Humans are capable of having strong emotions. Every member of the human race has felt love, loss, pain, joy, fear, and anxiety. To feel is to be human, but unfortunately not every emotion leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. When you go through hard times, it can be a lower period of trauma and grief. But you don’t have to stay in that dark place forever, because humans are also capable of exceptional resilience.
Emotional healing looks different than physical healing. When something goes wrong with your body, there are typically quick, defined solutions to make it better. Broke a bone? Get a cast. Cut yourself? Put on a Bandaid. Have a headache? Get an aspirin. Healing from emotional trauma is a long process that usually involves going through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and eventually, acceptance. But you will get through whatever you are dealing with because pain doesn’t last forever. You can learn to heal your heart and find peace again. Here are just a few suggestions on how to emotionally heal from any past grief or trauma.
Share Your Journey
When you’re dealing with an emotional experience, your thoughts can be clouded with a lot of uncertainty, confusion, and frustration. Once you start feeling hopeless, it may be time to turn to a professional psychologist or therapy group. According to the Therapy Group of DC, one in four adults seek out therapy to talk through all sorts of issues. You don’t have to have a serious mental health condition to benefit from talking through events that bring up strong emotions. Your therapist can help you find peace through in-person treatments or even online sessions. Trust the professionals who find a personalized fit to help you not only feel better but become the best version of yourself.
Turn to a Higher Power
Sometimes, after experiencing an emotional hardship, people choose to turn to religion or spirituality. Consulting a higher power can help you find meaning in your pain and understand your place in the story of the universe. Perhaps you should join a bible study with other people dealing with similar situations. Get a group where you can enjoy your matching bible covers for women and turn to God together. Or perhaps you want to go down a more spiritual route and pursue yoga or deep meditation. Whatever your path, looking outside yourself can help heal your emotional trauma.
Get Out of Your Own Head
Have you ever had a bad experience, and then for days you keep reliving it and creating a horrible narrative in your own head? This is called ruminating and it can lead to increased anxiety. The best way to combat this is to just get out of your own head. Find a way to increase your positive self-talk and stop negative thoughts in their tracks. Your brain can often be your own worst enemy, so don’t give it the power to bring you down. Distracting yourself can be a great way to avoid ruminating. A distraction can be as simple as an afternoon walk or as complicated as a trip to Hawaii to take surfing lessons for beginners. Whatever helps you stop the negative narrative and distract yourself from your painful emotions.
Create Your Meaning
There’s the old saying that everything happens for a reason. And while that may not be 100% true, there is an argument to be made that meaning can come from any experience. Going through a hard period can help you learn and grow and become the person you were meant to be. So find your meaning. Decide who you’re supposed to be despite your past traumas. Stop living in the past and create a reason to look toward the future.
Know This Won’t Last Forever
Pain is temporary. What you’re feeling right now won’t last forever. Healing comes when you make the conscious decision to move on. So take the time to figure out what happened, validate your feelings, then find the next step in your journey.