I am obsessed with the singer Morgan Wade. Her music is griping, compelling, and cuts right to the bone. One of her songs, Night is about the demons in her mind who tell her “everything I’m not; Even worse, everything I am.” She goes on to tell about trying to talk to her friends, and they won’t listen.
“But I won’t shut my mouth, is it a rule down in the south That you can’t talk about your mental health?”
I can’t help but sing a little louder with a little more anger in my voice when that lyric comes up. I feel the pain in her voice and I want to mirror it and say, “YES YOU CAN!” You can talk about your mental health. It is about damn time we all start talking about it, because it is in all of our lives.
One in five U.S. adults suffer from some form of mental health challenge.
These are our family and friends who are struggling every day with depression, anxiety, and addictions.
It is ok not to be ok!
We go to extreme measures to numb out and avoid the hard stuff.
We run; we hide; we disassociate and Self-Reject!
This is how our Parts protect us. Our Parts are trying to tell us something. You know when you hear your Parts talking –“Part of me wants to go to the party and part of me wants to sit here and watch Netflix.” Better yet, “Part of me knows I have had enough to drink, and another part says no. I want another one.”
Then there is shame that follows the next morning. OMG did I really do that? I hate that Part! And, the cycle repeats.”
Parts will use our body to communicate with us when something inside isn’t quite right.”~ Dr. Frank Anderson
We must learn to listen to the body. Neuroscience now shows just how much trauma affects the body. When we listen, we can begin to heal.
Trauma changes the brain. I believe all addictions are related to some kind of trauma. Anxiety and depression are also rooted in trauma. And guess what! There are interventions to heal.
Simply learning to breath and become the silent witness can be the most healing thing you can do for your body, mind, and soul.
Yes, learning to breathe is a way to self-soothe. Think about a baby who needs to be coddled or rocked.
The baby is crying, and the bottom lip is sticking out. That poor baby needs attention!
So what do you feel when you see this baby who needs attention?
OMG shut that thing up. What a piece of SH!t!! That kid makes me sick! NO! You feel compassion and a heart full of love ready to hold that baby! Help the baby calm down and breathe.
That is what I want you to feel toward yourself when you need attention. Slow down and breathe. Allow the feelings to come up. Witness what and who is showing up. What Part needs attention? A Sad Part? Mad Part? Grieving Part?
Listen to who needs you! Your Parts are talking to you.
Many times they manifest in our bodies i.e. in our back pain, leg pain, head ache, etc…Listen to your YOUR BODY! There are buried secrets in there!When you self-sabotage, screw up, talk sh!t about yourself, etc… GIVE that Part some love and Compassion. You know what I am talking about. You look in the mirror and say/think negative smack.
I was in a session a month ago with a client who expressed her disgust with herself for the thoughts she was having and some of her behaviors. After spending some time with that Part, we both came to the sad realization that the Part was stuck at age 6 and was hurting and was living an old story.
We both felt so much love and compassion for that Part. We worked through it to find a way to meet the Part’s needs. 4 weeks later, that Part is no longer acting out and taking her hostage, sabotaging her life.
She told me yesterday. This sH*t works, and I feel like a different person!
This is the power of doing the work. Show up and allow the work to work for you.
Peace is calling you in. Are you ready to answer? Or are you shutting down the emotions that are trying to heal you?
Are you ready?
Let’s do this!
Namaste,
Jen