The shame cycle follows a trigger that surfaces feelings of shame. Shame is an emotion that is quite powerful and one that we tend to keep secretive. Due to the secretive nature of shame, when you need to relieve yourself of the tension of the emotion, when you seek comfort, the comfort solution can be self-harming, destructive and self-sabotaging. When the effects of the comfort wear off, it is replaced by an embedded shame, compounded by the method of comfort and the secretive nature. To combat the cycle, one needs to bring the shame to light and to lessen the believed stigma around it.
