Does shame exist?

[mysteryinc]

I don't know about others, but I know I've felt ashamed. And if you are not in me, or feel my emotions, than how can anyone tell me it's not? I don't go around telling other people how they feel, and if someone were to come up and try to tell me how I feel I'd laugh at them, and walk away.

yeah, I've had the way I feel explained to me- sometimes the way I should feel- by many people over my life. I guess one way to look at it is that most people have felt humiliated or embarrassed and recognize the feeling. Therefore, if the feeling is more longlasting and intense, it is shame. If it's bad enough to believe it's shame, it probably is shame.