As defined by Urban Dictionary, skeletons in your closet are defined as:
“Secrets and several other past memories that you prefer not to talk about with anyone else. This can range from one-night stands to betraying a best friend too as much as killing someone. However, “skeletal” moments don’t just have to do with only dark pasts. It can also be about embarrassing moments you’ve had that you simply feel too awful to speak of.”
We have all got skeletons in our closets. Parts of ourselves that we hide or are not too proud of. Skeletons in our closet can haunt us for years and years to come unless we do the painful and onerous task of cleaning out the skeletons in your closet.
Now is the time to clear out the skeletons in your closet. Here is a simple guide to cleaning out the skeletons in your closet.
Step 1: Acknowledge Your Skeletons
How can you clean out the skeletons in your closet if you do not even acknowledge that they are there?
The first step to cleaning out the skeletons in your closet are acknowledging that they are there.
There is one catch though. Some skeletons are so hidden in your closet, you cannot see them by yourself! If you feel anxious, angry, sad, depressed, or horrible all the time, something is there. I recommend finding a therapist or other mental health services to help you identify the skeletons in your closet.
Here is a resource to find free and affordable mental health services.
Step 2: Confront Your Skeletons
Confronting your skeletons includes openly admitting them. Listen, we have all done things we are do not want to voice out to the world.
One of my skeletons in my closet was that I was a quiet student in high school. In college, I did not want anybody to know I was a quiet student in high school and I tried to hide that skeleton in my closet. This skeleton would haunt me as I was scared to open up or get really close to any of my college friends because I was scared of being discovered. This skeleton inhibited me from making some deep meaningful relationships. It wasn’t until I confronted this skeleton was when I was able to clean it out of my closet and start to develop meaningful relationships.
Confronting your skeletons is key to overcoming them. Accepting that they are there and working through why you are ashamed is important to clean them out.
For me, being okay with who I was in the past and saying it openly with no shame has helped me overcome that skeleton. The same would be for a person if they say,
“I made a mistake when I was younger. I was more naive and thrill-seeking. Mostly immature and it landed me a DUI. I take full responsibility for being that reckless in that time in my life and I will never do it again moving forward”.
This is confronting your skeleton.
We Are Human.
Of course, we are going to continuously do things that we are not proud of.
Just like how if you were to get a carpet cleaning company to clean your carpet to make it fresh and new, it is important to do some self-reflecting and clean out the skeletons in your closet every once in a while