As I have been giving Healing Touch to patients in every ward of the hospital these last couple of months, I couldn’t help but notice some patterns that I wanted to share.
Many of those with chronic pain, unhealed wounds, or extended stays had a traumatic event in their past. And it wasn’t just that they had lived through something traumatic, but they were still angry about it. Many didn’t feel that they got the support that they needed. This isn’t to say that they hadn’t undergone therapy or tried to forgive those involved (often including themselves), but it hadn’t helped them to dispel the anger. The other thing that they had in common was that they were currently feeling unsupported in their lives. Even thought they may have had loved ones and visitors, they didn’t feel like that support was enough. Sometimes it was because they had the image of themselves as the strong one and couldn’t accept the support from those they felt like they were supposed to support. It seems like this combination of feeling as though they lacked support and that they did not have the ability to forgive was creating an inability to physically heal.
Secondly, being still for an extended period triggers old wounds of anxiety. There’s nothing like being stuck in a hospital room without the ability to go anywhere or do much for yourself to leave you feeling trapped and helpless. Those who are at peace find the stillness a place of rest. But many were anxiously pacing the room or on the phone or simply crying in their anxiousness to be released. They would tell me how they didn’t want to think about certain things and they needed to distract themselves. Once they were alone with their own thoughts for an extended time, shame, fear, and depression would crop up. These are all tied to anxiety. This forced inactivity and silence brought them face to face with all that they had been pushing away.
Lastly, those who are suffering from a deep wound become more open to things that they would not normally explore. There is nothing like chronic pain to cause people to reach out for help who wouldn’t normally consider it. Often times people may not believe something works or is worth the money or time to put into it until they become desperate for relief. Many of the patients at the hospital had never tried energy work before I come to them. They tell me that they are open to anything that can help. Some discover the benefit of aromatherapy or massage for the first time during their stay there. In my own life, yoga, meditation, and energy work are just a few of the self-care practices that I didn’t truly discover the great benefit of until I started trying to heal my anxiety.
All of these observations just go to show how much our emotional and mental health can lead to a lack of physical healing. The more that we push down our traumas and anxieties, the more we block our own healing. Our immune systems become weaker and our bodies hang on to the pain. I believe this is to give us a message to pay attention and heal the deeper, emotional wound. And the great thing is that the wounds we carry offer us an opportunity to explore and discover self-care tools that would never have tried before.
If you want to boost your immune system or begin to address the emotional, mental, spiritual, and energetic layers of your chronic pain, click below to sign up for a Healing Touch Session.
About the Author: Julie Glaser is a healer who creates sacred spaces for people to share, release, and grow. She’s in the habit of being in awe and wonder and writes to share her own experiences and learnings with other inquisitive souls in the process of transforming.
Spiritual Direction and Healing Touch Energy Therapy 