How to Let Go of Your Shame, Solved
Mark Manson goes deep on shame—what it is, where it comes from, why it becomes so powerful, and how it damages relationships, work, and self-worth.
September 1, 2025
3 hr 49 min
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September 1, 2025
How to Let Go of Your Shame, Solved
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Mark Manson Episodes Around September 1, 2025
Episode 80 of 103 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
3:49:59This episodeHow to Let Go of Your Shame, Solved
Summary
Chances are, there’s something in your life you feel deeply ashamed about—something you’ve never told anyone, something you can’t even admit to yourself. In this episode, we go deep into the emotion we all experience but almost no one wants to talk about: shame. Where it comes from, why it’s so powerful, how it screws up our lives—and more importantly, how to deal with it.
We cover the biology of shame, the psychology, the evolutionary roots, and how modern life (especially the internet) completely messes with our shame systems. We talk about healthy vs. toxic shame, how it shows up in addiction, relationships, perfectionism, and self-sabotage, and why most of us either try to hide from it or end up being controlled by it. You’ll also hear from members of my team about how shame shaped their lives in surprising ways.
As always, this episode is brutally honest, deeply researched, and sprinkled with a few bad jokes. But more than anything, I hope it gives you the awareness—and the tools—to start facing whatever it is you’ve been avoiding. Because you can’t outrun your shame. But you can learn to live with it.
Get your free PDF guide: https://solvedpodcast.com/shame
CHAPTERS
(00:00) Introduction
(00:04:35): Shame's Hidden Architecture
(00:14:38): Key Definitions
(00:25:14) The Neurobiology of Shame
(00:44:12) The Shame Compass
(01:01:15) Individual, Familial, & Cultural Sources of Shame
(01:26:12) Digital Technology & Shame 2.0
(01:39:21) Developmental Stages of Shame
(01:56:49) How Therapy Transformed Our Understanding of Shame
(02:27:59) Tools to Address Your Shame
(02:58:26) Tuning Your Shame System
(03:31:39) Takeaways from the Discussion on Shame
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