I'm Not Good Enough: Trauma's Narrative (Healing from Sexual Trauma)

One of the most painful impacts of trauma is the way it can shape how we see ourselves. Many people who have lived through difficult experiences—whether in childhood or adulthood—carry around a heavy, often unspoken belief: “I’m not good enough.”

This isn’t something you were born believing. It’s something that develops when painful experiences send messages, directly or indirectly, about your worth.

How Trauma Plants the Seed

Trauma can take many forms: abuse, neglect, bullying, rejection, abandonment, or even growing up in an environment where your needs weren’t noticed or valued. In those situations, it’s common for the brain to make sense of the pain by turning it inward. Instead of thinking, “I wasn’t treated well,” many people conclude, “Something must be wrong with me.”

Over time, this self-blame can turn into a core belief of being unworthy, inadequate, or “not enough.”

The Lingering Effects

That “not enough” story can show up in so many ways:

• Feeling like you have to constantly prove yourself

• Struggling to accept love, kindness, or compliments

• Working hard to please others while ignoring your own needs

• Comparing yourself to everyone else and always falling short

• An inner critic that never seems to quiet down

It can feel exhausting—like no matter what you do, it’s never truly enough.

Why Healing Matters

The truth is, these beliefs aren’t a reflection of who you are—they’re a reflection of what you’ve been through. Trauma leaves its fingerprints on the way we think, feel, and relate to ourselves. Healing is about gently separating your worth from your wounds.

In therapy, we work together to:

• Recognize where those beliefs came from

• Soften and quiet the inner critic

• Build compassion toward yourself

• Reconnect with the truth that you are, and always have been, enough

Healing takes time, patience, and support, but it is possible to rewrite the story you tell yourself.

You deserve to feel whole, worthy, and more than enough—because you already are.