We are not born feeling inadequate. Life experiences and emotions create that sense within us in a variety of creative ways. When we were little and when we felt afraid or anxious our mind told us something was wrong with us, not with our environment. That’s why children who were abused or neglected grow up to be adults who carry so much shame. A child’s mind not yet rational concludes, there must be something wrong with me if I feel so bad or I must be bad if I am being treated badly. As adults armed with education on emotions and how childhood adversity affects the brain we can understand that feeling “not enough” is a byproduct of an environment that was insufficient. We are in fact enough!
