Ghosts of the Past

What do we immediately think about when we hear the word ghosts? Do we think of the paranormal, like the unexplained or unusual disturbances we see or hear when no one is around? In this case, ghosts can describe remnants of things in the past that still haunt us. They are memories kept from the times we were hurt by the experiences of a forgotten occurrence. This pain follows us around when old energy is trapped and has yet to be released. If we find we are still reliving the trauma of the past, we are stuck inside a loop. This loop essentially creates the very same mistakes we keep repeating. How often do you ask yourself; why this is happening to me again? There might be times we become convinced we are over our pain but are often reminded we aren't when we become triggered. This is why so many people who suffer from addiction don't know how to cope with life. We don't realize we are still trapped in old negative behavior patterns and unhealed emotions. Things aren't as simple as we like to pretend they are, especially when aren't ready to face the hurt. If we start to feel anxiety, stress, disappointment, anger, or frustration, it might not be from a present dilemma. Time doesn't heal the old wounds we don't acknowledge when continue to live in a state of denial. We need to feel it, realize it, and accept our role in order to let it go.

Humanity is continually evolving. We evolve when we learn from our experiences. When we learn the lessons, we grow. When we grow, we are able to begin our journey of letting go to move on. When we finally move on, we can start to live the way we are meant to live it, with peace, harmony, and balance. When I was a child, I was abused. I lived with the trauma of that experiences for decades. I convinced myself everything bad in my life I deserved. I somehow believed I was responsible for this happening to me. It took me years in recovery to see what happened to me wasn't my fault. I felt like an old battery. I functioned but never to my fullest capacity. I never connected with my hurt even when I was in therapy. Yes, therapy is great if you are being honest with yourself. I spend years seeing therapists who confirmed I was traumatized but I failed to understand or believe how my life experiences affected how I functioned. I finally had to take a hard look at my life when I got sober. I slowly started to see the patterns of self-sabotage throughout my life. I'm really grateful I survived. I am really proud of the person I am today.

When we are finally able to share our past hurts without having an emotional reaction from retelling our story, we are healing. We will find our experiences don't create the story of who we really are. We aren't our past mistakes. We were simply reacting to the hurt from the experiences that haunt us. I hope you understand you aren't alone. When we are able to share a life experience openly with others, we feel freer. The resentments we've once felt toward other people who didn't know how to understand us fades away. When we learn, we grow and when we grow, we are unstoppable. I have yet to meet someone in recovery who isn't grateful for everything they have now. We don't forgive those who hurt us for them, but we do for ourselves. We must understand recovery is a life journey. There will be moments when those old dark feelings creep up but when we finally learn to understand ourselves, we will know how to fight the urge for self-sabotage. Let's learn to find our freedom and let go of our old ghosts. Let me help.

"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step". - Anonymous

"I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 things that do not work". - Thomas Edison

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls". - Anonymous

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Please feel free to email me at jackie@theaddictinme.com if you would like to set up a free consultation to help you get started on your healing journey. Suffering is not supposed to be a part of life. We are here to learn grow and evolve so we can live a happy, healthy, and productive life. We can do so much more than you could imagine. Let me show you how.