Thank you both for your responses.

I’m very vigilant about how much I say about how I feel, because I’m afraid of bringing people down or appearing needy – in my case the need for absolution, which I logically recognize is based on some irrational guilt and shame, but the pain body won’t let it go. (I’m working on it).

I think your distinction between the two forms of speech helps me better understand what Tolle describes as the difference between “speaking out” and “complaining”.

“See if you can catch yourself complaining, in either speech or thought, about a situation you find yourself in, what other people do or say, your surroundings, your life situation, even the weather. To complain is always non-acceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the
situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.”

How would you characterize “speaking out”? Do you have any examples?