Being more authentic helps grow your self-esteem. If you are hiding secrets in your relationships, there’s a good chance you’re repeating the rules in the family you grew up in. Usually the fear that the truth harms or destroys someone is really a camouflage for your fear that someone will withdraw or reject you. However, the effect of withholding the truth is what actually creates damage, hurt, and walls between you and others. Revealing facts is one level of truth. It’s more difficult to be open and honest with your feelings in the present (see Chapter 15 on intimacy). When you’re not, you
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