https://www.energypsych.org/blog
Meet Stephen, my inner child...
I hold this little boy now, from long ago. I talk to him (Stephen) and hug this precious toddler in my mind. This is my therapy. This is how I’m healing. This little guy needed hugs and reassuring voices saying, “it’s gonna be okay, kid…” Steve Sparks
Too many kids grow up in profoundly dysfunctional homes. Parents often suffer from serious trauma themselves as youngsters and adults. I also believe parents do the best they can under very challenging circumstances.
Children all too often take their trauma into the future as intergenerational PTSD. Kids inhale the pain of living in a home affected by serious trauma from both childhood and as adults serving in the military, or as 1st Responders.
For me as a post WWII military child, I didn’t feel safe or loved in those years. I enlisted in the US Navy 2 days after my 17th birthday. While being free from a home not suited for a healthy childhood, I didn’t know then that my emotional pain came with me as demons swarming my brain like bees, stinging my soul at every turn.
It took me many decades to understand that help was essential to healing and in keeping pain at a safe distance. But it’s hard work, requiring commitment and discipline. Believe me, it’s worth it.
My tool kit for healing is robust after several years of trauma informed therapy. I hope my experience will help others to build their own tool kit to achieve a more peaceful life. But it’s a work in progress. Never give up, keep going. Ups and downs persist during your journey of healing. The pesky demons are forever present and must be kept at a safe distance.
Thought Field Therapy (TFT)
It was a true gift in my life to have had the opportunity to receive coaching and emotional support from the best psychotherapist I could find when it was needed the most.
I learned TFT as a therapy designed to help people who suffer with the life-long effects of severe trauma as a child or adult. She taught me several techniques that immediately relieved my stress and anxiety, including “Tapping.”
Tapping is a technique that really works for me. It’s not hard to learn how to use it effectively. In the context of TFT, the technique provides me with immediate relief. I recommend learning how to use this tool with a therapist in the beginning. Listen to this YouTube clip to see how Tapping works.
Wishing everyone the very best in your own journey of healing. Remember to reach out for help. Your wounds are what happened to you, not what’s wrong with you. And, remember awareness is the first step in healing.
