If we slow down long enough to be still, to quiet the voices in our head and to separate ourselves from the distractions that are constantly around us, we can hear the words of our body, the story it has to tell.
We all have a story. What usually happens is we aren’t given space or permission to share what we know to be true. We try, and we are told that our story isn’t accurate, that it isn’t important, so we shut down, become silent, and hide it away. Often with layers of shame, fear, and doubt. Vowing to never try again, but the story doesn’t go away. Our bodies continue to fight to tell the truth, and we feel weighed down with the tension of what we know, and what it has cost us to share our memories with others. This shows up as pain, both physically and emotionally, and we do whatever we can to manage. This is what it looks like to turn away from our story, to ignore how our past is still influencing who we are today.
Which is why it is so important for us to go back into our story, to explore what has shaped us into the person we are today. This process often isn’t allowed or encouraged, and this is where therapy can help. Having a safe place and a person who genuinely cares, who wants to be with you in this journey, can create freedom and a sense of being known in a way that most of us have never experienced before. This is called story work. It is an opportunity to come together as client and therapist and to go back into these parts of us that have had to remain in the dark, that we have locked away. This therapeutic journey is an invitation to write a new narrative, one where you are no longer alone in your story, and the pieces that have felt scattered, can now come together.
When we start to look back through our story and the different parts, we are integrating our mind and our body. This leads to wholeness and healing, we can start to feel settled and secure in who we are. This work requires a therapist who is trained in story work because we typically, out of self protection, make agreements with ourselves that we will never talk about our trauma or our heartache, and why would we want to? Because this is what will set us free. This process is done in a way that is kind, honoring, and curious. There must be caution in sharing our story with someone who isn’t trained in story work or sharing in a way that isn’t contained or cared for properly, this can often lead to more pain and trauma.
As you continue your journey of healing, please listen to your body, your greatest truth teller, and know how brave it is to keep showing up and asking for help.