Shonda Rhimes and others share the advice they learned the hard way.

People hide things about themselves because they are paralyzed at the prospect of hearing judgment, because they don't have the tools to heal, because they don't know such tools exist, because they are cowed into accepting mistreatment.

Anthropologist Robin Dunbar says that that number of people with whom we can maintain stable, ongoing interaction is approximately 150. That's it. Beyond that point, most of us lose our ability to relate in a meaningful way.