Getting the Past out of the Present

​A young lady came one time in such deep emotional pain that she felt in danger of having a heart attack. Observing her body language, and listening to what she was not saying, as much as what she was, everything pointed to childhood trauma that was very likely related to sexual abuse. When asked if she had experienced any violation of boundaries as a child, it was as if a volcano of emotion erupted. When the energy subsided, having taken considerable time, she couldn’t believe how intense it had been and how her body had been carrying such a burden for so many years. She said ‘I was convinced I had dealt with that years ago. I went for some counseling sessions where I told my story, shed some tears and then got on with my life. I figured the issue belonged to the past, I couldn’t change it, so it was time to put it behind me, and try to forget it ever happened. Only now do I see that it has been with me all along, weighing me down and crippling my health.’ Such an approach is common for so many, where such a deep traumatic issue has been dealt with, but in a totally inadequate manner that amounts, not to healing but to another form of repression, that now hides under a psychological umbrella.