Are You Recovering from a Vulnerability Hangover? - Nurtured hearts counseling, PLLC

"What makes you vulnerable makes you beautiful."
​- Brene Brown

You have opened up, but not received the response you were expecting, which leaves you in a vulnerability hangover.

Vulnerability Hangover

You just put yourself out there, opened up to someone about something personal, and they looked at you like a deer in headlights....

Vulnerability is required for relationships to have depth, but, EASIER SAID THAN DONE. Right?! It is difficult to open up to others when we aren’t sure how they will respond.

• What will they think of me?
• What are they going to say in response?
• Will they judge me?

Do these thoughts feel familiar? Have you ever found yourself sharing something personal and the other person didn’t respond in the way you were hoping. Or they just simply had nothing to say, which left you thinking, WHAT DID I JUST DO?! I will NEVER do that again!

So now what??

This leaves you feeling like you can’t share your life with others, because they can’t provide the support you need or just don’t understand. This doesn't feel good. It is down right LONELY and frankly feels like a hangover. You feel nauseous at the thought and maybe a little queasy, fighting to keep everything down. 

We are creatures that take in information and make decisions for our future based on past information. Therefore, we close up, and find ourselves navigating life alone, because that feels safer and more comfortable than putting ourselves in the hands of others, bound to be hurt again. You desperately want relationships, but they may not feel safe and supportive. Which leaves you with surface level relationships that aren't fulfilling.

So, how do you fight against that feeling to shut everyone out? How do you allow yourself to forget the past and dive deeper into relationships?

The first step in this process is to allow  some time for self exploration.

• What do you need in relationships to feel safe?
• Are there roadblocks that keep you from trusting others?
• How do you feel acknowledged and heard?

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Know that I am here to cheer you on. I would love to be a support for you in this process of exploration.

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