Emotional Health and Healing - What it Really Takes to Get There.

The Journey to Emotional Health and Healing is not for the faint of heart. But it is the most worthwhile journey we can take. It’s worth all the blood sweat and tears along the way when every moment of discomfort is on purpose - in service -  of our personal growth and deep healing. It is an honour.

One of the biggest lessons to learn is understanding that healing is a process of learning, re-learning, and un-learning. It does not just HAPPEN.

It’s learning to develop a whole new set of skills that lead to emotional intelligence requires commitment. And that commitment provides us with a better quality of life in all areas.

Emotional Health and Healing takes:

Willingness
The openness, and readiness for change. Willingness is a step beyond desire. Many of us DESIRE better emotional health. But not all of us are willing to do what it takes to get there. Are you willing to actively and intentionally pursue your healing?

Commitment 
Making a commitment to yourself - your higher self, your inner child, is the most important thing you will do along your journey. I made a commitment to my inner-child that I was going to live a big-huge life for her. That I was going to show her what was possible, I was going to show her we could do hard things, and that we could break through any perceived limitations. That commitment to my inner-child was really just a commitment to myself. To show myself love. To do things that were hard on PURPOSE as a sign of deep love for myself. To be able to say to myself: “I did that for you” 

Discipline
Discipline is what is needed to follow through on the commitment you’ve made to yourself to heal. I believe loving the self is the highest discipline. True love requires doing things we may not “feel” like doing in order to show ourselves love and care. Discipline gets a bad rep because many see it as restrictive and oppressive. But I see discipline as freedom. The discipline to care for the body means better health and quality of life. The discipline to practice healing practices gives us time and space in our hearts and minds to create the life we desire. 

Practice
Since healing is simply the act of learning new skills and new beliefs, it takes practice. Most of our default thoughts, patterns, and habits, cause us pain and suffering (self-sabotage, fear, insecurities, shame, unworthiness). We must practice learning to love ourselves from the heart, learning to show ourselves care, learning to be open to safe people and situations, learning to be authentic and speak the truth with courage, learning to love in healthy ways, learning to think new thoughts about ourselves and the world.  These might feel strange at first, because they are new. They are un-practiced, but just like learning a new instrument, as we practice we become better and better at this new way of life. It’s okay to not be perfect. It’s okay to be bad at things. That’s all part of the process of learning. When you approach emotional health with a practice mindset, you can feel good about all the bumps along the way and give yourself grace as you learn something new.

Personal Responsibility
This is a tough one. It’s very uncomfortable. It feels easier to blame our circumstances, our past and our environment for the way our life is. But learning to take 100% responsibility for our own health and healing is essential for moving our lives forward and experiencing true growth. You don’t have to take responsibility for what others have done to you, or the ways they have hurt you. You only must take responsibility for your thoughts, feelings, and actions.  When you take full responsibility for your life, it becomes easier to practice self-care and self-love and to get the support you need because you are no longer waiting for your life to get better on its own. When you take full responsibility you realize that you are the owner of your life. Taking personal responsibility restores your personal power to you and gives you the ability to create the life you desire in the present and future.

Emotional Honesty
Emotional honesty means being willing to look at the uncomfortable emotions that we may have stored in our emotional/energy body. Being willing to stop pushing down our pain, sadness, fears, regrets, and shames. Emotional Honesty means taking the time each day to check in with our emotional selves and give ourselves the space to feel deeply. The more we practice emotional honesty, and feeling our uncomfortable feelings, the better our life and relationships get. When we hide our emotions from ourselves, they don’t go away - they simply show up in the form of subconscious triggers and limiting beliefs.  This leads to denial, depression, anxiety, and confusion.

Courage
It takes courage to practice healing during difficult times when we’re experiencing resistance or shame. It takes courage to believe in ourselves and believe we can handle life. It takes courage to face the tough emotions leftover from painful memories. It takes courage to create new things in our lives. I love courage. I believe it is the most important virtue along with love. Because love itself takes courage.

Love
Emotional Healing takes a deep enduring love for ourselves. When we take the time to heal our emotional world and create a rich emotional life, we are showing ourselves great actions of love. Healing ourselves is the process of deepening our love for ourselves each and every day. Loving ourselves beyond the hateful words that have been said in the past. Loving ourselves beyond the inner-critic. Loving ourselves in times of failure when we just want to quit. Loving ourselves when we feel abandoned and alone. Loving ourselves through our shame, fears, and struggles. As we develop a deep, rich love for ourselves, we also develop the ability to love others deeply. If each of us in this world, took the time to cultivate love for ourselves, the world would become a better place because as we heal ourselves, we heal the world we live in.

If you’re ready to embark on the journey of emotional healing, or if you’re already on your way and you need some support. Click here to message me and we can talk about how life coaching can help you gain the emotional health that you desire. 

Continue Forward in Healing, 
Shyla