What if the parts of yourself you’ve been taught to hide… were never the problem?

So many of us carry quiet shame. About where we come from. How we speak. How we feel. How we dream. It’s not always loud. But it lingers.
A voice that says: You’re too much. You’re not enough. Be more like them.

At Life and Me, we call that what it is: a cultural wound.

It doesn’t show up in your bloodwork. It’s not written in your DNA. But it lives in your body, your choices, and your sense of self-worth.

To begin healing, we need more than affirmations. We need awareness—of the silent forces that shaped us.
That’s why we turn to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, whose framework helps us see how culture transmits power—and how we can reclaim it.

Let’s look at three of those forces:

Cultural Capital: The Knowledge That “Counts”

Not all knowledge is treated equally.

Cultural capital is the kind of knowing that grants access—how you speak, what you studied, how you dress, what you reference.
It’s why someone with the same talent can be taken seriously—or dismissed—based on subtle cues.

Were you made to feel “behind,” “unprofessional,” or “less than” because of your background or way of being?

That isn’t personal failure. That’s cultural conditioning.

At Life and Me, we help you explore where you’ve felt excluded—and reconnect with the powerful forms of knowledge your ancestors passed down.
Your story matters. Even if the dominant culture didn’t make space for it.

Symbolic Capital: The Struggle to Be Seen as “Worthy”

Symbolic capital is about reputation, respect, and recognition. It’s the labels that earn you validation: “successful,” “professional,” “good parent,” “resilient.”

But here’s the thing—those labels are often defined by narrow norms. And many people spend their lives chasing worthiness, trying to prove they deserve dignity.

At Life and Me, we ask: Whose approval have you been chasing? And is it still worth it?

Our app can help you unhook your self-worth from social performance, and reconnect it to your values—not someone else’s checklist.

Symbolic Violence: The Shame That Has No Name

This is the most subtle force—and the most damaging.

Symbolic violence is when society makes you feel wrong, without ever saying it outright.
It’s when whiteness is seen as “neutral.”
When emotions are “too much.”
When accents are “funny.”
When softness is “weakness.”

This is how shame seeps in—not from what was said, but from what was implied again and again.

At Life and Me, we guide you to name that shame, see where it came from, and begin to let it go.
Because none of it was yours to carry in the first place.

You Were Never Broken—Just Told to Be Someone Else

Healing isn’t just about managing symptoms. It’s about remembering who you were before the world told you who to be.

That memory lives in your voice. Your heritage. Your ways of knowing and being.

And at Life and Me, we’re here to help you reclaim all of it.

This isn’t self-improvement. It’s self-return.
Come home to yourself—with Life and Me as your guide. Let’s begin.