addiction

We need each other.

Trigger warning: Suicide Awareness

The essence of trauma is being afraid and being alone. Attachment trauma — being wounded in relationships that were supposed to keep us safe — leaves us feeling unseen, unheard, unwanted, misunderstood, rejected, abandoned. Trauma disconnects us.

It makes sense, then, that when someone feels disconnected, cut off, ostracized, or “othered,” the pain is beyond excruciating and the risk for suicide increases. We aren’t created to go through life (and our pain) alone.

Who are the marginalized, the anguished, the ones in our society who feel beyond reach? And what is the pathway back (or perhaps for the very first time) to connection?

How to Heal: A reflection on pain and frustration

We are biologically wired to connect and integrate. And when things come up that hurt us or scare us, we get this urge to fight, run away, or avoid it.

What do you notice happening in your body when something feels painful or frustrating? What is your gut response?

We don’t heal by stuffing, avoiding, denying or minimizing pain. We don’t heal by spiritually bypassing. We don’t heal by self-medicating or by trading one addiction for another.

We heal by having the courage to face hard things with strong support. We can work through what has been unresolved or passed down, and find safe people who can hold space that allows us to heal and grow. That act of courage changes the pattern for generations.