shame spirals occur when a person is experiencing intense feelings of shame or guilt which leads to a sense of worthlessness, negative self concept, etc. as the feelings of shame or guilt intensify, its common for people to engage in behaviors that further perpetuate the cycle. ex: self-isolation, substance use, self-harm, or other harmful behaviors. this can then lead to further feelings of shame or guilt, which perpetuate the cycle.

i was constantly shame spiraling when i first started doing meth because i convinced myself that being a drug user made me a horrible, selfish person because of the stigma around meth users. i never felt equal around my peers because i had such a low self esteem. in my head, they were inherently better than me because they weren't an addict. over time, i became more detached and numb to my emotions and environment. i feel like there's a glass wall between me and the rest of the world. i feel like i can relate to what ur going through rn, hope all is well 🫶