Awareness

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free                                                                              John 8:32

Yesterday I spoke about trauma and its effects on our brain and on our attitudes. I suggested that there are healthy and unhealthy ways to respond to trauma. Perhaps the first healthy step is acceptance of the fact that we experienced trauma. It is natural, after a traumatic event, to want to distance ourself from the event(s).  Some traumatic events, such as being physically violated by another person, may cause the victim to feel shame. Other times, there is denial of the severity or impact of the event in order to protect ourselves from the anxiety of recalling the event.

Awareness of our current emotional state is an important practice to cultivate.  Such self “check-ins” are important for us to do. It keeps us grounded so that we cannot mislabel emotions. As I have noted in other blogs, oftentimes certain negative emotions such as fear, sadness, hurt, resentment, etc. come out looking like anger or irritability. Perhaps because that is more acceptable than showing fear or sadness, or perhaps because that is an emotion that we can more easily access.

Whatever the reason, self-honesty about our current emotional state is a first step in healing.

The truth does set us free.

Prayer: Lord give us the courage to face and accept the emotions we find in our heart, Amen