Pain, whether it’s physical or emotional, is an inevitable and vital part of life. It is clearer that physical pain is an important signal to us that part of our body is under attack, whether from an external source (“ouch, I just scraped my knee”) or an internal one (“my stomach really aches”). In the former case, I can put a band-aid on my knee (and be more careful next time). In the latter case, I had better check out what the source of the problem is and take appropriate action.
It’s harder to recognize that our emotional pain also has an important and valuable function to play in keeping us healthy and on track with life. We can’t exactly dismiss it, but might have a tendency to let it drag us down even further, or lash out at others. And there is seldom a simple band-aid remedy.
If we treat our emotional pain as a helpful signal that we need to attend to, then we may pay more attention to what is really going on for us. That means listening to ourselves fully and taking the action that we need to take to heal our emotional pain and move forward. If we don’t, it’s almost certain that we will get the physical symptoms anyway, which can make us pretty confused, because taking a physical remedy won’t remove the real source of our pain.
One thing for sure is that when we hurt, we are alive. And while we are alive, we can take the opportunity to live as fully as we can.
In Peace and Love
Warren Redman
www.EFitInstitute.com
1-866-310-3348(EFit)
Warren Redman trained in the UK as a psychotherapist, facilitator and coach and has developed his own unique style of Emotional Fitness Coaching. He is president of the Emotional Fitness Institute (formally the Centre for Inner Balancing), writing about, teaching and coaching people in Emotional Fitness. He is the author of fifteen books, including the Award-winning The 9 steps to Emotional Fitness, Achieving Personal Success and Recipes for Inner Peace.
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