The Fear of Sharing: Overcoming Trauma

At one point in my life, I was very open about sharing my achievements with others. I would talk about the books I read, the courses I completed, and the projects I was working on. I would even share details about how I spent my day. I was like an open book, and I didn’t think about how people might feel about this. I didn’t consider whether they liked my achievements or had a pure heart to celebrate with me.

One day, I called someone I thought would be happy for me when I told him that I got accepted to a conference. However, he did not congratulate me. Instead, he said, “Please don’t tell me and don’t call me again.” It took me a long time to get over this trauma. I remember spending the whole day crying instead of celebrating. When I was travelling, I even got a severe headache “and an ambulance was waiting for me in the new state that I was visiting for the first time, instead of being happy to attend the conference and enjoying my landing in the country I was visiting for the first time.

From that moment on, I became very picky about what I shared about my life. Sometimes, I just needed to talk about many things, like the exciting project I was working on, my business, and the book I am writing. This is really who I am – someone who loves to share things. But my subconscious refused. I don’t know who loves to see people’s milestones and who actually has a pure heart to celebrate with them. I don’t know who cries from behind a screen seeing someone else achieving their dream, who is envious, or who laughs. We can’t control people’s reactions, but we can control or decide what we share with others.