Any path of healing takes time and forces us to take dark and challenging roads. Yet there is an immense strength hidden within us, an impulse driven by resilience that it is our duty to awaken.
Written and verified by the psychologist GetPersonalGrowth.
Last update: 15 November 2021
When life tears us apart or the mind takes us adrift of inexplicable anguish, there is only one option left: activate our capacity for healing, for reconstruction. Within us lies that indispensable material to put back together every single shred of self-esteem, in our heart there is the lighthouse that will lead us back to balance.
When we talk about "healing", we can refer to different meanings. From a mental and emotional health standpoint, it can seem a little more complicated. Let's take an example: when a person breaks an arm, has the flu or faces recovery after surgery, everyone repeats “come on, get well soon”.
What happens, however, when we are faced with a person afflicted with depression or anxiety? If we open the dictionary, the term "healing" in the medical field is defined as the act or process of recovering health after an illness or injury. So what happens if we don't have to start this path from a viral disease or a broken bone?
"If you think you cannot change anymore, it is because you have placed a wall in front of you."
-Benjamin Franklin-
Few challenges are as complex as those faced by someone with a mental health problem. Their wounds are not seen. They do not have crutches, often they do not even ask for a period of time off from work.
What's worse, they often don't even begin their healing process, unable to ask for help or unaware that a psychological disorder hides behind that malaise.
As a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals, nearly 50% of emotional and mental problems do not receive treatment.
The key to healing is within us: the connection with the ego
The ability to heal is within us, but perhaps we haven't discovered it yet. Because sometimes life hurts so much that it leaves us overwhelmed in a corner, unable to react out of fear and because we feel we are on the tower of Babel. These are the moments in which we need the help of an expert more than ever: to understand what is happening to us and to be able to activate the strategies useful to get out of the abyss.
First of all it is good to understand that to return to the surface you have to make changes, eliminate inertia. We are forced to overcome the limits of comfort and attachment relationships, those that bind us in a vicious circle of suffering, anxiety and unhappiness.
DW Winnicott, renowned British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, he used to say that the path to emotional healing is through reclaiming one's dignity as a man to recognize oneself with one's real self. Sometimes we tend to get carried away by misleading inner dynamics that lead us to assume the guise of a "false self".
This idea is also linked to the theses of the humanist psychologist Carl Rogers. According to what he reminds us in his books and utterances, people are constantly forced to "update".
It invites us to put aside harmful or exhausting beliefs and states in order to awaken the full potential of our being. What lives inside us like a seed, waiting for the right care to be able to sprout.
Keys to the healing path
Every path to healing requires the right support. It must be clear how important it is to be able to count on the help of professionals and experts. We know that it is also essential to have people who are able to understand us, motivate us, give us affection and understanding. We must move away from those who judge or hurt on purpose.
It is also necessary to remember another crucial aspect :. beyond support and external accompaniment, the healing capacity depends only on us.
Ours are the courage, the effort, the desire to gather all our will. Even on days when we only want the silence and the dim light of a room.
So let's see what are the secrets of emotional healing:
- Finding hope and a reason. People go on a therapeutic path because they expect to get out better than they did when they entered.
- Understanding what is happening to us. First and foremost, and before any intervention, it is wise to dedicate yourself to understanding what is the challenge we are facing (depression, anxiety, lack of social skills…). Without the knowledge of our "enemy" it is difficult to implement intelligent intervention.
- Develop a plan. Every path to healing requires a plan drawn up with conviction, without neglecting the margin for adaptation.
- Reconnect with life differently. Having healthy habits at the base is an invaluable strategy for dealing with difficulties. Automation allows us to implement resources to be dedicated entirely to combat difficulties. It is about starting new businesses, meeting new people, abandoning old routines.
- Strengthen our best version every day. As we feel better, it becomes easier to show off our skills. It is up to us to find out how strong we can become.
Finally, it should be noted that any path to healing is not immediate. We will fall and retreat, but each step will serve to take the push and move forward. Our healing ability allows us to embark on a journey of learning and self-knowledge.
