Healing emotional wounds from the past can be a complex and personal process that requires accepting your emotions, practicing self-care, and forgiving yourself and others. Although it may not be very encouraging to re-experience the negative emotions experienced, it is an essential step if you want to permanently get rid of these wounds.
In reality, it is a very brave decision that allows you to erase past regrets that, like ghosts, continue to condition your current life. In this way, facing this process allows us to recover true strength to move through life in peace. In this Psychology-Online article, we explain how to heal emotional wounds from the past through psychological techniques and exercises.
Emotional wounds are psychological injuries or trauma that occur as a result of painful or negative experiences in our lives. These wounds can be caused by various events, such as emotional or physical abuse, neglect, significant losses, trauma, rejection, humiliation, toxic relationships or any experience that has generated a strong negative emotional impact.
These types of wounds can manifest themselves in different ways and affect various aspects of a person’s life. They can generate a feeling of deep pain, sadness, anger, fear, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, self-destructive behavior patternsamong other symptoms.
Emotional wounds produce a big pain and its consequences cause the person to close their heart and, with it, their openness to the world. Unconsciously he allows himself to be invaded by all the fears experienced in experiencing said situation. This generally causes the person’s real potential to disappear.
Emotional wounds can be created at different stages of life and as a result of various experiences. Some of the situations and periods in which emotional wounds can arise include:
- Childhood: It is an especially vulnerable period, where early experiences can have a lasting impact on emotional development. Physical, emotional or sexual abuse, neglect, abandonment, rejection, lack of affection or any other type of trauma can leave deep emotional wounds. In this article you will see.
- Adolescence: The search for identity, social pressures, the need to fit in, and emotional challenges can lead to the formation of emotional wounds. Bullying, academic pressure, self-esteem problems, family conflicts or experiences of romantic rejection can leave emotional scars.
- Relationships: Emotional wounds can also originate from close relationships, such as romantic relationships, friendships, family or work relationships. Emotional abuse, betrayal, lack of support, manipulation or domestic violence are examples of situations that can cause emotional wounds.
- Traumas and significant events: Experiencing accidents, violence, loss of loved ones, natural disasters or catastrophic events can also lead to emotional wounds. These shocking experiences can leave deep and lasting emotional scars.
It is important to keep in mind that each individual is unique and that emotional wounds are formed individually. The same experience can affect different people differently.
To know if someone has emotional wounds from the past, just look at the following four aspects:
- Reacts with fear, flight, avoidance, aggression or any other negative behavior repeatedly in certain situations. If so, this reaction is surely the defensive response that our unconscious provokes in response to an internal emotional wound with the aim of not suffering what we experienced again.
- It is difficult for him to react in a happy, fluid and spontaneous way: Emotional wounds do not allow you to act as you would if you did not have fear or the feeling that you have to defend yourself from something.
- You experience physical symptoms: Emotional wounds produce anguish, body contraction, sweating, trembling, paralysis, stuttering, etc.
- Negative mental rumination: A pattern of repetitive and persistent thoughts about past negative events or situations or future concerns. It is a process in which the mind becomes trapped in a cycle of negative thoughts, unable to find a solution or a way forward. If it happens to you, in this article you will see.
Seeing to what extent emotional wounds hurt and condition, it is very important to know how to heal them. Below, we bring you exercises and techniques to heal the soul, although definitive healing is a process of several phases, all necessary to heal emotional wounds.
Perform self-knowledge exercises
Performing exercises to heal emotional wounds focused on self-knowledge can be an excellent way to explore your thoughts, emotions, strengths and growth areas. Perform breathing, relaxation and meditation practices that allow you to connect with your true voice. In these articles you will find information about the and the.
Become aware of the experience that created the wound
To heal the emotional wounds of the past, it is enough to remember the moment in which these wounds were created. Such a seemingly simple job, due to the internal liberation that comes with letting go of all the fears and false beliefs associated with them, but which causes great resistance.
Understand the behaviors that are due to the injury
How to heal emotionally? It is essential to help the person become aware of how the external danger no longer exists and that, in reality, your worst enemy is within yourself, in that scary part that repeatedly reproduces a whole series of false ideas and, consequently, defense mechanisms to protect you from a danger that is no longer there.
Reject defensive behaviors
It is important to indicate that within each person there are two parts: your essential being and your authentic self, which has great potential yet to be offered to the world but silenced and limited by fear. The part created from the pain experienced, which prevents the person’s spontaneous expression. Therefore, it is important to reject the created character, while that’s not yourselfbut a defense created from fear that only harms you
Implement alternative behaviors
If you want to heal emotional wounds from childhood or as a couple, you must do the opposite of what is indicated by the voice that comes from the ego, thus reducing its strength.
Practice self-acceptance
One of the dynamics to heal emotional wounds is to really and sincerely open your heart to open up to the world, trust it and give it all your beautiful potential. Here you will find information about.
Practice self-care
One of the exercises to heal emotional wounds consists of investigating your greatest interests and motivations and making an action plan that allows you to develop a small project related to all of this. In this way, you will strengthen your virtues and your soul will feel strongly rewarded. Have a good diet and practice some moderate exercise regularly.
Forgive and ask for forgiveness
Forgiving and asking for forgiveness are powerful actions that can significantly contribute to emotional healing and improve interpersonal relationships. Forgiveness, when it is sincere from the heart, has great healing power, although the process is not carried out directly with the person involved. In this article, we explain to you.
Ask for help and help
Asking for help and, at the same time, offering to help those who need it allows us to see the beauty that lives within oneself. Gives the confidence necessary to abandon fear and the judgment definitively. This practice should be integrated naturally to heal emotional wounds, strengthen the spirit and avoid any other unpleasant situation that causes new wounds and regrets.
To correctly carry out the steps of emotional healing and heal old wounds, it is essential to have the guidance and support of a specialized professional.