Healing for Happiness

Healing for Happiness

Denis Waitley once said, “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” When we experience negativity or trauma in our life, this energy might vibrate differently in our bodies, causing blockages or diseases. Giving up anger, moving from negative to positive emotions, and maintaining a positive mindset lead to happiness and excellent health. Using relaxation techniques, cultivating meaningful connections, staying physically active, doing good for others, and always learning are essential aspects of living a happy, healthy life.

According to a 2019 Concordia University study, when older people feel angry frequently and hold on to unpleasant emotions, it increases inflammation levels. It makes them more prone to acquiring chronic heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes.

While daily sentiments of anger, past trauma, or poisonous old habits can all have negative health consequences, the researchers stress that short-term rage focused on a fleeting event or incident can inspire a person to take constructive action and find solutions. Forgiving, letting go of anger and resentment, shifting to more pleasant emotions, and a good attitude lead to better physical and mental health.

Psychological and emotional trauma is caused by highly stressful situations that destroy your feeling of security, leaving you feeling powerless in a hazardous environment. Psychological trauma can leave you with lingering negative emotions, memories, and worry. It can also make you feel cold and distant, and make it hard to trust others. Traumatic situations frequently include a threat to one’s existence or security yet which leaves you feeling overwhelmed and lonely can result in trauma, even if there is no physical damage.

Childhood trauma may result from anything that interrupts a children’s sense of security, such as insecure or dangerous circumstances, absence from a parent, domestic abuse, abandonment, and so on. While traumatic events can happen to anybody, you are more likely to be traumatized by an incident if you are under a lot of stress, have recently suffered a string of losses, or have previously been traumatized, primarily if the previous trauma occurred when you were a child.

Forgiveness is crucial for the healing process. If we tend to fixate on suffering this causes stress and sets us up for more pain and hurt; mental health issues frequently cause physical aches and pains. Depression, for example, is a medical condition that causes unpleasant physiological responses. Inability to forgive causes symptoms of depression and anxiety, which can lead to health problems. When we fail to forgive, our brains remain on high alert, which might have detrimental health consequences.

Forgiveness and healing are not instantaneous. It is a process that necessitates both work and practice. It’s possible that you won’t get it right every time. Remember that you have a choice in how you react to your emotions. Identifying the feelings linked with your pain is one of the first steps. Recognize how your feelings are physically influencing you. Wait until you are calm before responding to the occurrence. And when your calm this is when you can forgive and find the peace to move forward.

Psychological healing is the process of admitting, allowing, accepting, integrating, and processing traumatic life memories and raw emotions. It may entail compassion, consciousness, personality, self-acceptance, awareness, and integration. You may not enjoy the pain you’re in, and you may be hesitant to work on emotional healing because you’re terrified of what you could discover in the procedure. Yet as hard as it is, emotional healing can boost your overall emotional, mental, and physical health, your sense of well-being, life satisfaction, and your relationship with yourself and others. Learning how to heal means we open a door to happiness.

Trauma

We’ve all been through traumatic situations or incidents that have significantly impacted our lives. Trauma is a long-term emotional reaction that generally occurs due to witnessing a traumatic event. People who have experienced trauma often experience guilt, humiliation, helplessness, and extreme anxiety long after the traumatic incident. A person’s sense of safety, self, and ability to regulate emotions and negotiate relationships can all be harmed by traumatic events. Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral’s Kiss, said, “There are wounds that never show on the body deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”

Unlike typical difficulties, traumatic occurrences are unexpected and unanticipated, represent a significant threat to one’s life like bodily injury or death, and feel out of control. Auto accidents, physical abuse, sexual harassment, military combat experiences, and the untimely death of a loved one are all examples of traumatic experiences.

Trauma affects practically everyone at some point in their lives. There are many potent indicators and it’s our behavior that indicates trauma.  Trauma can emerge both physically and emotionally. Paleness, tiredness, weariness, poor focus, and a rapid heartbeat are all classic physical indicators of trauma. The victim may suffer from anxiety or panic episodes, making them unable to cope in specific situations. One of the most prevalent ways that trauma emerges is through emotion. Denial, rage, grief, and emotional outbursts are general emotional signs of trauma. Other coping mechanisms such as apathy or carelessness, acting as if nothing is wrong, abusing drugs or alcohol, and many other destructive behaviors against one’s self are often triggered. And the body keeps track of the score; it remains on high alert, ready to fend against violence, deprivation, or rejection.

Victims of trauma frequently struggle not just to express themselves but also to listen to and absorb what is being spoken to them. Survivors who are hyperaware of their surroundings can lose focus and dissociate from the present.

Communication and trust are essential components of any relationship, but a traumatic event frequently harms them. Trauma has the potential to shatter a person’s faith in the world and other humans. A survivor’s diminished trust can make communication difficult and potentially harm a relationship’s core fiber. Many survivors believe that “I used to trust, and it cost me a lot of money. As a result, I’m going to safeguard myself by never trusting anyone else again.” Following a traumatic event, the world and people, in general, can appear entirely unpredictable.

Healing does not always imply complete emancipation from the effects of a traumatic event. Rehabilitation is a unique experience that will change from person to person. Recovery is defined as the ability to live in the present without being consumed by memories and emotions from the past. Symptoms of trauma can persist anywhere from days to several weeks to months, gradually dissipating as you absorb the upsetting incident.

Everyone’s experience with trauma will be unique. Even when you’re feeling much better, you may be bothered by painful recollections or emotions from time to time, especially in response to triggers like the event’s anniversary or something that reminds you of the trauma. Allowing people to let go of the victim label will enable them to perceive themselves as survivors, growing and feeling hopeful about the future. The impacts of trauma cannot be underestimated as it underpins all forms of interactions and communication.  Simple breathing exercises can release hyperawareness, destress the individual, reduce cortisol loading (leading to fight or flight), and initiate the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for the “rest and digest” actions of the body.  Moving into rest and relaxation has benefits that make subtle shifts in the body and mind and over time these shifts form a foundation of strength and wisdom.  One simple key is to breathe; breath is life, oxygen is connection; connection to your heart, your mind, your soul, and to others.  Find your breath and you will find your voice.