I have had many clients over the years who struggle with healing. They find themselves being triggered again and again and find themselves back in that pain and anger place. They feel frustrated at the seeming lack of healing.
But healing is not a straightforward “magic wand” action. It is not a direct process. It doesn’t involve steps that continue in a straight line, it takes twists and turns.
When I worked as a registered nurse, I worked with people on the healing journey of physical injury. Their healing rarely progressed in a straight line. It was more like a spiral. And their healing hurt.
If physical healing is convoluted and painful, why do we expect emotional healing to be straightforward and painless?
If we liken emotional healing to a spiral, it makes a lot more sense. Healing does loop around. Some days you may feel on top of the world. You are free of the pain and functioning well. Other days you seem mired in the pain and dysfunction you are seeking to escape.
Experiencing those difficult days is not a failure or backstep. It is actually an opportunity for you to heal further. If you explore those difficult times, you often find insights you had not seen before. This allows you to recognise and heal sources of pain. You may also encounter a familiar pain you have struggled to heal in the past. But this time, you are further on the healing journey and able to process and heal that pain.
Those days are also an opportunity to practise the new skills you have learned and to discover that you are able to cope much better with these old hurts. In fact being able to attend to them in a new and healthier way is amazingly liberating.
If you would like to talk to me about how I can help you with your healing, please contact me on 0409396608 or nan@plentifullifecounselling.com.au
If you would like to learn more, I write a regular newsletter with interesting information, tips, information on courses, and the occasional freebie. At the moment I have a free mindfulness meditation for anyone who signs up to my newsletter. This meditation offers a way to safely explore your feelings and learn to be okay with them. If you would like to subscribe please click on the link here: http://eepurl.com/g8Jpiz