Diane, a friend of mine from work who knows quite a bit about my mental and emotional journeys of the past couple of years, wrote this quote inside my birthday card last month:
"If you bring forth what is within you,
what you have will save you.
If you do not bring forth what is within you,
what you don't bring forth will kill you."
--attributed to Jesus in The Gospel according to Thomas
A few days after receiving that card, I began reading Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions, one of my bucket-list books. It's written by a social psychologist who spent many years researching confession and inhibition. The basic premise of this book is that "excessive holding back of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can place people at risk for both major and minor diseases" while, on the other hand, "confronting our deepest thoughts and feelings can have remarkable short- and long-term health benefits. [...] Not disclosing our thoughts and feelings can be unhealthy. Divulging them can be healthy" (p. 2).
These influences only serve to reinforce the work I was already determined to do: learn to be and express my whole, true self without fear or shame.
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