By Emilee Henriquez, LCMHC, Therapist and Advocate for Embodied Healing
As a therapist, I’ve witnessed the transformative power of facing our pain and truly embodying our emotions. Imagine if you faced your pain, allowed your tears to fall, spoke all of your rage, and honored your experience. What would that be like for you? To relieve ourselves from our trauma responses, we need to hold space for the delicate stories and sensations our bodies have held. This journey requires getting out of your head and into your body.
The Courage of Facing Your Pain
Facing pain is often the most daunting part of the healing process. Many of us have been conditioned to avoid or suppress our pain, believing that ignoring it will make it go away. However, unresolved pain can manifest in various ways, impacting our mental and physical health.
Steps to face your pain:
Acknowledge Your Pain: The first step is to recognize and accept your pain. Avoiding it only prolongs your suffering. Give yourself permission to feel.
Create a Safe Space: Find a safe and supportive environment where you can explore your pain without judgment. This could be a therapist’s office, a trusted friend’s home, or a peaceful spot in nature.
Be Gentle with Yourself: Approach your pain with compassion and gentleness. Understand that it’s a part of your human experience and doesn’t define you.
Embodying Your Emotions
Embodying your emotions means allowing yourself to fully experience and express them. This involves tuning into your body and paying attention to the physical sensations that accompany your emotions.
Ways to embody your emotions:
Tune into Your Body: Notice where you feel your emotions in your body. Do you feel tightness in your chest when you’re anxious? A lump in your throat when you’re sad? Becoming aware of these sensations is the first step to embodiment.
Allow Yourself to Feel: Give yourself permission to fully experience your emotions. If you need to cry, let the tears flow. If you need to scream, find a safe place to release your anger.
Express Through Movement: Sometimes words aren’t enough to express what we’re feeling. Dance, yoga, or other forms of movement can help you process and release emotions stored in your body.
The Healing Power of Tears and Rage
Tears and rage are often viewed negatively, but they are natural and healthy expressions of our emotions. Allowing yourself to cry or express anger can be incredibly healing.
Benefits of allowing tears to fall:
Emotional Release: Crying helps to release built-up emotions and stress.
Physical Relief: Tears can reduce tension and promote relaxation.
Emotional Clarity: Allowing yourself to cry can bring clarity and insight into your feelings and experiences.
Benefits of speaking your rage:
Reclaiming Your Voice: Expressing anger can help you reclaim your voice and assert your boundaries.
Releasing Energy: Rage holds a lot of energy that, when released, can create space for healing and new perspectives.
Transforming Pain: Anger can be a powerful catalyst for change and transformation.
Honoring Your Experience
Honoring your experience means validating your feelings and acknowledging the significance of your experiences. It’s about giving yourself the respect and recognition you deserve.
How to honor your experience:
Validate Your Feelings: Recognize that your feelings are valid and important. They are a natural response to your experiences.
Reflect on Your Journey: Take time to reflect on your journey and the experiences that have shaped you. Journaling can be a helpful tool for this.
Celebrate Your Strength: Acknowledge the strength and resilience it takes to face your pain and honor your emotions. Celebrate your courage and progress.
Getting Out of Your Head and Into Your Body
Many trauma responses are rooted in our bodies, not just our minds. To heal, we need to connect with our bodies and the sensations they hold.
Techniques to connect with your body:
Mindful Breathing: Practice deep, mindful breathing to bring your awareness to your body and the present moment.
Body Scans: Regularly check in with your body, noticing any areas of tension or discomfort. This practice can help you become more attuned to your physical sensations.
Grounding Exercises: Engage in grounding exercises such as walking barefoot on grass, feeling the earth beneath your feet, or holding a grounding object like a stone or piece of wood.
Sound Baths, Yoga Classes, Meditation
My Message to You
If you’ve been avoiding your pain, it’s time to take a courageous step towards healing. By facing your pain, embodying your emotions, allowing your tears to fall, speaking your rage, and honoring your experience, you can begin to release the trauma held within your body.
Remember: Healing requires getting out of your head and into your body. Trust in the process and give yourself the space and compassion you need to heal. You are worthy of healing and happiness.
In conclusion, I want to leave you with this: I’m a therapist, and imagine if you faced your pain, embodied your emotion, allowed your tears to fall, spoke all of your rage, and honored your experience? What would that be like for you? In order to relieve ourselves from our trauma response, we need to hold space for the delicate stories & sensations our bodies have held. It requires getting out of your head and into your body.
Embrace your journey with courage and compassion, knowing that your path to healing is unique and powerful.
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