Healing is a journey and it looks different for everyone. Often, it’s a long and winding road that includes a lot of ups and downs.
Self healing is the innate process of the body and mind to promote mechanisms that return to equilibrium and relieve pain. It can be regulated and optimized through multimodal integrative therapies.
Inner wounds
Inner wounds can be caused by childhood trauma, abuse, or neglect. They affect your relationship with yourself and others, as well as your emotional and physical health. These wounds can manifest in a variety of ways, such as low self-esteem, difficulty trusting people, or feelings of fear or anxiety.
It is important to reflect on your childhood experiences and notice any patterns that may be influencing your behaviour. Do you find yourself repeating unhealthy or damaging behaviours? This may be a sign that you have unresolved inner child wounds.
To heal these wounds, you must be willing to address the past pain and experience emotions that have been repressed. Often, this means working with a mental health professional. This will help you identify and address the root causes of your inner wounds, develop coping skills, and promote overall well-being. Examples of inner wounds include abandonment, guilt, and neglect. You can begin the healing process by writing a letter to your inner child, acknowledging their pain and offering them love and compassion.
Emotional wounds
It can be incredibly challenging to heal from emotional wounds such as trauma, rejection, anxiety or depression. Healing from these wounds takes time and looks different for everyone. However, self-care, seeking help, and practicing mindfulness can all support the healing process.
Unhealed emotional wounds can manifest as negative patterns of behavior such as avoiding relationships, substance abuse or self harm. They can also impact work and personal growth. Unhealed wounds may also interfere with effective communication, which can lead to mistrust and misunderstandings in relationships.
Emotional wounds can be painful and hard to deal with, especially when they show up as anger or irritability. These defensive reactions can stem from the need to control others and ourselves or to avoid feeling unpleasant emotions. Ultimately, healing from these wounds requires us to learn how to be more present and mindful with our emotions, including accepting and embracing them as they arise. Theodora Blanchfield is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and mental health writer using her experiences to help others. She has been featured on many well known health and wellness websites, blogs, and podcasts.
Physical wounds
The skin is our body’s primary barrier against germs, UV rays and chemicals. It protects underlying muscle, internal organs and bones. A wound is a break or opening in the skin that exposes tissue to germs and other external threats. Wounds can be open, exposing tissue without intact skin, or closed when the tissue is under intact skin.
Minor wounds such as scrapes, cuts and burns can be treated at home with common over-the-counter ointments that help them heal faster. More serious wounds, such as lacerations or puncture wounds, need medical attention to prevent infection.
When a wound is first opened, it may look red and swollen because your body is gearing up to protect against infection. After the initial infection protection, a dry crust — called a scab — forms over the wound and keeps out germs while the damaged tissue inside is repaired. Health conditions that interfere with blood flow around the wound, such as diabetes or varicose veins, can slow healing.
Mental wounds
Unhealed emotional wounds can affect multiple aspects of a person’s life. Individuals may struggle with self-love and confidence, find it difficult to trust others, and engage in unhealthy coping behaviours like substance abuse or self-harm. This can have long-term effects on relationships and impact work performance.
Emotional wounds often stem from past experiences that are interpreted as traumatic by the subconscious mind, creating rigid beliefs that impact your thoughts and actions. For example, a negative reaction to a scolding as a child could result in a mental scar that continues to influence your feelings and behaviour even years after the event.
Healing these wounds takes time. However, there are a few key things that can help you get started. One is to set up a self-care routine that you can follow on a daily basis. This can include exercise, journaling, reading, meditation, and other relaxing activities. These practices will help to ease the pain of your emotional wounds over time.
