The word Shame is thought to come from an older word that means, “to cover”. When someone feels shame they want to disappear because they feel like there is something wrong with themselves or they feel defective at the deepest level.
This happens when they perceive that they don’t fit into the predominant cultural values in their area. They may internalize messages that they are too short, too fat, not strong enough, smart enough, attractive enough, fast enough, aggressive enough, masculine enough, feminine enough, etc.
People carry these messages into adulthood. To work with Shame, these underlying values can be brought into conscious awareness, questioned, and reevaluated to provide room for new more affirming ones.