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Posts by zahra river chevannes

zahra "river" chevannes, MSW, LCSW is an afro-indigenous artist and community-based social worker from Brooklyn, NY (land of the Munsee, Lenape, and Canarsie peoples). river is committed to compassion practice, decolonizing mental health, healing justice, and the interdependence of individual and collective healing and well-being. Learn more, find resources, and connect with River at divineinnerlight.com.  Learn about indigenous stewards of the land at native-land.ca.

zahra river chevannes's Website

Transmuting Shame: None of Us Need to Be Fixed

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“Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love, belonging, and connection.” ~Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart

This past year, I started the journey of investigating—maybe even befriending—“my” shame.

I use quotes around the “my” because most of the shame is not mine; much of it is internalized sexism, racisim, anti-blackness and homophobia, and/or intergenerational—it was passed down to me. And while I didn’t choose to internalize or inherit it, it is my responsibility to care for “my” shame, to tenderize it with love and compassion so …