Dr. Nicole LePera

More authentic, more grounded in vulnerability, messiness, emotion, as opposed to, right, kind of curated visions, who I think I need to be for you and just allowing someone to, while I'm still practicing doing so,

See me as I am.

Share a feeling.

It's giving me the opportunity to allow in support.

I'm very intentionally wording it that way because, again, what I'm most familiar with is dealing with all my feelings alone, right?

Through alcohol, through drugs, and all the things we talked about.

Perfection, doing.

I'm still learning.

to an invulnerable moment, go to someone who feels safe to me and say, hey, I'm struggling.

This is what's going on.

This is what I'm feeling.

Of course, once I have clarity and to just let myself be seen and connected with.

So even going back to my family and the evolution, as we're all working to be more honest with ourselves and to share that with other people, themselves, in my romantic relationship with my partner, who's still with me on this journey, right?

Allowing her to see what's really happening and not just this protected,

okay version who's just trudging on.

And so it's allowed more intimacy and realness in my life.

And I think that then translates to the work I do, where I'm then more comfortable with sharing, you know, vulnerably, honestly with other people in a way that the reason why I'm often sharing is to give you all of my theories of why and where things come from.

Of course, I'm

I know me the most to share that, but I share it also because I think a lot of us have a fear that we're alone, that I shouldn't tell anyone this because they're going to think I'm crazy or nuts or no one else is feeling or struggling with this in this way.

And I think a lot of us are walking around, even perhaps with successful lives and families around us, yet we have that little part that doesn't want to share because we're afraid of judgment, because we believe we're the only ones dealing with this.