The book I wrote, Overcoming A Mysterious Condition, attempts to answer the question, “How Do You Heal Trauma?”
It is not an easy one to answer because each person has a different path to healing. We’ve all had unique experiences and situations we’ve had to endure, so one size does not fit all.
Rather than me telling you how to heal trauma, I think it is more helpful if I share with you what worked for me. The concepts of what worked and what did not mean far more than any platitude that I could suggest.
Throughout my book, Overcoming A Mysterious Condition, I talk about things that few people mention about how we heal trauma. Some of the concepts I learned years ago, and others are more recent.
When I was in the hospital going through the experiences that I did, it was not about how do I heal trauma at that point. I was more concerned with how do I get through the current moment. How do I learn to walk again, talk again, and function in a normal everyday life?
The Mind Body Connection
One of the most profound experiences I had while in the hospital was feeling a deep moment of relaxation. It was more than just the feeling. I felt something deep into my muscles and tissues and cells.
Little did I know that this moment was my first encounter with the mind body connection. Up until that point, I truly did not understand what relaxation meant or how to stop, rest, and take care of myself. I was much like most people functioning everyday in this world.
It would take me years to fully understand how that mind body connection could help me heal trauma in my life. It was more than mindfulness or some new age thought or alternative healing method. This went so deep that I could not replicate it for some time, but it set up the stage for me to go much further than I knew was possible.
Dr. Paul Canali
Many years later, I would meet someone by the name of Dr. Paul Canali. My body knew instantly that he understood something that I knew deep within, but could not connect with at that time. My brain and body both understood this, but they were far from connected together as one.
Throughout my time with Dr. Paul Canali, I would come to learn and experience concepts that were real and yet completely new to me. None of these were talked about among those that wanted to heal trauma in their own lives. Yet,my experiences with his therapy proved beyond a doubt that we could affect lasting physical change in the mind body connection.
To this day, I see people wanting to heal trauma, but I don’t see many that remotely understand how to do that. Far too many don’t feel this is possible. There are others that only grasp the tip of the iceberg while being blinded to what they cannot yet see. It isn’t their fault because they are like I once was. I could not begin to understand the possibilities beyond where I thought I could go.
I thought to heal trauma meant that I would function somewhat normal in a day. To me, it meant I would constantly struggle to be all that I could be. I thought it meant that I would be suffering and not in control of all the mental health aspects of my life. It felt like possibility was nothing more than a platitude.
Learning How To Heal Trauma
However, I saw firsthand with Dr. Canali that I could go further than I thought I could go. I began to truly understand the mind body connection and somatization. With all of this in my toolbox, I began to see my body and my mind healing in ways I did not believe were possible.
We put far too many limits on ourselves when it comes to learning how to heal trauma in our lives. After all, we are the sum total of all our experiences, good and bad, up to this point in life. Yet, we often hold ourselves back.
As I’ve stated in my book, there’s so much more healing out there that we can do. There is so much more possible than we allow ourselves to believe. We can go further if we take the blinders off and see all that is around us. Yes, it can be scary. I know that without a doubt.
However, I also know that if we don’t deal with what happened to us to the full extent we can, it will deal with us. All one needs to do is look at the ACE Study and it will become abundantly clear.
Of course, don’t take my word for what I say here. Read my book and see how you can apply the concepts to your life. How can it help you heal trauma that you’ve been through? Challenge it and take what I learned further than I have taken it.
Read the rest of this book, Overcoming A Mysterious Condition.
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