We can be so desperate for healing, yet it can be so hard to take in. This makes perfect sense when we consider the reasons why we need healing in the fist place. Our wounds often come from going through incredibly painful experiences, leaving us reeling and needing protection while we recover. This is a perfectly understandable and healthy response to being wounded; we need to cope with what happens to us, even if that means adopted coping strategies that aren’t the most efficient. This is about survival and sometimes just surviving is the best we can do. This is not a weakness; in fact it means your body and mind are doing exactly what they’re designed to do. Over time, this form of coping can feel constricting, often prompting an effort to heal. Wherever you may be at in this process, it’s important to keep in mind a few aspects of healing.
💫 We have very good reasons for not letting go of the ways we learned to cope with what has happened to us.
💫 Learning new ways to cope is scary, risky, and overwhelming at times because it’s vulnerable to stop protecting ourselves in the ways we know how to.
💫 Not being able to heal earlier is not a weakness, you’ve done the best you can.
💫 Healing can sting like putting lotion on dry cracked hands. We know it works and it’s the best thing to do but it’s a lot to take in, especially at first.
💫 Finding what you can tolerate and trying to take it in is better than trying to do too much and triggering old narratives about yourself.
💫 Healing is messy, involves trial and error, and absolutely does not have to be perfect. The echoes of our painful experiences can coexist with feeling whole again. Our suffering is part of what makes us who we are yet doesn’t define us. This is what it means to be human.
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* The information provided is for self-enrichment and not intended to replace any necessary mental health treatment.
Warmly,
Jonathan Dixon, LMFT
Alpha Omega Team
