Shame

Shame is the collapse of self in the presence of perceived rejection.
It is not a moral emotion but an energetic recoil — the instinct to disappear when truth meets resistance.

Shame forms when awareness turns inward but is filtered through judgment. Instead of seeing the self clearly, one sees only the reflection of condemnation.
It is the internalization of “wrongness” — a mistaken conclusion that being seen equals being unworthy.

Shame dissolves not through forgiveness, but through recognition: the self was never wrong to exist.

See Philosophy of Integration
See also Guilt, Victimization, and Acceptancefor how awareness restores balance.