Sunday, January 8, 2023

Where Do You Leak Power?

When faced with recurring emotions of past trauma, let the hurt part of yourself know that it can trust your wise self

By Quentin Steen, Representative

I am prone to ignoring my reality, but I cannot ignore the consequences of doing so. For every action there is a reaction that’s on its way.

As I work to resolve my childhood trauma, my hope is that I can take some of the internal and emotional pressure off day-to-day situations. But doing so leaves me with the following questions: who am I beyond my trauma? What is my true nature outside of my suffering?

I have this very fierce and strong part of me that is a warrior for justice, for what is right and wrong. Unfortunately, I was also bullied.

The emotional effect on me of being bullied is that whenever I encounter an unjust situation, the energy that I (unconsciously) bring to it is probably going to be out of proportion. As a result, I experience a toxic burst of adrenaline in my bloodstream that should not be there unless my life is in danger.

This is where I leak power!

We all could use the increased capacity to be prepared to face consequences as they come, to start practicing connecting to those parts of us that have been hurt.

Whenever I feel that rising energy of injustice welling up inside of me, instead of ignoring it, I comfort that part of me and remind myself that it is now 2023 and that I’m an adult and know how to take care of myself.

I need to let that hurt part of myself know that it can trust my wise self. Every time I do so, I take responsibility for my reactions, and my well-being steadily improves.

Quentin Steen is a certified mental health first aid instructor for the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Get your BRAIN right and your MIND will follow!

4 Mental Health Resources to Help You

If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health issue, CLAC has a number of resources and interactive tools available to help you at My Health and Wellness.
Stronger Minds features videos and quick reads from mental health experts, activities to help you gain resilience, and ask-an-expert videos in response to questions.
WellCan offers free well-being resources to help Canadians develop coping strategies and build resilience to help deal with uncertainty, mental health, and substance abuse concerns.
Wellness Together Canada: Mental Health and Substance Use Support provides free online resources, tools, apps, and connections to trained volunteers and qualified mental health professionals.

Where Do You Leak Power?

4 Mental Health Resources to Help You

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