Our biggest fears are connected to our most painful wounds. This can make healing and growth difficult because fear triggers self protection. Without another option for coping, the nervous system often works in service of its own protection, blocking us from healing the source of the pain. In other words, the behavior we use to protect ourselves can distract and minimize our pain in the name of protection. While this is an understandable and most likely involuntary response, it can be a very unproductive way of handling our wounds.
Bringing comfort and security to the parts of us that ache is the only way out of this prison of pain. There is something mysterious about this; as we courageously face our pain (what makes us feel weakest) and calm the storm, we become stronger. This reminds me of the Incarnation; Christ assumed all of the consequences of the Fall (our greatest vulnerabilities as humans) in order to fully heal our humanity. He solved the disconnection between us and God by using suffering as an agent of change. Our pain calls out for the same antidote. Our wounds hold the answer to finding wholeness.
It seems as though this pattern of healing repeats itself at all levels, the highest of which is offered to us through our faith. When we can bring the medicine Christ offers into our hearts, even the most painful parts of our experience can become a vehicle of healing. All forms of healing repeat this process of transformation from the inside out. Loving presence dissolves even the worst forms of hurt. May our healing be a way to join Christ in His victory over sin and death.
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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
