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Emotional Baggage

The Unraveling

by Corine Channell August 16, 2021

My unraveling, I have always had parts of my life I couldn’t remember. Either by trauma or just time moving on; I really didn’t know.

I had prayed if there were things I needed to recall, that I would be able to, when I was ready. I had a feeling they were dark. And I knew in my gut that whatever I couldn’t remember, I had forgotten for a reason – maybe unintentionally on purpose. I say unintentionally because when you’re a child, what do you actually know to be good or bad, or true or a lie – you just upload and store. It is all there, people. All the things. All the memories. And only God can heal the damage from the abusive ones.

As I began journaling over the past few years, it really felt like my story started writing itself and I was the unwilling author. But the more I let out, there came a time when there simply was NO going back. I was shattering my own silence – first to myself, now to everyone else I guess.

I have realized I am unraveling. To unravel is to “undo twisted, knitted, or woven threads”. It is an unwinding of what was tightly entangled or knotted. Voila’ – ME!

Unraveling is part of my healing, even maybe a BIG part. I MUST unravel. But boy, it is scary and unfamiliar and many times I hear myself saying (to myself) WHO are YOU!?

UNCOVERING WHAT WAS HIDDEN

In my unraveling I discover new parts of me I never knew, or parts of me I have never experienced, and parts of me that were never allowed out. It is quite the party for one. NOT really a party, but trying to find humor in this. I feel like one big knotted and twisted braid, wrapped up so tight that there wasn’t even room for a bird to make a nest in the braid. In my unwrapping, there are a lot of ‘Ta-Da’ moments. I can go from shocked to angry to surprised to happy to embarrassed to devastated, all in a matter of hours. I am traveling rugged terrain I’ve never ventured upon.

All my suppressed feelings that lay dormant for 50 years are all standing at attention now. They all demand some sort of attention, and each one is saying – HEY! Notice me!

I could just stop right here on my journey to healing after abuse, and go no further. BUT I am NOT! So, there’s THAT. I started this thing, and I will finish it. And I remind myself that THIS is a good thing and a long overdue thing. And, God is the one doing it. “You will do everything you have promised; LORD, Your love is eternal. Complete the work that You have begun.” (Psalm 138:8)

HEALING BRINGS FREEDOM

“The Unraveling” by Cory Asbury –

“I’m coming apart at the seams
And everyone’s pulling at me
And I am unraveling
The smile isn’t quite what it seems
But it does well to hide what’s beneath
All the pressure is staggering
In the unraveling, Father unravel me
When I can’t feel a thing
Have mercy and let me bleed
I know it’s dumb
But I have been numb
For way too long
I don’t want to be alone anymore
I don’t want to just survive anymore
And I want to feel, so unravel me
Yeah
Unravel me
I’m coming apart of the seams
It’s worse than I thought it would be,
But I’ve never been happier.” (WOW. All the wows.)

WE are each unraveling to our freedom, from the inside out. First it hurts – then it heals.

___

Identifying And Overcoming Emotional Triggers

by GOD TV October 15, 2019

written by GOD TV

Have you ever found yourself in an emotional tailspin in response to a situation or circumstance that doesn’t warrant such an intense level of response? Emotional triggers, they show up when we least expect them!

What are emotional triggers?

In their recent audio e-course, The Father Series, Justin and Abi Stumvoll begin the course by explaining what emotional triggers are, “Triggers are moments where you have a strong or disproportionate emotional response to what you are hearing or experiencing.” They go on to explain that feelings of anger, irritation, sadness, or wanting to ignoring the situation or circumstance are often indications that you are experiencing an emotional trigger. Justin and Abi also encourage readers not to “freak out” when experiencing an emotional trigger, but to see it as an invitation into deeper healing.

Emotional triggers are truly opportunities for healing. Emotional triggers are simply your heart responding to a current event as if it was the same experience as a past traumatic event. In other words, you are reliving an event in your past that caused pain. For example, an adult whose best friend moves away to accept a job offer responds with deep sadness because their heart is reliving their father leaving for long periods of time while serving in the military. Although the adult intellectually understands why their best friend is moving away, their heart is experiencing the emotional trigger of feeling left as a child.

What to do I do when I experience an emotional trigger?

The first step to working through an emotional trigger is to recognize that you are being triggered in the first place. Honestly, this is half the battle. Justin and Abi suggest, “If you start feeling a strong emotion that seems out of proportion to the information you are hearing, write down the content of the episode and what you were thinking about in response. You want to have as many clues as possible as to what caused your reaction.” In other words, take time to process what happened. It is important to identify what you were feeling and why you were feeling it in that specific situation or circumstance.

John 14:26 reminds us that the Holy Spirit is our Counselor. John 16:13 teaches that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and leads us into all truth. As believers, we don’t have to process emotional triggers alone. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us into truth and when we know the truth, it sets us free (John 8:32)! More importantly, the Holy Spirit can help us discover the root of our emotional triggers and this is where the opportunity for healing occurs.

Going back to the example, the adult who is triggered by their best friend moving can invite the Holy Spirit into the root of their emotional trigger, the father leaving, and receive healing. The Holy Spirit can speak truth and bring healing to the trauma of the father having to leave for long periods of time. The wounded place in the heart is set free with truth, thus, the emotional trigger is healed.

Want to know more?

Maybe the example of the father leaving home was more real to you than just an example. Maybe some memories have surfaced as you’ve read through this article. If you’d like to learn more about emotional healing definitely check out The Father Series. Justin and Abi have compiled this audio e-course, along with their friend Blair Reynolds, from their experience as Life Consultants, having worked with thousands of clients over the years. The Father Series provides inspiring stories, thought-provoking questions, homework, and lots of practical wisdom.

If you’re looking for healing, freedom, and breakthrough The Father Series is where it’s at! Not only that, but Justin, Abi, and Blair have this canny ability to keep everyone laughing along the way!

For more information visit www.justinandabi.com.

—

Image Source: Justin and Abi

October 15, 2019 0 comment

Articles

The Fastest Way To The Top

by Charlotte Ibanez November 17, 2018

written by Charlotte Ibanez

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)

To reach the top of the mountain, you need to unpack things that are not necessary; To reach the pinnacle of success you need to unload any emotional baggage that weighs you down.

We are destined by God to live a victorious life

Our emotional baggage weighs us down. We cannot move forward towards our goals in life because the load we are carrying is too heavy.

Our emotional baggage comes from our past painful and negative experiences that remain unresolved. It may have started from a small hurt, anger, sorrow, fear, rejection, abandonment, disappointment, frustration, etc. And then it developed into a mass of negative feelings. If we are not conscious about its damaging effect it will continue to affect us. Carrying this excess baggage all throughout our life will be uncomfortable in the long run. If we are not careful it can lead to stress eating, all forms of addictions, alcohol, and blaming God.

Whether we like it or not, this emotional baggage will surface at the most unlikely opportunity, especially when we want to hide it. We know that it is taking control of our life when: we start to feel that we are inferior or inadequate. Eventually we start comparing ourselves with others. We feel upset about small things and vent out all our emotions to someone. We crave attention, we are paranoid, we fear being alone, we jump from one relationship to another, we feel no hope for the future, and all we see is negative.

If we continue to allow these unresolved issues in our lives to dominate our thinking, our actions and behavior, we will never reach the full potential God created for us. The issues will be a hindrance to our personal growth and development. It will be like a ticking time-bomb to our health. It will also harm our present and future relationships and those we interact with on a daily basis.

It is time

God can heal our lives. He can heal all our wounds and hurts. It’s time to unpack the emotional baggage we’ve been carrying around for years. We are tired and weary and we need to let go and unload all the issues in our lives. Allow God to do it for us, to mend our broken souls and release everything to Him. Surrender your life to Him and allow Him to take full control of your emotions, thoughts and your being. Let us live a triumphant life. Leave the past behind. God is just waiting for us to call on Him.

November 17, 2018 0 comment