Q & A with Dr. B. – How did your childhood wounds you described last week damage your health as an adult?

Dr. Larry Berkelhammer

The purpose of this website, my book, and the Community Education course I teach at the College of Marin, is to teach people how to live a vibrant, meaningful life through the cultivation of self-empowerment and self-efficacy. In this weekly Q&A column, I post questions from students and from people who attend my presentations along with my answers.

Here is this week’s question:

QUESTION: How did your childhood wounds you described last week damage your health as an adult?

ANSWER:  The shame I described last week led to a sense of powerlessness, which resulted in the unhealthy belief that it was dangerous for me to choose to stand up for myself with my parents. I learned as a child to suppress all my feelings because it was too dangerous to be seen with a sad or angry face. I did not begin to heal those wounds until the most trusted person in my life (my wife) served as a witness. That validation allowed me to begin to heal.