naz’s Reviews > Raising Myself: A Memoir of Neglect, Shame, and Growing Up Too Soon > Status Update

Amazing how shame has the same pattern regardless of the source “Instead of becoming a perpetual victim, as many people do with a history such as mine, I did what is called “identifying with the aggressor,” meaning that I denied my victimizations by blaming myself, making excuses for my abusers, and taking on those abusers’ personalities and tendencies.”

“observe how the drip, drip, drip of abuse, neglect, and constant shaming wore away at my humanity, gradually causing me to become numb, stop having empathy for others, and think only of my own need.”