Working with the shadow mind
Trauma in our daily lives can at times be debilitating if we were to let ourselves feel it’s full potential. In the context of this article, trauma is being addressed from a mild form perspective. For example, a break up of a relationship, a loss of job, sudden changes in family life, the Covid 19 experience and coping, and not childhood abuse or experiences requiring deeper trauma healing.
We cannot debase trauma, it almost as though, now – everyone wants to open up about their trauma. It is considered the ‘in’ thing to disclose our abuse. In a sense I would not recommend this deeply unconscious stream of difficulties to be revealed, it is a private issue and part of our self integration. There are some amazing qualified and genuine therapist out there to help with deep trauma.
However, for life trauma and inevitable changes self-compassion therapy (life balance, self discipline and forgiveness)learning to accept our emotions, however painful through compassion therapy and ACT has been benefitical in it’s healing properties. When we have genuine compassion for others, for example, we bring a sense of uplifting and light to their lives which has an invisible effect of holding out our hand to someone and lifting them out of their emotional entrapment.
We can do this for ourselves, through self-compassion.
We can begin by accepting our emotions and self-states, being a nurturing parent to ourselves as if we were a small child, ensuring a nurturing comfort and self-kindness on a daily basis, we can also take care of our physical health, learning to be patient with ourselves, being tolerant of our own flaws or mistakes.
It would pay to invest in healing for ourselves, and develop psychological techniques and methods to add to our coping bank such as using positive self talk and affirmations – emotional self -nurturing, making our home a sanctuary-space nurturing, and developing an attitude of self forgiveness and acceptance.
Self compassion is not high on the societal score for human consumption but it is proven to have beneficial effects on those suffering life’s traumas. Compassion Therapy can support life traumas while ACT is a good therapy for deeper levels of trauma – https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/gb/therapy-types/acceptance-and-commitment-therapy%3famp
