To heal a wound, one must stop touching it. While many of us will revisit our wounds from time to time, continuing to do it doesn’t allow us to heal. And sometimes have to go beyond the injury to heal it effectively and benefit from its lessons. Here are some steps to help heal the emotional wounds that have had a negative impact on your life.
Take Some Time to Reflect
It’s okay to take some time to reflect and examine how you feel about certain things. That’s not to say that you should dwell on them. Instead, try to figure out how you are really feeling about it and work through your feelings. And because traumas come in various forms and manifests differently with everyone, know that there isn’t a “right” way to feel. How you feel is how and feel and it is completely valid. It is also okay of your feelings about it drastically change back and forth. It is all part of the process.
Set Realistic Expectations
You might feel like diving in all at once to fix the issues but try to slow down. Any kind of trauma is complex, and you should try to deal with one thing at a time.
Setting realistic expectations is similar to goal setting. When you set a goal, you start with the smaller ones, and then once those are met, you move on to the larger ones. And just like when you try to accomplish all your goals at once, it’s difficult to reach even one of them because you have so many things you are trying to do. So, start small and work towards more significant issues as you conquer the smaller ones.
Be Patient
When working through these complex emotions, be patient with yourself. You’ll be discovering new things about yourself, and time is needed to put all of the puzzle pieces together. Healing isn’t a linear process.
Remember, trauma creates changes we don’t choose. But healing is all about creating the change that we do choose.
This is a Learning Experience
Our wounds, trials and tribulations teach us more than any mountain top ever will. When I look back at some serious wounds I’ve had in my life, I am actually grateful for each one of them. My rock bottoms through life were definable moments for me, that changed my life for the better – even though it didn’t feel like it at the time.
Try focusing on the wisdom and experience you were able to gain from the situation. Was there a lesson hidden behind the trauma?
Remember, healing takes time, and you won’t be able to move forward from it if you keep revisiting it. You deserve to heal and live a victorious life. It is never too late to mend. And you never know who may see your path to healing and use it as their own survival guide.
