(deep, deep) Shame

by Kellyn Shoecraft on August 31, 2023

Cartoon of a young adult sitting on the bed while her mother calls her from another place. Text reads, "The morning I got the call that my dad, who had been sick for a very long time, had died, the very first feeling I had was..."

Shows a yong woman sitting on the bed holding the phone to her ear with a thought bubble coming from her head. The text reads 'Relief' in a large teal cloud.

Black background with white text that reads, 'And then, .001 seconds later...'

Thought bubble color replaced with read and 'Relief' is replaced with '(deep, deep) shame.'

Same young woman now sits on a three legged stool. Text reads, "I felt shame for many years — too embarased to tell anyone that my immediate response to the worst news was a positive emotion. But, I would have saved myself a lot of anguish if I knew three things."

Three legged stool is now a sign with a #2 on it. The young woman is dangling from the sign. Text reads, "If you have been living with anticipatory grief or intense worry for a long time, it makes sense to feel a jolt of relief when the worst happens. Your brain has a moment between the worry ending and the new reality beginning. That split second is a brief liberation between the pain of before and the anguish of after.

The teal sign is enlarged and now has a globe on it with the continents drawn on. There is also a #3. Above the globe are small stick figures holding hands. Text reads, "Lastly, as therapists around the world love to remind us," And then a red text bubble above the stick figures reads, "You are not your thoughts!"

Check out Here For You Cartoons for more illustrations like this one.

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