THE STEPS FOR HEALING

course, it often doesn’t play out this way and so the hurt is kept alive.

“We tend to constantly think about it, replaying the situation in the mind. So much so, it keeps the event fresh in the mind and the emotions in the heart, even as time passes by,” says Maureen Goodman. As a result, in time, this way of thinking and feeling gets hardwired in us and becomes who we are. And it becomes difficult to undo. When we get hurt, the common advise we get is Ω let it go. But what does it mean? Do we simply let go of how we are feeling and move on? We would be pretending that nothing happened or affected us if we do, which has its consequences. Once hurt penetrates the heart, it is not that easy to remove. Somewhere in the mind and heart, the impact is already registered. Simply forgetting about it and moving on puts you at risk of experiencing greater hurt later on. Only by then, the blow will not be as “gentle” as the first time.

So, what are the steps we can take to let go and heal? Maureen shares the process:

1. DETACH

To effectively deal with hurt, we must first be able to take a step back. Meaning, we must detach ourselves from the situation that has caused us hurt. This is an important step because only by detaching can we look at it objectively, without the emotions.

2. UNDERSTAND THAT

THERE IS A LESSON

If you are asking yourself: “Why did this happen to me?”, the answer is there is a lesson in the hurt. It might