How we Learn to Hide Ourselves in Order to be Accepted

We learn as children what parts of ourselves to hide in order to be accepted. Every community carries unconscious bias and stigma towards certain traits or behaviours, and children certainly feel these unspoken rules. If our true nature is not socially acceptable, we find ways of coping. Restricting our true nature inhibits us from developing our true selves as we grow, which can negatively impact our mental health and success in the long run. As I move through life, the parts of myself I learned to hide as a child have slowly reveal themselves. When they do, it is important to ask if it’s time to introduce these traits back into my definition of self, and why they felt unacceptable in the first place.