Member-only story
May 23, 2021
Secrets are like abscesses: they beg to be lanced but we fear the pain of rupturing them.
Only when pus is drained from a wound, can healing begin.
One of my patients came into my office and said, “Dr. Olson! I read your book. You told us a lot more than we needed to know.” It was her last visit after having seen her for twenty-five years. The last thing she said was, “I’ve always thought I was a lesbian.” It was only after learning my secrets that she told me her deepest, unspoken conflict.
Memories are tied to emotion; emotions can overwhelm us. Some secrets are better left unspoken. Exposing secrets may hurt others. But some secrets, like my family’s history of depression, beg to be shared.
