It is so very important to be gentle with yourself when healing from emotional trauma. At certain times of our lives, we may experience severe loss, devastating heartbreak, intense loneliness, or emotional turmoil. This is part and parcel on our path to enlightenment over the course of our lives.
And yet, not everyone is subjected to the same life experiences as you will be. Some people live a life of suffering, while others seem to sail along, unscathed as they progress from point to point on the forward path of their own existence.
The truth is that we all have our own psychological growing pains to deal with from time to time and at certain seasons of life. Not everyone will know the intense pain of divorce. Many will be spared the heartbreak of losing a parent at a young age or a child before their time.
Some people who are hurting emotionally may choose not to be vocal about what they’re going through. Some may bury the feelings, simply opting to skim the surface and let the deep transformation take place underneath it all, in places unseen that they hold inside of them. For those who deny real feelings and experiences that impact us emotionally, the effects on our body may actually devastate over time.
Mental and emotional overload take their toll on our health. Being in denial of psychology that plays out in our daily lives can make us unintentionally cause pain and suffering toward our loved ones due to lack of understanding and foresight.
The truth is that sometimes, we need to take a little extra time for ourselves to nurse our inner wounds and come to a place of peace and acceptance. Otherwise, we may repeat the same patterns over and over, never understanding the “why” and thinking that life just “happens” to us. Really though, we are the ones feeding the same problems by doing what we always did, and will continue to do, until we wake up to our own self-created reality.
To bring about healing and closure, try the following activities:
Immerse yourself in nature. Inhale a deep, cleansing breath of fresh air, kissed by the smell of sweet grass or rich, fertile earth. Sit by a trickling stream or pond and tune in to the gentle sounds of water lapping and gurgling against rocks, stones and pebbles.
Pen, pencil or paint away your pain. Emotional suffering sparks creativity which means you might birth something beautiful in the form of poetry, a short story, song lyrics or even a book. Take your sketch notebook and pencil to a quiet place and see what emerges from your soul.
Take comfort in crafting. The repetitive act of looping yarn over needles in a steady, rhythmic way is said to calm the mind and improve cognitive function over time. Knitting, crocheting and other handicrafts are known nervous system healers. These have become commonplace in prisons, where inmates who have suffered emotional trauma learn to emotionally regulate by way of these productive activities that occupy their hands and minds.
This post is part of the Emotional Healing series. Printable version available HERE.