“The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost
Ever wondered if there is anything you can do to grow out of the psychological conditions labelled ‘addict’ and ‘trauma survivor’? Well, there are. Eventhough each carry the burden of feeling trapped in a world of unending pain and suffering, each also hold the potential for relief and transformational change. The question is how ready and how willing are you to do what you can do for yourself, right now, to move out from where you are and into a new condition of mind and body? It’s a big question. And for some one that rouses a genuine fear of the unknown.
What would happen if you stepped out of the warm emotional nest of an old identity, one you’ve been tending for a very long time, even if it’s been a painful one, and into an identity you’ve never experienced before? What would happen to the comfort of the familiar pain? Where would it go? More importantly, how would you feel without it? Exposed? Frightened? Relieved? How would you identify yourself when the words ‘addict’ or ‘trauma survivor’ no longer apply? Then what? Who would you be then?
The good news is the movement out of a comfortable emotional nest of an old identity and into a new one is a natural process. It can be a process that unfolds at a pace that is comfortable for you, where you can do what you need to do to take care of yourself, in the now, while you grow steadily into a new you.
What would this process look like?
- Creating safety and preventing relaspe, and getting clean time under your belt. This lays the foundation for the emotional work you may know you need to do.
- Learning to regulate your emotional experience in order to be in control of it once again. This will help you to feel safe through the healing process, and to prepare yourself for future emotional work.
- Creating a container for your felt experience through your body to learn to be in the present moment as it is, unfettered by wishful thinking about the past or future. The present moment is your point of power for healing and forward movement.
- Enlisting the support of compassionate others who are both walking the same path as you, and who have walked this path before and know the way through.
Together, this approach will meet you where you’re at to enhance your power to change by working with, and not against, your natural healing instincts. It will help you to grow into the person you already know you are deep inside. Stay tuned for details about an innovative new program being designed to support you through this life enhancing process.
