At some point, we’ve all experienced trauma or deep emotions of all sorts – be they feelings born from loss, anxiety, or frustration. However, most people tend to neglect them – particularly, in this generation, where you can easily hide behind a screen. Others even choose to reject the concept of healing. What many fail to understand is that it’s temporary relief from an emotion that will come back cascading at you chaotically like an avalanche of dirt.
What is ‘healing’?
Healing is dealing with all the negative emotions from the painful things in your life. It is the idea of being able to break free from the bindings of anxiety, self-deprecating thoughts, and depression, finally clearing your path to self-acceptance and eventually success.
How can I identify if I need healing?
A few tell-tale signs that you may need emotional healing are:
· daily anxious thoughts
· overreacting (constantly being irritated or edgy)
· Lack of trust and unnecessary paranoia (you may find yourself subconsciously thinking of ways people might be looking to sabotage you or hurt you in any way)
· Recurring negative feelings
· Emotional numbness
· Neglecting basic needs (eating, sleep, or drinking water)
· Feeling trapped in your own life
· Self-sabotage
The main steps to achieving emotional healing
Once you’ve identified that you do need emotional healing, you should:
§ Take the first step – it’s always the hardest, but you need to reach out, show that you need help, and start forgiving yourself and others. Of course, this won’t happen overnight, which is why the first step is so important, it will lead you to a beautiful state of mental freedom and liberate you of the shackles that were once holding your heart captive.
§ Face your problems – identify the root of your anxiety and think to yourself: what am I feeling? When did it start? Why did it make me feel this way? Who are the people associated with it?
§ Find the silver lining – everything in life has two sides to it: good and bad. Try remembering both the negatives and positives you have experienced. What lessons have you learned? What blessings did you gain from the pain?
§ Let it out – the next step in the emotional healing process is to express your pain. All this anguish you have been carrying inside must come out. It’s a crucial step in learning how to release emotional pain from your body (without harming yourself or anyone else) and go deep – beyond the façade of anger. Write it, scream, paint it, talk to a trusted individual or develop any technique that works while expressing your pain.
§ Redefine your reality – are you living the life you truly deserve and want to live? Is it time to make some changes? Reflect on what you want from life and what steps need to be taken to achieve it. Turn over a new leaf and begin your healing journey with a positive mindset.
How to avoid relapsing?
Relapsing is a usual occurrence among many people who suffer from emotional trauma but in order to prevent any signs of relapsing, you are required to do some simple tasks:
§ Releasing chemicals such as endorphins that can effectively boost your mood, exercising daily has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to impede any relapsing.
§ Creating a healthy routine can be achieved by giving yourself specific tasks each day, where you reduce the possibility of any uncalculated stresses; thus, decreasing your mental load.
§ Let go of things you can’t control – sometimes, unexpected tragedies come your way and it is normal to stress over them. Nonetheless, worrying too much about it shall only lead to other problems so for situations like that, you may find it useful to back away.