Perhaps you seldom let one or both parents see who you really were because whenever they perceived you were not as they wished you to be, they hurt you. It may not have been a physical hurt, but emotional, mental, and spiritual hurt can be just as devastating and just as scarring, even if others cannot readily see those scars. Criticism, contempt, and emotional abandonment can be powerful weapons to coerce behavior or thinking. Therefore, we learn how to dress to gain acceptance from the folks with whom we wish to fit in, how to talk their language, how to mimic their ideas or beliefs, and how
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