Healing from abandonment trauma and the effects of the abandonment wound is a complex process that requires time, self-reflection, and often professional support. Here are five strategies to aid in the healing process:
Therapeutic Support: Seek professional help from a therapist specializing in trauma and attachment issues. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, or trauma-focused therapies can help process and reframe past experiences, develop coping mechanisms, and build healthier relationships.
Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: Practicing mindfulness can help individuals stay present and aware of their thoughts and emotions without judgment. Combine this with self-compassion, which involves treating oneself with kindness and understanding. These practices can reduce self-blame and self-criticism associated with abandonment wounds.
Inner Child Work: Engage in inner child healing exercises to connect with the wounded inner child and provide the care and love they may have lacked during earlier experiences. Visualization, journaling, and reparenting techniques can be powerful tools to nurture and heal the inner child.
Healthy Relationships and Boundaries: Foster healthy relationships with supportive, understanding individuals who respect your boundaries and provide emotional safety. Learning to establish and maintain healthy boundaries is crucial for healing, as it helps to develop a sense of security and trust in relationships.
Creative Expression and Outlet: Engage in creative activities like art, music, writing, or dance as a form of self-expression and emotional release. Creative outlets can provide a way to process emotions, trauma, and experiences, allowing for healing and personal growth.
Remember, healing from abandonment trauma is a unique journey for each individual, and it's important to be patient and kind to yourself throughout the process. Consider seeking professional help to guide you through this journey and provide the necessary tools for healing and growth.
How To Begin Your Emotional Healing Journey
Achieving sobriety from addiction is a challenging but rewarding journey. It's important to remember that recovery is a highly individualized process, and what works for one person may not work for another. Here are the general steps to achieve sobriety and milestones in the recovery journey:
1. Acknowledge the Problem:
The first step in recovery is to recognize and accept that you have a problem with addiction. This often involves coming to terms with the negative impact it has had on your life.
2. Seek Professional Help:
Reach out to a healthcare professional, therapist, or counselor who specializes in addiction. They can help you assess the severity of your addiction and create a personalized treatment plan.
3. Detoxification:
For many substances, the initial step involves detoxification, which is the process of clearing the substance from your body. This can be physically and emotionally challenging and should be done under medical supervision.
4. Rehabilitation Programs:
Consider enrolling in a rehabilitation program, which may be inpatient or outpatient. These programs provide structured support, therapy, and education on addiction and recovery.
5. Therapy and Counseling:
Engage in individual and group therapy to address the underlying causes of your addiction, learn coping strategies, and develop a support network.
6. Support Groups:
Join support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), or SMART Recovery. These groups provide peer support and a sense of community.
7. Lifestyle Changes:
Make positive lifestyle changes, including improving your diet, exercise, and sleep patterns. These changes can promote physical and mental well-being.
8. Relapse Prevention:
Learn relapse prevention techniques and strategies to avoid triggers and high-risk situations. Relapse is a common part of the recovery process for many individuals, but it can be a learning opportunity rather than a failure.
9. Rebuilding Relationships:
Work on rebuilding and mending relationships that may have been damaged due to your addiction. Open and honest communication is key.
10. Setting Goals and Future Planning:
Establish new, meaningful goals for your life. Whether it's pursuing a career, education, or personal interests, having a sense of purpose can be a powerful motivator.
11. Ongoing Support:
Continue to participate in support groups and therapy even after achieving initial sobriety. Long-term recovery requires ongoing effort and vigilance.
Throughout the healing process, individuals struggling with addiction can experience a wide range of emotions, including:
Denial: Many individuals initially deny the severity of their addiction and resist seeking help.
Guilt and Shame: Feelings of guilt and shame are common, especially as people reflect on the harm their addiction has caused to themselves and others.
Anxiety and Depression: The withdrawal process and the challenges of early recovery can lead to anxiety and depression.
Cravings: Strong cravings for the substance may persist, even after initial detoxification.
Frustration and Impatience: Recovery is a slow process, and individuals may become frustrated with the time it takes to see significant progress.
Hope and Optimism: As individuals make positive changes and achieve milestones in their recovery, they often experience a sense of hope and optimism for the future.
It's important for individuals in recovery to seek and accept support from professionals, friends, and family, as well as to be patient and compassionate with themselves. Recovery is a journey, and setbacks may occur, but with determination and the right support system, long-term sobriety is achievable.
Need Help Developing A Plan For Self-Care
Do you want help developing a self-care plan that works for your busy schedule? Do you want accountability in implementing a self-care plan? If you or someone you love is struggling to maintain optimal mental and emotional health, consider reaching out to Spiced Life Conversation Art Wellness Studio and Botanica. We are a Metro Atlanta, Conyers Georgia area. We are a coaching and counseling practice with empathetic, skilled counselors and recovery coaches who can help you set goals, develop a self-care routine, and move forward to build a more fulfilling life. Our team would be happy to work with you either just for a couple of sessions to develop and implement a Self-care plan or longer term to work toward overall better mental health within our membership site or other programs.
About The Author:
Dr. Nikki LeToya White MSEd-TL, Ph.D. RHN is the founder, director, and full-time board-certified trauma-informed nutritionist, folk herbalist, and wellness consultant at Spiced Life Conversation Art Wellness Studio and Botanica. She created Spiced Life Conversation, LLC
Art Wellness Studio and Botanica to provide the Metro Atlanta area with counseling and coaching services where clients are carefully matched with the right program for healing abandonment and childhood emotional neglect trauma that cause codependency, emotional eating, financial stress, and imposter syndrome as it relates to fear of success and being abandon. We help you begin your emotional healing journey with ease. Recently, we have expanded to include an online membership site so we now provide support to people living all over the world. All of our recovery coaches provide at least one evidence-based treatment to assist in your recovery. Dr. White is a big proponent of self-care and helping people live a fulfilling life! She has been in full remission with both codependency and emotional binge eating disorder since 2016. In living a life in recovery from sugar addiction. Loving her low-sugar balance lifestyle.
Best Regards
Dr. Nikki LeToya White