How to Be Vulnerable

Vulnerability is wildly misunderstood. It’s often framed as the act of sharing your deepest darkest secrets, disclosing your past traumas, or admitting your flaws. While disclosure and exposure is a component, true vulnerability goes far beyond that.

It is the act of sharing that exposure with feeling in the presence of another person. True vulnerability requires more than words; it demands that we open ourselves emotionally, allowing others to feel us as we feel ourselves.

For instance, it’s one thing to say, “I’ve had a hard day,” and quite another to let your voice crack as you say it, to let your body relax into the presence of someone who cares, and to let them respond in a way that meets you where you are. To be open to receiving care in that space. Vulnerability, in this sense, is relational. It is a shared emotional space where you invite connection, risking rejection or misunderstanding, but also creating the possibility for intimacy and trust.