Title: Hey Man, It’s Time to Have Empathy for Your Own Wounded Parts
Let’s be real—most of us weren’t taught how to sit with our pain. We were taught to “man up,” push through, distract, hustle, or numb. Vulnerability? That was for someone else. Not us.
But here’s the truth: every man walking this earth carries wounds. Some are deep, some are hidden under years of armor, but they’re there. And in therapy, those wounds start to show up. Not to shame you—but to be seen. And healing starts not with fixing, but with empathy.
Your Wounded Parts Aren’t Weakness—they’re Evidence You Survived
You may carry the boy who wasn’t allowed to cry. The teenager who learned to act tough instead of scared. The man who buried heartbreak under a pile of jokes or late nights or endless work.
These parts of you aren’t wrong. They were doing the best they could with what they had. They learned to adapt. Survive. Make it through.
So when they show up in therapy—when that old sadness, anger, or fear starts surfacing—don’t shove them back down. Don’t silence them. Listen.
Because healing doesn’t happen by force. It happens through empathy.
What Does Empathy for Yourself Even Look Like?
This isn’t about being soft or self-indulgent. It’s about being honest and human. It looks like:
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Pausing instead of judging. When an old reaction comes up—anger, shutting down, defensiveness—ask, what’s really going on underneath?
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Speaking to yourself the way you’d speak to a friend. Would you tell your friend he’s pathetic for feeling sad? Probably not. So why talk to yourself that way?
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Letting the emotion be there without needing to fix it right away. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is just be with the feeling.
This Isn’t About Blame—It’s About Ownership
Having empathy for your own wounds doesn’t mean blaming your parents, your ex, or the world. It means acknowledging that something hurt you—and you get to care for that wound now.
And here’s the powerful part: when you treat your wounded parts with empathy instead of shame, you start to change. Not overnight. But slowly, you become more grounded. Less reactive. More whole.
Therapy is Work. But It’s Also a Homecoming.
If you’re in therapy, you’re already doing something bold. You’re turning toward what most people avoid. You’re choosing truth over comfort. Growth over numbness.
And in that space, you’ll meet the parts of you that are scared, sad, angry, or just tired. Don’t push them away. Don’t try to conquer them.
Sit with them. Learn from them. Have empathy for them.
Because that’s not weakness. That’s courage.
