Does this situation sound familiar?

You binge, or purge, or restrict, or something else. Maybe it’s a relapse, maybe it’s a regular day. You feel awful – you ask yourself, how did this happen again?! I have been working so hard. I should know better. I’m a failure.

You decide that you’re going to fix everything. You’re going to stop bingeing. Stop drinking. Stop self-harming. Stop fighting with your mom. Stop criticizing yourself. Stop procrastinating. Starting tomorrow, you’re going to be a good person, someone who is not a failure. You make a plan.

It might be an hour later, or a month later, but eventually the plan starts to fall apart. You start skipping meals or dodging your mom’s calls. Your unanswered emails and unwashed laundry start to pile up. You feel overwhelmed again. I made a plan, why can’t I stick to it? This always happens to me. I am a failure. I hate myself.

Understanding The Shame Cycle is a workshop that explains how shame keeps us stuck in a cycle of promises, perfectionism, and punishment – and how to start breaking out of it.

What you’ll take away:

• How and why we keep digging ourselves into the same holes over and over again
• How we cannot get out of the hole using the same tools that got us in there
• How to begin using different tools instead

About Our Facilitator: Lee Thomas MSW RSW

Lee (they/them) is a speaker, writer, and therapist based in Fredericton NB. They are a peer mentor with EDNS, two-time TEDx speaker, and overbearing dog parent. When Lee is not doing mental health work, they can usually be found making bad puns on Twitter.

Connect with Lee:

• Website here
• Facebook @leethomasmsw

This virtual session is available to those living in Canada