What helps relieve this distress? The mental health system as currently constituted says that the following two things help the most: drugs and talk therapy. Setting those two aside, what else helps? Here are tips for emotional healing:

People experience emotional distress in all sorts of ways, as sadness, anxiety, addictions, unproductive obsessions, unwanted compulsions, physical ailments, boredom, repetitive self-sabotaging behaviors, and various angry, bleak, and agitated moods.

ife dishes up so many hardships: heartbreak, illness, injury, death, abandonment. Though we may share similar experiences, every hurt is personal. No matter how many times well-meaning people say, “We understand,” they don’t. You may even resent them for trying.

Whether you saw it it coming or didn’t, the feeling is the same: You’re devastated. You gasp at your vulnerability and wonder, “Why did this happen?”

Be patient and persistent.

Healing is a lot of work. We need to be patient and allow for the time needed to gain new insights and skills. And we need to be persistent and keep going even when it gets difficult, be willing to try new approaches, and challenge ourselves in new ways.





Give yourself time to recover from emotional pain.

Remind yourself as often as possible that healing takes time, it takes time for a wound to heal and all pain to turn into joy. So give yourself time, Time to rest, time to heal, and time to fully recover from whatever it is that you went through. Allow time to wash away all that emotional pain.

Remember that you don’t have to heal 100% to improve the quality of your life.

People mistakenly believe that emotional healing is all-or-nothing. Again, this belief can be discouraging and overwhelming. But most importantly, it’s not accurate. Any modest amount of healing will improve the quality of your life. Take it one step at a time and you will notice small improvements in your mood, ability to cope with triggers, relationships, self-esteem, and ability to complete your daily activities.





Set realistic expectations.

I’m a big believer in the importance of setting realistic expectations. When we don’t, we end up frustrated and disappointed, often at ourselves, which doesn’t help us heal. One of the most common unrealistic expectations that I see is expecting progress to be consistently forward. Nobody just gets stronger and stronger, healthier and healthier. Progress is more likely to be two steps forward and one step backward. And, honestly, don’t be surprised if sometimes it’s two steps backward and one step forward. This isn’t a failure, it’s a reality. And realistic expectations coupled with patience, persistence, and self-compassion will lead to forward progress, it just may include a few detours and be slower than you’d like.





Suffer consciously.

Get into the habit of observing your emotional pain… your anguish, and frustrations.

Observe the constant stream of negative thoughts that run through your mind – the dreadful stories that keep feeding your pain, the self-abuse, the addiction to all that pain and suffering, and choose to let it all go. Let it all pass you by. You are not your thoughts. You are not your pain. You are the consciousness behind it all. Always remember this.

Offer yourself the gift of YOU

Take time to be alone with yourself. To acknowledge, love and appreciate the parts of you that are beautiful, but so neglected.

Make peace with the parts of you that are in pain… the parts of you that have been starving for your love and affection. Immerse yourself fully into your own Being.

Offer yourself the gift of your time, your Presence, your Goodness and Compassion… The gift of your Love and Affection… Offer yourself the gift of YOU. Offer yourself the gift of YOU.





Take baby steps.

Trying to make too many changes all at once can backfire. You may become overwhelmed or feel like a failure if you set unrealistic expectations. And dramatic changes are often unsustainable. Making micro-changes – small, manageable, incremental changes – create feelings of success, hope, and encouragement that are important to carry you through your healing process. You can learn more about making micro-changes here.





No pain is forever.

Everything in life has a beginning and an end. Nothing lasts forever. It will all eventually come to an end. When it does, when all your emotional pain will be washed away and the veil will be lifted from your eyes, you finally See that it was all happening For you, not To you. You are loved and safe.

Love yourself and be good to yourself. In doing so, not only will you feel much better about yourself and your life, but you will allow the healing to happen faster.

Your pain is not your personal life story. Don’t claim it as your own. If you do, it will be yours!





Let nature comfort you.

Spend as much time as possible in nature. Allow nature to play its part in your healing and recovery.

Allow nature to heal and comfort you. To teach you more about the infinite circle of life, about birth, life, death, rebirth and about yourself.

Allow nature to be your wise friend, teacher, and companion. To show you evidence of decay, destruction, and death… of rebirth, rejuvenation, and renewal. To remind you that you are not alone. And that you too are part of nature.



