Anita Vagelisti

Individuals who are hurt experience a combination of sadness at having been emotionally wounded and fear of being vulnerable to harm. When people feel hurt, they have appraised something that someone said or did as causing them emotional pain."

• Brene Brown Atlas of the Heart p. 198

Hurt feelings are most often caused by people with whom we have close relationships when we feel devalued or rejected by the other person. Most behaviors that result in hurt feelings are not intended to be hurtful; they typically involve actions that are thoughtless, careless, or insensitive.

Our reactions to hurt feelings can be self-blaming or we might cry, lash out, or retaliate by trying to hurt the other person, and/or seek out other relationships to find comfort.

Brene Brown Atlas of the Heart p. 199-200

The Heart is Open