Feeling ashamed doesn't mean you have anything to be ashamed of.
What is it?
Shame may affect more than how you feel about an event. It can change how you see yourself, so you start to believe the abuse says something bad about you.
How can it happen?
Humiliation, victim-blaming, and feeling powerless can add to shame. Thinking you should have been different may also create an illusion of control, as if you could have prevented someone else's choice to hurt you.
Supportive words
Feeling ashamed doesn't mean I have anything to be ashamed of.
What happened says nothing bad about me.
What it does not mean
Feeling ashamed does not mean you did something shameful.
What it might feel like
“I am disgusting.” “There is something wrong with me.”
Background and sources
The association between sexual violence and shame is supported by meta-analytic research.
These sources relate to the topic. The explanation is independently edited educational content, not a clinically tested intervention.