Can you imagine what those words would do to the innocent soul of a five year old? Imagine how those words added weight to her mind, body and soul.
I was the fourth born of four children. I think my mother was ready to have all the children out of the house so she enrolled me in first grade when I was five years old. Our school system didn’t have a kindergarten. I was thrilled to be going to the same school as my siblings and was excited to meet new friends my age. Having never experienced the need to sit quietly for extended periods of time proved to be a challenge for me. I was there to socialize and have fun. Recess was my favorite subject. Obviously I was immature and not at all ready for first grade.
I must have been doing my usual chatter one day and my teacher lost it. She called my name and told me to go to the back of the room and stand in the corner facing the class. She then instructed the class to turn around, face me, point at me with one finger and slide the finger of the other hand across the pointed figure and say shame, shame, shame.
When I first had to go to the back of the room, I was confused but after the shaming, I was totally destroyed, humiliated and ashamed. My teacher and my class told me there was something wrong with me and that I was a bad girl and I believed them. I never told anyone about the shaming but I carried the weight of the limiting belief for many years. When I felt bad about myself, I often turned to food for immediate gratification, comfort and as a way to stuff my feelings. That limiting belief and shame not only added a heavy weight to my mind and soul but to my body as well.
I’ve done a lot of thought work and coaching around this issue. Have you had a similar shaming experience? If so, we understand each other and I would love to share how coaching has helped me to be at peace with the shaming and release that weight from my mind , body and soul. Contact me and we’ll put your shame to rest as well.
