Why Vulnerability Makes Us Anxious

A therapist’s advice on how to stop equating silence with strength

Photo: BRYAN R. SMITH/Contributor/Getty Images

When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently shared her traumatic experience of the Capitol riot, the flurry of criticism that followed struck me as an utterly familiar dynamic. As a therapist who works with families, I often see the pushback people will get, even from those closest to them, for…