By midlife, Susan had seen a few therapists. A qualified lawyer and adjunct professor, she had struggled off and on with anxiety and depression and had developed a binge eating disorder. She was never hospitalized, but for years felt distressed by her symptoms.
Then, at age 60, she began psychotherapy she describes as “life-changing.” What made it so powerful, she told me, was that the therapist helped her let go of shame. “I’d be beating up on myself and she’d focus on noticing instead of judging. Her willingness to accept where I was and who I was helped me to stop judging and to accept myself.”
