When was the first time you felt safe to feel and process your feelings until there was absolutely NO residue?
I found out yesterday that a close friend of my family member committed suicide. My heart breaks with this tragic news. A young man in his 20's, unable to see another option. There are so many people hurting right now from this shocking loss. Please join me in sending healing love and prayers to this young man as he transitions, and to his family and community who are filled with grief.
I don't know anything about this man's experience with depression.
What this does make me think about though, is a message I received the other day from a client who has a long history of depression and just had an incredible breakthrough.
In her darkest hours, she too has thought about leaving this world.
At the root of her depression has been a total distrust of and disregard for her feelings.
When difficult feelings came up she judged them as wrong, and used every strategy she could to numb and distract. Food, Work, Men, and physical ailments - all became addictions that gave her momentary relief and sense of control. But then she would have a depressive episode and see herself as totally powerless. She believed she would be enslaved by her depression forever, just like her grandmother.
But she has chosen a different kind of healing path from her grandmother.
She has chosen to Claim Her Voice.
And through our individual and sisterhood sessions, she changed her relationship with depression because she changed her relationships with her feelings.
She discovered she could speak her truth and be safe.
She learned to:
-Stop judging her feelings
-Identify her feelings with love and compassion
-Connect the feelings to a trigger
-Heal at the root level: attending to the deepest wounds of feeling hurt, angry, and abandoned by narcissistic parents who criticized, shamed, and gaslit her, and sent her to her room when she was upset.
Now she is learning how to soothe her inner child, by connecting with her Inner Loving Wise Adult.
And this is where her message comes in.
The other day she had a major breakthrough and she called to tell me about it.
In the face of a number of difficulties and bad news she was having a terrible day. She took time off from her responsibilities and gave herself space to feel her feelings and cry. She shifted from a negative belief that “crying is bad”, to an expansive belief that crying is cleansing.
And she moved through the experience with NO emotional residue.
Immediately after this experience she found out about an amazing work opportunity. She was thrilled, and saw herself as being supported by the Universe.
My whole body got warm and tingly all over when I heard her message. I know how liberating this is for her. I know how epic it is that she took responsibility for her own nurturing, and then felt huge excitement for how her life is unfolding.
And even though she did all of this, I know that she is never truly alone.
When the darkness feels engulfing, my client comes to Sisterhood Circle. She chooses to stay connected. The Sisterhood Tribe always reminds her of her worth in the moments when she can’t see it herself.
We do not have to face the darkness alone. We do not have to hide and ignore and numb out how we feel to get by in this world. We can find safe places where we are held in our vulnerability and from this place, we can become authentically light and free.
Every day I marvel at the power of community and what’s possible when we join together in the shared mission of healing and growth.
If you struggle with your feelings, you are not alone. I have created a whole community of people who are working through their challenges together and expanding what’s possible for themselves.
To get connected, you can join me in my free and private facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingmyvoice
Or set up a free Curiosity Call to explore joining a Claiming My Voice Program:
https://curiositycallwithJen.as.me/
With love,
Jen
