“When children feel ashamed for not being good or doing what’s right, or letting their parents down, they come to feel flawed, inferior, no good, and not worth loving. They learn to think less of themselves and feel no one could love them. And if their parents don’t love them, they need someone or something to make them feel good about themselves. And this is the root of addictive behaviors: They’re going to do whatever they need to do to find self-respect and a feeling of connectedness of belonging. Or they’ll do whatever necessary to numb or repress their feelings of low self-worth and the shame and pain of feeling unloved. This fear of rejection and not being loved underlies most illness.”
From Doctor’s Orders: Go Fishing – Dean Shrock, Ph.D
