Letting go of past trauma can be quite difficult. It’s easier said than done. The question is, do you want to let go of past trauma? I know that sounds like a dumb question, but past trauma becomes a part of who we identify ourselves as being. If we let go, then we have to re-identify who we are.

Trauma Embeds In Our Cells

Do you often feel like you’re on heightened alert, waiting for the next shoe to drop? Are you stuck in all your past traumas? What happens when we don’t release past pain?

I want to specify that I’m not talking about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome in this article. I have articles on PTSD that you can read.

I’m referring to the hurts and rejections we have encountered on a daily bases. An unkind word or two that someone has spoken to us that cut deep in the moment. Or the unkind word we have spoken to others that we regret even after asking for forgiveness and being forgiven. The snub we perceive whether or not real. We hold onto the suffering that in reality, we inflict on ourselves.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), trauma is an event you experience as harmful or life threatening. It has lasting adverse effects on your mental, physical, emotional, social, or spiritual well-being.

So, how is this suffering we feel held in the body’s cells and how does this affect us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

Symptoms can manifest as:

1. Difficulty in sleeping – either getting to sleep or staying asleep
2. Monkey mind – ruminating about the situation that caused the pain or not being able to let it go
3. Chronic pain – the injury of reliving the situation can be held in the back or neck muscles as an example
4. Feeling easily overwhelmed, being on edge
5. Feeling like you need to be on-guard all the time
6. Muscle tension – having sore muscles and aches in areas that shouldn’t be stiff
7. You may have brain fog and forgetfulness
8. Anxiety that’s not well defined
9. One might find themselves avoiding being around people
10. Chest tightness and difficulty breathing

By holding on to these injuries we can find ourselves feeling cut off from our own souls. The guilt we feel for our part in the situation can cause us to withdraw and isolate. We cut our own spiritual selves off from our Creator when allowing unresolved pain to build up inside of us.

So, how does one resolve the pain?

It’s hard to pull yourself out of your head. One can feel like you’re being held captive in the recesses of the mind. That’s a very dark place to be. It’s the little things that really dig-in and hold us hostage.

Steps to take to pull yourself up by the bootstraps:

1. Acknowledging one’s feelings is the first step. Admit your part in the situation and forgive yourself.
2. Align your mind and body by getting out in nature. Notice the colors, aromas, the sounds in nature.
3. Take time out to just breathe. Focus on filling your lungs with oxygen and slowly breathing out. Pay attention on how you’re breathing. Are you breathing from the diaphragm? If you are, then your stomach will rise higher than your chest. Like when a baby is sleeping and you see their stomach rising higher than the chest. Shallow breathing actually contributes to anxiety.
4. Exercise – take a walk, do yoga, run, swim, dance – it doesn’t matter, just move the body.
5. Meditate – meditation isn’t that hard, just focus on an object and let the mind become still. The eyes don’t have to be closed. As you focus on an object, it becomes easier to still the mind.
6. Self-care is important. Take time to do what relaxes you. Listen to uplifting music, sing, play an instrument if you have that ability. Take a nap, a warm bath, watch your favorite movie…
7. Journal – it doesn’t have to be a work of art – just jot down your thoughts
8. Enjoy a massage.
9. Be in the moment. Live mindful, not in the past or in the future.
10. Pray

Summary

As I go to sleep at night, I make a point of expressing gratitude. I make a point of giving thanks for at least three things that happened during my day. I start my day out in the same way that I end my day.

However, there are mornings like this morning, as I was still in that dream-state I saw bubbles floating up. You know when you see bubbles floating up in a glass of carbonated water and dissipating. While still in that dream-state, I asked, “Why the bubbles?” The answer gently came to me that I was letting go of past hurts.

Like the rest of you, I too have traumas. For myself, I tend to want to ignore them, pretend I’m strong and can handle the disappointments. I’ve only had myself to rely on through the years. The last couple of years have been tough on me, who am I kidding, most of my life has been rough at times. Just like you, we’re in the same boat.

I’ve been doing a lot of shadow work for several years (there are articles in my blog about shadow work) and this morning was just part of that process.

While it’s not easy, it’s worthwhile to release the past pain that comes in just living. When you release that trauma, you free up space to allow love to enter into your life.

So, join me in doing ‘fall cleaning’ and empty out the cobwebs, open the windows to your soul, feel the freedom of releasing the past.

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