Bahrain This Week’s All Round Advice introduces a topic of discussion; leaving painful experiences behind you moving through the experience and finding a way to heal and ultimately move on with your life can be a great challenge, and getting help from a trusted friend, therapist or member of the clergy can be an important part of the healing process. Here are three strategies you can start using today to begin to put your pain behind you
Don’t make the past your present.
We often bring our past hurts into the present moment by giving our thoughts about it too much airtime. It’s important to learn how to self-soothe and ask loved ones for support when you’re feeling pain. But it’s also
important to remember that giving memories or thoughts too much airtime can actually act as a trigger for distressing emotions and ultimately contribute to your suffering. You can’t make yourself forget about
the past, but you can choose how often you allow yourself to dwell on it.
Rewrite the story you tell yourself.
Your life is a constantly changing, moving experience. One powerful way to harness this is by taking time to rethink the “story” of your painful life experience, this time casting yourself as the survivor not the victim. Be sure to focus on the strengths you realised and the lessons you learned from the experience.
Don’t let myths about healing get in the way.
It has been noticed that time and time again those who are struggling with a painful past often experience buy-in to several common myths about healing. Believing these myths can stall recovery, and keep you stuck in your pain and suffering.
You can’t change what has happened in the past but you can change how you respond to those painful experiences. Your life is what is happening to you right now. You, and you alone, have the power to change what this next moment’s experience will be by choosing how you respond to painful thoughts, memories and feelings.