The prospect of shame has seemingly become a bigger issue in the past decade according to Anne Hallward. In her Ted Talk, “How Telling our silenced silenced stories can change the world,” she claims that, “shame is not just a very very painful feeling. It is actually a lethal public health threat”(3:10). According to Hallward, shame isn’t just an emotion that is to be cast off as “sad”, it’s an actual life threatening state of mind that if left to fester, can lead people to take their own lives. In my view, I think that the type of shame experienced by people with depression, can in fact be life threatening. Although, I disagree that shame has a singular purpose in being life threatening. I believe some types of shame felt by people can be healthy and is actually necessary.

Another big aspect of Hallward’s Ted talk is the idea that sharing person stories has real benefits. The claim has merit that ought to be analyzed. Her statement as follows, “…[W]hich is that my hope is that someone else would benefit from my struggle”(7:20). She believes that when a person hears a story, that they can relate to directly, perspective is put on their own struggles. That perspective in that it helps people fell less alone. I personally feel this is exactly what telling stories does. For example, if you hear about someone with similar struggles to yours, you feel that “i’m not the only one”, and that there are other people out there with the same worries and fears I have. On the flip side, telling the story yourself can make you feel great. After hiding it, releasing the emotions that are tied to the story give a person a feeling of immense relief. It allows you to show your shame and receive atonement for it.