“We cannot change anything until we accept it.
Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.”
When we’re healing from trauma — especially emotional abuse, betrayal, or family enmeshment — it’s easy to want to fight the truth. To reject what happened. To judge ourselves harshly for how we coped.
But the brain doesn’t respond well to condemnation. It responds to curiosity, compassion, and connection.
🔬 From a neuroscience lens:
- The limbic system (emotional brain) cannot relax or integrate new truths when it’s being shamed.
- When we judge our past selves, the brain reads it as a threat — and our nervous system stays stuck in survival mode.
- But when we meet our reality with acceptance, we activate the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for clarity, choice, and change.
🌱 Acceptance is not approval. It’s acknowledgment.
It’s saying:
✔️ “This happened.”
✔️ “This hurt me.”
✔️ “This shaped me — but it does not define me.”
✔️ “I get to choose what happens next.”
💬 Instead of “Why did I stay so long?”
Try: “What did I need at the time that I wasn’t getting?”
Instead of “I should have known better.”
Try: “What have I learned — and how can I love the version of me that didn’t yet know?”
✨ Liberation starts with truth. Growth begins with grace.
Let’s stop condemning our wounded selves and start welcoming them home.
#CarlJung #TraumaInformedHealing #NeuroscienceOfAcceptance #RadicalAcceptance #EmotionalAbuseRecovery #SelfCompassion #EnmeshmentHealing #PolyvagalWisdom #TherapistThoughts #YouAreNotBroken #HealingJourney
