This is Hello Freedom and I'm your host Terry Cole.

For almost two decades I've been a licensed psychotherapist and transformation coach, and on this show I will bring you simple strategies based on practical psychology, inspiring expert interviews, and my own insights and observations

from my time on the front lines of the fascinating worlds of entertainment,

empowerment, and mental health.

Now let's get going with today's episode. Well hello and welcome to Hello Freedom I'm your host Terry Cole.

So I was thinking about the topic for this week because I had gotten a bunch of emails about it and I started thinking about it in reference to my own life.

So the topic is toxic shame and after being a therapist for 20 years, I've really got into understanding about

about eight years ago the difference between guilt and shame. And then I started thinking about my own

life. What are the things that I have felt continually guilty about? Are there

things that I have felt shame about? So I'm going to tell you a little

story about my own trip with toxic shame and how it impacted my life and yet my experience that I'm going to share with you

happened when I was a grown-up. So it isn't only childhood that plants the seeds of toxic shame and it certainly is the

majority of the time that comes into play.

In my situation, it was a situation a circumstance that I created in my adult life. So I don't know of those of you who were around and adults in the 90s, there was a popularization of these things called,

I call it the money tree, right? But it was really like a, I don't know what you call it, It's like a it's a marketing situation. It was basically

I mean a Ponzi scheme in its own way because sooner or later someone is going to lose.

It wasn't against the law but it certainly

was questionable to be involved with it. So I had a therapist at the time believe it

or not when I was in grad school at NYU, my therapist there

turned me on to this money tree.

Okay, yeah, inappropriate, ridiculous, terrible, yep, all of those things.

And keep in mind you guys, I wasn't 15 when this happened either. I was a grown adult and I should

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