- Sometimes the thing that helps us buckle down to make a change is actually to… let go. Which sounds easy, but it takes intentional work to truly let go and not revisit past pains that feel like a gaping wound.
It takes work, but we are equipped with tools to help us do that work! The starting point? Take a second and think about your past. You have probably experienced trauma, and you may not know it.
Let’s talk about trauma. It’s a bit of a buzzword, but honestly, there’s a good reason for that. We have all experienced things in our lives that shaped us, for good or for bad, and oftentimes we have experienced trauma that has created habits and responses in us that can often be overlooked.
Do you feel easily overwhelmed?
Anxious about the future?
Frustrated with how your life has turned out?
Easily annoyed with family or coworkers?
Snap at people when you don’t really want or mean to?
You likely have trauma that needs to be processed.
For our purposes, trauma can be defined as “any situation where you got less than you needed and were not equipped to process it.”
It may have been a parent who worked long hours to provide for the family, making them unable to attend your games, school events and other things.
It may have been adoption. You may have wonderful, loving adoptive parents but still carry a wound from before that time.
It may have been an acute event that you vividly remember.
The point here is that we all likely have trauma, and sometimes it takes a little digging to find it, to find how it shaped you, and to find how it is showing up in your life today. And if we don’t do the work to process these emotions, then they remain stuck in our bodies and subconsciousness where they continue to wreak havoc.
So what do we do? We take active, intentional steps to release those emotional patterns!
Essential oils are wonderful tools for this. We can use scent to revisit past pain, honor the experience, heal the wound and move forward in peace. We have the capability to rewire those pathways of trauma that are causing our nervous systems to move into fight or shutdown mode, and that is a powerful tool!
HOW do you do this? Grab an oil and isolate what emotion you are feeling. Think about the opposite of that emotion and deeply inhale the oil as you sit quietly. After a time, practice rewiring that pathway with a truth or affirmation. Do this daily as you process through a specific event or emotion.
Here are a few examples from one of our favorite reference books, “Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils” :
Emotion: Anxiety // Other Side: Confidence // Way Out: “Peace, be still.”
Emotion: Disappointment // Other Side: Freedom // Way Out: “I trust my vision.”
Emotion: Grief // Other Side: Happy // Way Out: “Change brings growth.”
Emotion: Judgment // Other Side: Regard // Way Out: “I am discerning.”
Emotion: Misery // Other Side: Joy // Way Out: “I am free.”
Another great way to process emotions is through movement. This can be walking, yoga, swimming, cycling, etc. just as long as the movement physically moves your body through space.
Grab your oils and apply or diffuse them as you move, breathing in the oil as you mentally and physically process.
For some individuals those steps also include therapy or counseling. There is a lot of value in a third party listening and giving insight into your experiences, and great healing can happen in those safe spaces!