3️⃣📖 Peer Modeling
Underneath Every Struggle is Emotion
Understanding the shared emotional experiences underlying each struggle allows us to find connections in our own stories that relate to others. To be human is to experience pain. We can empathize with anyone’s internal reaction to their external circumstances, even if we haven’t faced the exact same challenges. If you find it difficult to relate to a particular struggle, identify one or two core emotions beneath it and recall moments in your own life where you’ve felt similarly.
Self-Harm
Shame, “right”ness or justice, fear of being exposed, worthlessness
Sexual Abuse
Inescapable worthlessness and shame, powerlessness, desire to hide
Death & Grief
Sorrow, loss, deep sadness, unfixable pain, emptiness, loneliness
Suicide
Hopelessness, overwhelm, futility, powerlessness
Divorce
Defeat, anger, regret, resentment, waste, despair, futility
Eating Disorder
Inadequacy, self-criticism, imposter syndrome, self-hatred, disgust
PTSD
“Wrong”ness or injustice, grief, loss, regret, shame, self-hate, sorrow
Medical Disease
Hopelessness, powerlessness, feeling like an outsider, will never be normal
Depression
Numbness, hollowness, hopelessness, futility, loneliness, despair
To learn more about this, feel free to check out the video here.